Editing Louis XIV (section)

==Health and death==
[[File:Louis XIV of France and his family attributed to Nicolas de Largillière.jpg|thumb|left|Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV (seated) with his son ''[[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661–1711)|le Grand Dauphin]]'' (to the left), his grandson [[Louis of France, Duke of Burgundy|Louis, Duke of Burgundy]] (to the right), his great-grandson [[Louis XV of France|Louis Duke of Anjou]], and [[Madame de Ventadour]], Anjou's governess, who commissioned this painting; busts of [[Henry IV of France|Henry&nbsp;IV]] and [[Louis XIII of France|Louis&nbsp;XIII]] are in the background.]]

Despite the image of a healthy and virile king that Louis sought to project, evidence exists to suggest that his health was not very good. He had many ailments: for example, symptoms of [[diabetes]], as confirmed in reports of suppurating [[periostitis]] in 1678, [[dental abscess]]es in 1696, along with recurring [[boil]]s, fainting spells, [[gout]], [[dizziness]], hot flushes, and headaches.

From 1647 to 1711, the three chief physicians to the king (Antoine Vallot, [[Antoine d'Aquin]], and [[Guy-Crescent Fagon]]) recorded all of his health problems in the ''Journal de Santé du Roi'' (''Journal of the King's Health''), a daily report of his health. On 18 November 1686, Louis underwent a painful operation for an [[anal fistula]] that was performed by the surgeon Charles Felix de Tassy, who prepared a specially shaped curved [[scalpel]] for the occasion. The wound took more than two months to heal.{{Sfn|Régnier|2009|p=318}}
[[File:Thomas Jones Barker - La Mort de Louis XIV au palais de Versailles.jpg|left|thumb|''The Death of Louis XIV at the Palace of Versailles'', [[Thomas Jones Barker]], 1835-1840]]
Louis died of [[gangrene]] at Versailles on 1 September 1715, four days before his 77th birthday, after 72 years on the throne. Enduring much pain in his last days, he finally "yielded up his soul without any effort, like a candle going out", while reciting the [[psalm]] [[Psalm 70|''Deus, in adjutorium me festina'']] (''O Lord, make haste to help me'').{{Sfn|Dunlop|2000|p=468}} His body was laid to rest in [[Saint-Denis Basilica]] outside Paris. It remained there undisturbed for about 80 years until revolutionaries exhumed and destroyed all of the remains found in the Basilica.{{Sfn|Schama|1990|p=829}} In 1848, at [[Nuneham House]], a piece of Louis's mummified heart, taken from his tomb and kept in a silver locket by [[Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt|Lord Harcourt]], [[Archbishop of York]], was shown to the [[Dean of Westminster]], [[William Buckland]], who ate a part of it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Buckland |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-buckland |access-date=17 January 2016 |publisher=Westminster Abbey |archive-date=24 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724131211/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/william-buckland |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan|Cardinal Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan]] gave [[Last rites|Last Rites]] ([[Sacrament of Penance|confession]], [[viaticum]], and [[Anointing of the Sick in the Catholic Church|unction]]) to king Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV.{{Sfn|Marquis de Dangeau|1858}}

===Succession===
Louis outlived most of his immediate legitimate family. His last surviving legitimate son, [[Louis, Grand Dauphin|Louis, Dauphin of France]], died in 1711 and barely a year later, [[Louis, Duke of Burgundy]], the eldest of the Dauphin's three sons and then heir-apparent to Louis, also died. Burgundy's elder son, [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1707-1712)|Louis, Duke of Brittany]], died a few weeks later. Thus, on his deathbed, Louis's heir-apparent was his five-year-old great-grandson, [[Louis XV of France|Louis, Duke of Anjou]], Burgundy's younger son.

Louis foresaw that his successor would not yet be mature and sought to restrict the power of his nephew [[Philip&nbsp;II, Duke of Orléans]], who, as his closest surviving legitimate relative in France, would probably become [[regent]] to the prospective Louis XV. Accordingly, the king created a regency council as Louis{{Nbsp}}XIII had in anticipation of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV's own minority, with some power vested in his illegitimate son [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine]].{{Sfn|Dunlop|2000|pp=454–455}} Orléans, however, had Louis's will annulled by the Parlement of Paris after his death and made himself sole regent. He stripped Maine and his brother, [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse|Louis-Alexandre, Count of Toulouse]], of the rank of [[Prince du Sang|Prince of the Blood]] that Louis had granted them and significantly reduced Maine's power and privileges.{{Sfn|Antoine|1989|pp=33–37}}

====Line of succession in 1715====
Below is the line of succession to the French throne at the time of the death of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV in 1715. Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV's only surviving legitimate grandson, Philip{{Nbsp}}V, was not included in the line of succession because he had renounced the French throne after the [[war of the Spanish Succession]], a 14-year conflict following the death of [[Charles&nbsp;II of Spain]] in 1700.{{Sfn|Holsti|1991|p=74}}

{{Tree list}}
* [[File:Simple silver crown.svg|15px]] ''[[Louis XIII]] (1601–1643)''
** [[File:Simple gold crown.svg|15px]] '''Louis XIV''' ''(1638–1715)''
*** {{Tree list/final branch}} ''[[Louis, Grand Dauphin]] (1661–1711)''
**** ''[[Louis, Duke of Burgundy]] (1682–1712)''
***** ''[[Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712)|Louis, Duke of Brittany]] (1707–1712)''
***** {{Tree list/final branch}} '''(1)''' [[Louis XV|Louis, Duke of Anjou]] (1710–1774)
**** [[Philip V of Spain]] (1683–1746)
**** {{Tree list/final branch}} ''[[Charles, Duke of Berry (1686–1714)|Charles, Duke of Berry]] (1686–1714)''
** {{Tree list/final branch}} ''[[Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]] (1640–1701)''
*** {{Tree list/final branch}} '''(2)''' [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans]] (1674–1723)
**** {{Tree list/final branch}} '''(3)''' [[Louis, Duke of Orléans (1703–1752)|Louis, Duke of Chartres]] (1703–1752)
{{Tree list/end}}

Further down the French line of succession in 1715 was the [[House of Conde|House of Condé]], followed by the [[House of Conti]] (a [[cadet branch]] of the House of Condé). Both of these [[royal houses]] were descended in the [[Agnatic|male line]] from [[Henri II, Prince of Conde|Henri II, Prince of Condé]], a [[second cousin]] of French King Louis{{Nbsp}}XIII (the father of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV) in the [[male line]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}