The Death of the Sun King

Louis XIV's death on September 1, 1715, ended the longest reign in European history. His final days, marked by gangrenous suffering borne with royal dignity, became a final performance of majesty. His deathbed advice to his five-year-old successor—"Do not imitate me in my taste for war"—showed belated recognition of his reign's costs. The relief that greeted his death, with Parisians celebrating along the funeral route, demonstrated how the once-beloved monarch had become a burden to his subjects.

The succession of Louis XV under the regency of Philippe d'Orléans marked a sharp break with the old king's system. The Regent's abandonment of Versailles for Paris, relaxation of religious persecution, and pursuit of peace signaled rejection of Louis XIV's policies. The parlements' recovery of remonstrance rights and the polysynodie's experimental council government showed immediate reactions against absolutist centralization. These changes demonstrated that Louis XIV's system depended on his personal authority rather than institutional permanence.