Philip V was king of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign is the longest in the history of the Spanish monarchy, surpassi
Portrait by Jean Ranc, c. 1723
Louis of France, le Grand Dauphin, and his wife Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria with their three sons: Louis, le Petit Dauphin, Philippe, Duke of Anjou and Charles, Duke of Berry. Painting by Pierre Mignard, 1687.
Proclamation of Philip V as King of Spain in the Palace of Versailles on 16 November 1700
A young Maria Luisa of Savoy holding a miniature portrait of her husband, Philip V
Charles II was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, his death without children resulted in the 1701 to 1714 War of the Spanis
Philip V of Spain
…French throne after his father and his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was not expected to become a monarch, but his great-uncle King Charles II of Spain was childless. Philip's father had a strong claim to the Spanish throne, but since he and his elder brother were expected to inherit the French throne…
Portrait by Juan Carreño de Miranda, c. 1685
Charles as a child, c. 1673
Mariana of Austria by Diego Velázquez, c. 1656, Regent for Charles during his minority
Charles's illegitimate half-brother, John Joseph of Austria, whose political feud with his mother undermined the stability of his regime