I Am Louis XIV

People who are not from this era will definitely be confused about the marriage of kings, princes and princesses at this time. People can understand that the king or the prince's wife will choose between the princess and the princess, but the ministers and nobles will be quite unanimous. They believed that their king or his heir could not be too close to his wife. The problem was that they also wanted the resentful couple to have enough children - especially boys, even if the country did not practice Salik. Law.

But if you can read the documents at that time carefully, you will know that the ministers, nobles and kings at that time did this not only because of the various benefits that the queen or crown princess would inevitably bring - dowry, territory or a share of Covenant, and what is more, their inheritance rights are bound to exist because of their blood. Even in countries that recognize Salic law, or princesses and princesses have already renounced their right to inherit the throne when they get married. As long as the time is right and the strength is enough, for the crown , the scepter and the cross ball represent a vast territory and the accompanying population and assets. Even the king can lie, entangle or play rogue without hesitation - but the daughter of a marquis or earl cannot. The appeal of this.

But in contrast, there has never been an eternal friend-enemy relationship between countries. Maybe they are allies today and enemies tomorrow. Therefore, a queen will always be a foreigner who needs to be wary and wary in the court. People are looking forward to her. She wanted to give birth to the heir of the kingdom as soon as possible, but if the king showed affection and closeness to her, the queen mother and the officials would all be disturbed because they were worried that the queen would use her influence on the king to interfere in national affairs. , allowing the king to consider the interests of her mother country more than her own.

So, at this point, you may understand why I say that the best choice for Louis XIV is to marry the Duke of Orleans' eldest daughter, Princess Marie Orleans, to Carlos II of Spain. ——In fact, if the eldest princess Elizabeth had not been promised to King Carl XI of Sweden, the Spaniards should have asked for the eldest princess. Although Spain has inevitably fallen into weakness, it is still Habsburg after all. The most powerful arm.

Due to Louis XIV's insistence, the eldest princess, the eldest princess, and the crown prince were all educated together. No, it should be said that the two girls were educated even earlier than the crown prince, because before the attack on the Netherlands, the eldest princess's The marriage was decided, and education was also put on the agenda. As her closest partner, the eldest princess was also fortunate to have teachers and courses that ordinary noble ladies could not achieve - who was their teacher? It's Colbert, it's Prince Conti, it's Michel (the father of the Marquis of Lois, Minister of War)...etc., they are not learning, but absorbing as much as possible from their past experience - according to According to the king's request, they must let the eldest princess and eldest princess understand their identities, what they must do, and what they will do in the future, and even tell them how they should treat their husbands from a man's standpoint.

These lessons were conducted in secret. No one knew about it except the Queen Mother, the Queen and the Duchess of Orleans, as well as the parties involved. For this, the king used Elario. This was the king's kindness to the girls, and also Cruel, because they didn't even have a carefree childhood.

Therefore, the princess knew very well that if her uncle finally agreed to the Spanish envoy's proposal, there would be nothing wrong with her. Once she became the wife of Carlos II (she couldn't help but tremble when she thought about this), if she just An ordinary daughter of a duke would probably be looking forward to becoming the Queen of Spain with great joy, but she knew that just like the crown prince, the ministers explained and analyzed the situation of the monarchs of various countries in detail to them. Carlos II As a branch of Habsburg, the King of Spain was of course highlighted. She knew that Carlos II was a deformed fool.

But it was such a deformed fool that the marriage contract between them would be beneficial to France. As mentioned before, the Spanish envoys should have brought up the marriage earlier, but they did not do so. On the one hand, it was because Flanders was at that time. The war has begun, partly because of the obstruction of the regent Don Juan - because the queen has the right to assist the king in handling state affairs, and even once she becomes the queen mother, she can be listed among the regents, just like Louis XIV's Queen Anne Queen Mother, Queen Mother Hedwig of Charles XI, Queen Mother Maria of Charles II.

But although Don Juan's obstruction was successful once, after France achieved such a glorious victory, the call for choosing a French queen for Carlos II became stronger. Patinho's departure and return reflected the The tug-of-war between the two was finally won by the ministers.

While the princess was trembling in her father's arms, she tried hard to say to herself, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you are just marrying a fool, even if he...he is not that good-looking, but how can anything be perfect in the world? After she accepted the people's support, she should make sacrifices for France. Moreover, precisely because Carlos II was a fool, as long as she married, she could manage to obtain part of the king's rights... If she gave birth to an heir, then Spain The king has Bourbon blood.

"Father, Father..." She hugged the Duke of Orleans' arm tightly and shouted softly: "How much I love you, Father, I don't want to leave you... Please don't leave me...Father, I love you." You...don't go, don't leave..."

Hearing his daughter's words that seemed to be babbled, the Duke of Orleans smiled. He let his daughter hug him and sat on the edge of the bed in an awkward posture: "I will not leave you, madam," he said in a way that others would look at for a moment. He was so frightened that he thought the Duke of Orleans had been transformed into a devil and said in a gentle tone: "I won't leave, even if others beat me. I will stay with you tonight until you no longer need me."

"Why don't I need you?"

"Because only the flowers will leave the branches," said the Duke of Orleans. At this time, he couldn't help but remember the Queen Mother jokingly mentioning that Louis declared that he would keep the eldest princess Elizabeth until she was twenty years old before marrying her to Sweden. , everyone present laughed, except the Duke of Orleans, because he thought of his eldest princess. The eldest princess would not stay with him for long, and how could he be willing to give up his own so quickly and easily? What about handing over your daughter? His first impression of the princess was a swaddle in the cradle. In the swaddle was a baby that reminded him of milk pudding. It was white, soft and sweet: "You are my rose, you are my lily." "Flower," said the Duke, "I will never leave you unless you leave me."

