Does Louis XIV have descendants ?

How the line passes to Spain

Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV, ascends the Spanish throne at the beginning of the 18th century. The branch he founds establishes itself there permanently, and the current Spanish royal family descends from it. This is the most direct and least contested link between Louis XIV and living individuals today. I deliberately stop here : the rest falls under dynastic debates in which this site does not take sides.

Descending from a king does not mean inheriting a throne

These are two separate questions. The first is genealogical and can be documented. The second is political and legal, and France has not had a monarchy for a long time. Visitors who ask the question to the lecturers often leave with this distinction, which is more interesting than the answer itself. See why the kings are buried here.

What the basilica preserves of them

Less than one might think. The bodies of the Bourbons were destroyed in 1793, when the tombs were opened to recover the lead from the coffins, and what was recovered in 1817 is mixed in the ossuary of the crypt, behind a plaque bearing the list of sovereigns. There is therefore no family burial site to visit. See where the body of Louis XIV is and the desecration of 1793.

What you see instead

The series of medieval and Renaissance recumbent figures, which is the true treasure of the place: Dagobert, Clovis and Childebert, Charles V the Wise, Louis XII and Anne of Brittany with their transi, Francis I and Claude of France, Henry II and Catherine de Medici, and Bertrand du Guesclin at the king’s feet. The details are on the recumbent figures, one by one.

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