# Louis François, Duke of Anjou

Louis François of France, Duke of Anjou (14 June 1672 – 4 November 1672) (French: Louis François de France) (Spanish: Luis Francisco de Francia) was the sixth child and youngest son of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain. As such he was a Fils de France and a Prince of France and as the son of Maria Theresa of Spain he was Infante of Spain. Louis François was one of five children who died in infancy, except for his eldest brother, Louis, Grand Dauphin. Infant Louis died at the age of 4 months and 21 days old of the death of Louis may have been due to inbreeding.
Louis François was given the surname of de France and was addressed as His Royal Highness.
He was the duke of Anjou as Louis IV.

## Life

Louis François was born on 14 June 1672 at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He was created Duke of Anjou at birth, a title previously vacant since the death of his older brother, Philippe Charles, who had died the previous year. At court everyone called him the second Duke of Anjou. The birth of the Duke of Anjou was a relief to the king and queen, who had lost four children.
At the time, France was at war with the Spanish Netherlands, and even while on the battlefield, King Louis XIV was concerned about his son and wrote to Madame de La Motte from Utrecht in July: "I am glad to hear that my son, the Duke of Anjou, is in good health. I hope it will continue."
But the Prince's health soon showed signs of deterioration most likely of inbreeding as his parents were first cousins. The king remotely approved that his son's wet nurse be Màrie d' Velntion who moved to France.
Despite the care, the little prince's health did not improve. He was hastily baptized on 1 November and given the first name Louis François Charles. He died on 4 November 1672 at the age of four months at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The king wrote to the Prince of Condé on 7 November :
   " My cousin, the sole subject of this letter is the loss we have suffered of my son, the Duke of Anjou. "
He was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, while his heart was buried in the abbey of Val-de-Grâce. Thus in fifteen months the King lost three of his children. Mourning was not worn for children under seven, and signs of grief would be considered a lamentable weakness if continued beyond a few days.
The Queen believed that the deaths of her children were God's will, to save their souls from earthly sins. The King, on the other hand, could not help but think that this was divine punishment for his extramarital affairs.
The Princess Palatine, the young wife of the Duke of Orléans since 1671 and a recent arrival at the French court, blamed the physicians for the successive deaths :
   " Here, no child is safe, for the physicians have sent the Queen's five children to the other world. "
Died as an infant, the young Louis-François does not appear in any portraits. While medical treatments and choices may have contributed to sending the royal couple's children to the grave, the kinship of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Austria as first cousins certainly played a role, given the children's fragile physical condition.

## Title

* 14 June 1672 – 4 November 1672 : His Royal Highness the Duke of Anjou

## Ancestry

Louis François's paternal grandparents were Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, he was descended, on his mother's side, from Philip IV of Spain and Élisabeth of France. Louis XIII and Élisabeth de Bourbon were siblings (the children of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici), as were Anne of Austria and Philip IV, who were the children of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. That means that he had only four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, and that his double-cousin parents had the same coefficient of co-ancestry (1/4) as if they were half-siblings.
Ancestors of Louis François, Duke of Anjou :