André-Hercule de Fleury
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André-Hercule de Fleury was a French Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Fréjus and as the chief minister of Louis XV. He was created a cardinal in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII.
Cardinal de Fleury, official portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Château de Versailles
The duc d'Orléans' Council with Cardinal Fleury
Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon
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Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a prince du sang.
André-Hercule de Fleury
…d'Orléans in 1723, Louis XV came of age. Fleury, although already seventy years of age, deferred his own supremacy by suggesting the appointment of Louis Henri, duke of Bourbon, as first minister. Fleury was present at all interviews between Louis XV and his titular first minister, and on Bourbon's attempt to break through…
Portrait by the Circle of Alexis Simon Belle
Chantilly soft-paste porcelain teapot 1735-1740