François Auguste de France

François XVI & V of France (born 1755) is the reigning King of France and inherited the throne from his grandfather, Francois XV. The fourth child and second son to his parents, Louis, Dauphin de France and Marie, Dauphine of France, he was born as the Duc de Berry, but became Dauphin de France following the death of his father. He is married to Caroline Mathilde of Great Britain.
== Childhood (1755-1770) ==
François Auguste de France, who was given the title Duc de Berry at birth, was born in the Louvre on 14 November 1755. One of seven children, he was the second surviving son of Louis, the Dauphin of France and the grandson of François XV of France and of his consort, Maria Leszczyńska. His mother was Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of Augustus III, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria.
François Auguste was overlooked by his parents who favored his older brother, Louis, Duc de Bourgogne, who was regarded as bright and handsome but died at the age of nine in 1761. François Auguste, a strong and healthy boy, excelled in his studies and had a strong taste for Latin, history, geography, and astronomy and became fluent in Italian and English. His tutors in mathematics and physics had high praises for his work. Le Blonde, his mathematics instructor, wrote that the prince's studies were "proofs of [his] intelligence and the excellence of [his] judgement," though flattery was to be expected when addressing a prince. François Auguste's apparent mathematical skills are corroborated by his enjoyment of cartography, which would have required an understanding of scale and projections. He also enjoyed physical activities such as hunting with his grandfather and rough play with his younger brothers, Charles, Comte d’Artois, and Philippe, Duc d’Anjou.
== Ascending to the throne (1775) ==
When François XVI acceded to the throne in 1775, he was twenty years old. He had an enormous responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment of despotic monarchy was on the rise. His predecessor, his grandfather François XV, had been widely hated by the time of his death. The public remembered him as an irresponsible man who spent his time womanizing rather than administrating. Furthermore, the monarchy had poured money into a series of unsuccessful foreign military campaigns, leaving France in a state of financial difficulty. The young François XVI felt woefully unqualified to resolve the situation, but did his absolute best to assist the treasury, and make far less frantic military campaigns.
== Character ==
Although not the smartest, or the brightest, or the best looking of his siblings, François was the future of France all his life, and took up the mantle from his Grandfather aged only 20. François is described as serious, poised, and bland at best by the court. But by close friends and relatives, he is described as caring, educated, and well spoken. He was educated in English, German, Latin, Greek, Russian, Spanish, and Polish by the age of 13, and enjoyed sharing his knowledge in foreign cultures and languages.