Louis XIX (3 July 1859- 19 March 1934) was born as Prince Louis Charles Frederick Alexander, and was the only son of King Louis XVIII. He got the throne when his father died of natural causes in 1888. He served on the French throne for 46 years and was the king during the time of World War I and Pre-WWII Era.
| Louis XIX | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King Louis XIX by François Pascal Simon Gérard, 1918 | |
| King of France and of Navarre | |
| Reign | 1 April 1888- 19 March 1934 |
| Coronation | 11 September 1888 |
| Predecessor | Louis XVIII |
| Successor | Louis XX |
| Spouse | Infanta Maria Josepha |
| Issue | |
|
Dauphin Louis Philippe Louis XX | |
| Full name | |
| Louis Charles Frederick Alexander de France | |
| House | Bourbon |
| Father | Louis XVIII |
| Mother | Maria Ana |
| Born | 3 July 1859 Tullieries Palace, Paris, France |
| Died | 19 March 1934 (aged 75) Palace of Versailles, France |
| Burial | November 9 1936
|
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Early Life[]
Louis XIX was born on 3 July 1859 and was the long awaited heir to the French and Navarre throne. His birth was a bittersweet moment for Dauphin Louis XVIII because his mother, Maria Ana died in childbirth the same day he was born. When Louis was just fourteen years old his grandfather the king, died. His father was the new King of France and he became the Dauphin.
Marriage & Reign of King Louis XVIII[]
Louis married in 1877 to a Spanish Princess whom everyone in France hated. She was the daughter of the King that invaded France. When the marriage was announced it was decided the couple needed a private wedding ceremony or the public might chant awful insults at Maria Josepha, his newly wedded wife. People were angry not just because of her Spanish heritage but because they felt the French kings were becoming less French and more mixed with other countries of Europe.
War on Spain reached a stalemate in which both countries made a 5 year armistice once the 5 years were over the war would reoccur. This was to help both countries pay off large amounts of debt and help the economy. These 5 years of peace let the couple bond and start to try having children without the public getting angry. In the fourth year of peace, the couple had produced an heir to the throne. They named him Louis Philippe and he was born on 11 November 1882.
After the stalemate armistice was expired both countries fought again and Dauphin Louis distanced himself further and further away from his wife. He sometimes occasionally insulted her in public saying racist remarks about her heritage.
In 1885 a daughter was born to the couple, that died twenty four hours after birth. The unnamed child was buried at the Royal Crypt in the Tulleries Palace. Then in 1886 Maria Josepha gave birth to Louis Alexander who later outlived his elder brother and became King Louis XX. When Louis Philippe was five years old, his grandfather King Louis XVIII died and his father became King Louis XX. He then was given the title of Louis, Dauphine of France.
Reign & Fourth Franco-Spanish War 1888-1911[]
One of his first commands as King was to declare war on Spain on 15 May 1888, soon afterwards the National Assembly took away the King's right to declare war without their support and without a proper coronation beforehand. Spain was not very happy with invading the country that their daughter, Maria Josepha lived in, but they were left with no other option but to scare France out of the war. In January 1889 both countries started invading each other. It was not until 1890 that is appeared France was winning. Maria Josepha wrote to her parents, the King and Queen of Spain to try and get them to negotiate a resolution with France around Summer of 1890.
The Siege of Aquitaine was won by France in Winter 1890 which weakened the Spanish army. Maria Josepha was so frightened that her husband the King of France would kill her family and friends in Spain, that she sent French money to Spain in March of 1891.
France was still winning and pushed Spain as far south as the mountains of Pyrenees. Fighting in the mountains was a large struggle for both countries. Spain kept fighting, refusing to surrender and Maria Josepha kept secretly sending over large amounts of money to Spain to keep her family safe. Her family accepted the money and promised her lands in Aquitaine.
It was 1893 when Spain's armies started getting stronger than that of the French army. The French navy later attacked large Spanish cities and a Conquest to the Capital of Madrid happened in June of 1894.
Infanta Maria Josepha was arrested on 25 September 1894 when the money that being sent this time through the mountains was inspected. All of the money (1,000,000 crowns) was found which was twice as much as her dowry. King Louis refused to divorce his wife and didn't think she was fit to stand trial. She was under house arrest in Tulleries Palace until 1911 when France won and was given back Aquitaine, along with various Southern French territories. Both countries recognized the Pyrenees Mountains as neutral and uninhabitable territory that neither country owned.
Maria Josepha got a proper trial that lasted for 80 days in 1911. Infanta Maria Josepha was spared execution but was exiled for life in Switzerland. She died in 1943 at the age of 82.
World War I[]
With the outbreak of World War I starting in June of 1914, countries in Europe started picking sides. France did not ally with anyone until German started invaded France via through Belgium. By 12 September, the French, with assistance from the British forces, halted the German advance east of Paris at the First Battle of the Marne (5–12 September), and pushed the German forces back some 50 km. The last days of this battle signified the end of mobile warfare in the west. The French offensive into Southern Alsace, launched on 20 August with the Battle of Mulhouse, had limited success. France went into more and more debt with every year it was in the Great War. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I and Germany then had to pay off all of the war, making France's economy much better than it was before.
Women's Rights[]
On 30 November 1919 the National Assembly had their first elections and were elected by the people (instead of being appointed by Dukes). The requirements of voting were that you had to be 18 years old, own property in France, be a natural born citizen of France, and male. Elections were held, "at his majesties pleasure" meaning they determined when another election would be however an election had to happen at least every ten years.
The 1/2 Law was passed in 1934 that let women have the right to vote but only one-half of their vote was counted while each man got 100% of their vote counted the women only received 50% of a vote and they could not be elected into office. They also had to vote in a separate building from the men. It was not until 1944 that women got the right to vote and the term for the National Assembly was fixed at five years.
Death []
King Louis XIX died on 19 March 1934 before the one-half Law passed in the National Assembly.
He died of natural causes.
Issues []
Louis XIX married Infanta Maria Josepha, daughter of the King of Spain, on 8 October 1877 when she was 16 and he was 18. Maria Josepha was the most hated woman in France since Spain invaded France years back. They had a very unhappy marriage yet still had three children. They had the following issues:
1. Louis Philippe (11 November 1882- 11 March 1920)
2. Daughter (21 March 1885- 22 March 1885)
3. Louis Alexander (23 March 1886- 24 May 1964)