Louis XV Signed Autograph Letter on the Death of the Queen

  
(1710 - 1774), King of France. Versailles, May 2, 1768; 1 page, quarto.

Beautiful red wax seal with the arms of France and Navarre. Autograph address on the fourth page: "To my brother and grandson Ferdinand, child of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza." An exciting letter that immerses us in the harsh organization of the marriage between Ferdinand and Marie-Amélie, which cannot take place without papal consent, with the king also mentioning the painful agony of Queen Marie-Leszczynska: "My very dear grandson.

The Queen did not attend mass at the chapel yesterday; she is becoming weaker, thus you will easily judge how much it is to be feared that she is closer to her end than to a recovery. I have no news from Spain regarding your marriage. Apparently, your Uncle the King is waiting for a response from Vienna to write to me about it. What difficulty can there be? de Lamballe [Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon] had been better since my last letter, but he is today at the last moment and surely I will inform you of his death in the next courier. I tenderly embrace you, my very dear grandson." This letter is referenced in the correspondence "Letters of Louis XV to the infant Ferdinand of Parma," published by Grasset. In 1765, following the death of Philippe I, Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, son-in-law of Louis XV, his son, Ferdinand I, ascends to the throne of Parma. The new duke is only 14 years old.

The crowns of France and Spain are active in finding him a bride. After several candidates that do not meet unanimous approval, the choice falls on the Archduchess of Austria, Marie-Amélie, sister of Marie-Antoinette, future queen of France.

After obtaining the necessary papal dispensation due to their familial connection, the marriage is organized by proxy on June 27, 1769, in Vienna. At 19 years old, Marie-Amélie is 23 years old. Daughter of King of Poland Stanislas Leszczynski, she marries King Louis XV on September 5, 1725. She dies on June 24, 1768, at the Château de Versailles at the age of 65. She is buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Prince de Lamballe marries in 1767 Marie-Thérèse-Louise of Savoy-Carignan, Princess of Lamballe, known as Madame de Lamballe. He dies a year after his marriage, on May 6, 1768, at the Château de Louveciennes.