Philip V of Spain

Who was Philip V of Spain?

Philip V 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 assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.

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 the Grand Dauphin and Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could not 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 strongly 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.