And my guess is that an intelligent and ambitious Philippe also seemed like a more viable threat to a living Louis than any of Louis' direct descendants.
That, and I don't think Louis ever got over the Fronde he experienced as a child, with the awareness his uncle Gaston was the chief Frondeur and always had been. Whether or not he really nixed brother Philippe's military career once it became clear Philippe actually had some talent as a soldier, or whether as his contemporaries suspected he was secretly pleased Philippe was so flamboyant and gay because that made him a less likely candidate to be seen as a rival King: that distrust and awareness of the Fronde went deep. And he actually liked his brother. His nephew, otoh...
Re: Miscellaneous
Date: 2024-03-06 07:48 am (UTC)That, and I don't think Louis ever got over the Fronde he experienced as a child, with the awareness his uncle Gaston was the chief Frondeur and always had been. Whether or not he really nixed brother Philippe's military career once it became clear Philippe actually had some talent as a soldier, or whether as his contemporaries suspected he was secretly pleased Philippe was so flamboyant and gay because that made him a less likely candidate to be seen as a rival King: that distrust and awareness of the Fronde went deep. And he actually liked his brother. His nephew, otoh...
Re: Miscellaneous
Date: 2024-03-08 03:33 am (UTC)