Louis XV of France

Louis XV became King of France on 1 September 1715 at age five, succeeding his great-grandfather Louis XIV after the longest reign in French history. His grand-uncle Philippe II served as regent until Louis reached thirteen in 1723, and Cardinal Fleury ran the kingdom as chief minister until 1743, when the king finally took sole control. His nearly 59-year reign - second longest in France - saw military blunders that cost the country dearly: he gave back the Austrian Netherlands won at Fontenoy in 1745, then lost New France to Britain and Spain after the disastrous Seven Years' War in 1763, though he did bring Lorraine and Corsica into the kingdom. Historians generally condemn his rule as incompetent and extravagant, arguing he drained the treasury, discredited absolute monarchy, and wrecked France's standing abroad, though a few scholars contend he was popular in his time and smeared later by revolutionaries. He died 10 May 1774, leaving his grandson Louis XVI a state on the brink of financial collapse and desperate for reform - the scaffold already being built.