The eldest princess didn't say anything, she just buried her face in her father's arm. Her father's words were so soft, but they made her heart stronger. Although she was still a little jealous of the eldest princess Elizabeth, she was also jealous. She has the best father in the world, better than she imagined. If the king asked her to marry to Spain, she would immediately agree and would never embarrass her father. She would even oppose the king's decision and let the king treat her. angry.

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The portrait was finally displayed at the banquet a week later. Although Juan Patiño worked for Duke Don Juan, he was still loyal to the king. He was also worried because the situation of Carlos II was already well known. The King of France might not agree to the marriage or ask for a high reward - so instead of rashly coming directly to the King and handing over the marriage proposal, he tried to spread the word widely in Versailles and Paris. Louis XIV may still have considerations about Louis XIV, but Spain is indeed the best marriage partner for ministers. Otherwise, Louis XIV would not have a Spanish mother and wife.

Moreover, according to tradition, Carlos II's wife should be the eldest princess of Louis XIV. After their request was unsuccessful, they took a step back and asked for the eldest princess of the Duke of Orleans. This also made many French people proud, as if they were again A victory was achieved against Spain. In this way, even if Louis XIV had other ideas, his ministers and nobles would work hard to facilitate the marriage.

Patinho's plan was half successful. There were rumors in the palace. Some people even thought that they should find a Spanish teacher for the eldest princess. Although the eldest princess and the eldest princess had both learned Spanish before, as a queen, , you must be proficient in the Spanish language, as well as various etiquette in the Spanish court - the French court was still very unruly when Louis XIII, until Princess Anne of Spain, who is now the Queen Mother, introduced the Spanish court etiquette. Bringing it here, we have all the rules and requirements we see now. It is conceivable that the requirements for etiquette and style in the Spanish court will only become more stringent.

Louis XIV pinched a golden-red nectarine and lowered his eyes. He saw his younger brother, the Duke of Orleans, clenching his fist tightly. The eldest princess looked pale, but she was still strong and did not lose her composure on the spot. The eldest princess left. He came to her side and took her arm. Karl XI looked at the eldest princess worriedly. The queen mother looked unpredictable, and the queen hugged the Duchess of Orleans' shoulders. In fact, Louis XIV's attitude towards the palace was Control, they have already known Patiño's plan, but Patiño's behavior is something they cannot stop and hinder - to put it simply, as long as the Spaniards are willing to propose marriage, if the eldest princess Elizabeth is not yet engaged , then the king may not be able to convince his subjects.

Patinho's eyes swept across the crowd and paused briefly on Princess Mary. Compared with Carlos II, even if the latter was his king, he had to say that the two standing together were like They are more angels than demons. The king and his brother of France are both as handsome as gods, and their children have also inherited their beauty. Not to mention the eldest princess, although the eldest princess is still a ten-year-old child, But she can also see how moving she will be in the future - her eyes and hair are dark, which makes her skin white and almost transparent. Maybe it's because she was sick a while ago, but she looks like that. She was so frail that everyone who saw her couldn't help but cross their chests and ask God to bless her.

But as an envoy, completing one's mission is the most important. As for personal morality and empathy, how can it outweigh loyalty to the country and the king? Patiño could only promise in his heart that if the princess became the Queen of Spain, he would still be loyal to her before she caused any harm to Spain for France.

Louis XIV walked down slowly. He was still holding the peach, but his eyes never left the portrait. It would be no exaggeration to say that this portrait that shocked the French court was the ten-year-old Louis XIV. Carlos II, it can be seen that the painter who painted this portrait is not only skilled and delicate, but also has an extremely smart mind. In this portrait, Carlos II looks fine - although the The figure is not very beautiful, and it pales in comparison in front of Louis, but he looks like a somewhat unhappy little king. Carlos II in the portrait is wearing a black velvet jacket and white tights that are common in the Spanish court. , black shoes, a necklace hanging on his chest, a long sword on his waist, one hand on the small table beside him, and the other hand holding silk or a letter. The reason why he looks a little unhappy is that we all know that people are angry. When looking at someone, they will unconsciously droop the corners of their mouth and retract their chin. This is the case with Carlos II in the painting. The artist can let the person in the painting freeze on this expression, and then he can naturally draw his scary big chin. Slightly bulging.

Carlos II's protruding eyes due to frequent epileptic seizures and drooping eyelashes were covered up, and the artist deliberately depicted his fluffy and lush hair, tall nose, and handsome eyebrows - said To put it too much, some people may still think that Carlos II is a good man with the majesty of a king.

Louis XIV knew that in this era, portraits, especially those of nobles and kings, would be beautified, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that a portrait like this was deliberately deceptive - if his spies had not sent the real Carlos In the portrait of Carlos II, Louis XIV probably could not imagine that the Spaniards were so shameless - in the portrait of the secret agent, Carlos II did not have a face that could be called a human at all!

But the king only took a few steps and passed by the people surrounding him. Even Prince Condé, Colbert, or other important ministers and nobles all showed expressions of approval and joy. Of course, towards them For a country, this marriage is quite worthwhile. It's not that they stay out of it so it doesn't matter, but that for a country, the weight of a girl is too light.

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