Claim: Philip V of Spain reigned.

Philip V -LRB- Felipe V , Philippe , Filippo 19 December 1683 -- 9 July 1746 -RRB- was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 15 January 1724 , when he abdicated in favour of his son Louis , and from 6 September 1724 , when he reassumed the throne upon his son 's death , to his own death 9 July 1746 .   Before his reign , Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV . His father , Louis , the Grand Dauphin , had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700 . However , since neither the Grand Dauphin nor Philip 's older brother , Louis , Duke of Burgundy , could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne , King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will . It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe , such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it . Indeed , Philip 's accession in Spain provoked the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession , which continued until the Treaty of Utrecht forbade any future possibility of unifying the French and Spanish thrones .   Philip was the first member of the House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain . The sum of his two reigns , 45 years and 21 days , is the longest in modern Spanish history .