WI: Philippe VII of France and Navarre

What if Louis XIV had died in 1658?

IOTL, he was about to die but was saved in extremis.
His brother, a notable homosexual, would ascend upon the throne.
 
I don't know how much the reign of Monsieur* would turn out and how much it would differ from that of his brother, the OTL Sun King. I'm not sure how Philippe d'Orléans would rule : his descendants were regarded as liberal but there is no telling how much Louis XIV's brother was. Plus, during the reign of his brother, he was vastly overshadowed by him (well, who wouldn't have been?) and thus we know few things about his ideas. He could be a great mecene though: he was already one as Duke of Orléans OTL.

I don't know how much Monsieur's homosexuality would play around... It would probably cause a few scandals in the European courts, but that itself wouldn't be a threat for the bloodline: Philippe d'Orléans had six children from two marriages OTL. However, it could be used as a weapon by the House of Condé: since Gaston d'Orléans has no sons, the Condé are the next-in-line for the throne after Philippe d'Orléans. And given how the Condé acted during the Fronde, Monsieur as King would have to watch out.

I'm also guessing that Philippe d'Orléans (King Philippe VII of France in this scenario) would probably marry Maria Theresa of Austria, the Infanta of Spain that was Louis XIV's wife OTL. After all, it was decided that she would marry a French prince with the Treaty of the Pyrenees. It would thus lead to an ATL Bourbon dynasty in France, and Henrietta of England and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (the two wives of Monsieur OTL) would be available brides for other European princes.

*Monsieur was how you called the younger brother of the King of France. As a result, Philippe d'Orléans was often called this while he was young.
 
I'm also guessing that Philippe d'Orléans (King Philippe VII of France in this scenario) would probably marry Maria Theresa of Austria, the Infanta of Spain that was Louis XIV's wife OTL. After all, it was decided that she would marry a French prince with the Treaty of the Pyrenees. It would thus lead to an ATL Bourbon dynasty in France, and Henrietta of England and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (the two wives of Monsieur OTL) would be available brides for other European princes.

Could have had repurcussions on the English and maybe Austrian and Spanish successions. Eliz Charlotte was originally Protestant, but converted in ordeer to marry Monsieur. But for that, her descendants would have come before the Hanoverians in 1714.

Minette was always Catholic iirc. Istr that she was suggested as a bride for Emperor Leopold. Had that marriage gone ahead, either they have only daughters, in which case the male line of the House of Austria ends in 1705 instead of 1740, or a son of hers may try to claim the Spanish throne.

*Monsieur was how you called the younger brother of the King of France. As a result, Philippe d'Orléans was often called this while he was young.

Iirc he was initially called "Le Petit Monsieur" as Gaston, the previous Monsieur, was still alive.
 
I think that Monsieur would leave the governement to ministers to take more time with his Mignons (lovers).
At the beginning, Mazarin and the Queen Mother would continue to reign.
After the death of Mazarin, if we retain the OTL dates, the Queen would retain the government contrary. I wonder who could succeed to the Cardinal.

The problem of succession would be critical: the King is homosexual
and the heir presumptive has no legitimate sons, leaving the Grand Condé, at the time serving under spanish flag, as the next (peace was signed in 1659 IOTL). A solution could be to making Prince Gaston legitimating the Count of Charny, one of his bastards.
I guess that the Queen and the Cardinal would do all what is possible to force the King to give a male heir, especially after the death of Prince Gaston in 1660.
There is also the problem of the Chevalier de Lorraine, a man I believe who would not make easy the task of the Queen Mother.
 
I think that Monsieur would leave the governement to ministers to take more time with his Mignons (lovers).
At the beginning, Mazarin and the Queen Mother would continue to reign.
After the death of Mazarin, if we retain the OTL dates, the Queen would retain the government contrary. I wonder who could succeed to the Cardinal.

The problem of succession would be critical: the King is homosexual
and the heir presumptive has no legitimate sons, leaving the Grand Condé, at the time serving under spanish flag, as the next (peace was signed in 1659 IOTL). A solution could be to making Prince Gaston legitimating the Count of Charny, one of his bastards.
I guess that the Queen and the Cardinal would do all what is possible to force the King to give a male heir, especially after the death of Prince Gaston in 1660.
There is also the problem of the Chevalier de Lorraine, a man I believe who would not make easy the task of the Queen Mother.

The fact that the king is homossexual would be no problem at all. Philip didn't have the pressure of being king IOTL but still he married twice and had seven children. I can't see why he wouldn't have heirs ITTL too.

Philip was a quite competent military commander, and even Louis was jealous of him due to it. Also, considering how he liked to spend money in architecture and engineering projects (Saint Cloud, the Palais Royal, the Canal d'Órleans) I wonder how great would a ITTL Versailles be under Philip.
 
While we'd likely be getting a completely new cast of characters, Philippe VII's descendants probably resemble the OTL monarchs more than his OTL descendants. A large part of the d'Orleans "liberality" compared to other French nobility was simple economic self-interest: they sold off their rural property, beginning with Philippe himself, and bought up land inside Paris, both commercial real estate and low-rent housing. If you lived in a slummy tenement in Paris in 1780, odds are a d'Orleans was your landlord. They advocated different policies simply because their family wealth was tied to Paris itself rather than the country. That process is not so likely to happen TTL.
 
What do you think about Cardinal Antonio Barberini as a Prime Minister chosen by the Queen Mother to replace Mazarin?
 
I wonder what "Barberini" would be Gallicized as.

Without Louis XIV, what would become absolutism ?

It happened in Denmark-Norway a few years after the POD with no Bourbon influence that I know of. So it would still happen where the conditions are right for it, just without the Sun King as an ideal type.
 
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