Luigi VI di Ludovicia

His Royal Highness

Louis VI of Ludovicia
Louis VI in young age
King of Ludovicia
Reign	2 march 1894 - 12 october 1936
Coronation	12 march 1894
Predecessor	Louis V
Successor	Louis VII
Prime Minister	see Prime ministers of Ludovicia
Personal informations
Born	3 january 1888 at Ludovicia, Kingdom of Ludovicia
Died	12 october 1936 at Ludovicia, Kingdom of Ludovicia
Burial	15 october at Cathedral of Saint Louis, Ludovicia, Kingdom of Ludovicia
Spouse	Juliette de La Roche
Issue	Alexandre Mathieu Louis François Louis Alexander, crown prince Eugénie Catherine
Full name	Louis Marie François
House	Orléans-Ludovicia
Father	Louis V
Mother	Blanche d'Orléans
Religion	Church of Ludovicia
Signature	---

Louis VI (Louis Marie François; 3 january 1888 - 12 october 1936) was king of Kingdom of Ludovicia from 1894 to 1936. He was nicknamed The Good.

Biography

First years

First son of king Louis V of Ludovicia and his wife, Blanche d'Orléans, Louis was born in 1888 at the Royal Palace in Ludovicia. He was baptized in the chapel of the Royal Palace of Ludovicia by the archbishop Jean Marie Besançon, with as godfather [[]], and as godmother [[]].

At the untimely death of his father in 1894, Louis ascended the throne of Ludovicia under the regency of his mother, Blanche d'Orléans, who was largely influenced by the example of his father and grandfather in France, trying to bring high french interference in state affairs of the realm, without ever fully succeeding: on his father's initiative Luigi V before his death, in fact, Louis VI was entrusted to the General Ludwig von Hepstain with the intent to route it to a military career. After the death of Louis V, his widow Blanche disposed for her son a change of tutor in the person of his private counselor Jean Louis Chantebreuil who however died the following year. On the advice of the french ambassador in the Kingdom of Ludovicia, the marquis of Lambaise, the queen mother appointed for his son a new tutor in the person of the hungarian immigrant Ferdinand Pásztor.

With his new teacher, Louis studied in particular law and foreign languages as english and german speaking fluently, in addition to italian, spanish and russian. At age 15, with a considerable cultural baggage accumulated, he decided to take along with Pásztor a Grand Tour in Europe, going on a visit to France, England, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary (in particular he visited Vienna, Prague and Budapest) and Sweden, finally returning home after two years, taking the opportunity to be present in some of the major princely courts of the time, where he was received with great honor with the intention of weaving diplomatic relations with his small state. During the period of his absence, he appointed a regency commission that would operate under the guidance of his mother, and that was composed also by prime minister [[]] and archbishop Clement Arnaud Florentin of Estrelle, with the task of carefully relationing to him all government activities.

The economic crisis and the marriage of salvation

Queen Juliette de La Roche in 1909

In 1891, the kingdom of Ludovica under the leadership of king Louis V had signed a pact with France, laying the foundation for modern co-operation between the two countries starting from a common basic cultural and historical identity. The agreements were providing to Ludovicia two valuable advantages: first, the official surrender of France to claim the possession of Ludovicia kingdom, then reconfirming officially independence. Second, the state had got a favorite channel for exports with France. Beyond the agreement, the clause of the recognition of the sovereignty of Ludovicia had required a substantial investment of money from the kingdom in favor to France, whom had promised that, thanks to the commercial advantages agreement, Ludovicia could recover needed in a short time. As the agreements proved altogether profiquous and favorable for part of the ludovician trade, actually the sudden release of such a large sum of money from state coffers had thrown the country to the brink of a deep economic crisis that threatened to squandering the wealth of the kingdom.

Since 1895, therefore, the queen mother Blanche dedicated herself to find her son recently came to the throne a worthy wife that could make a substantial dowry to save the state cash. The choice fell on Juliette de La Roche, the only daughter and heir of the marquis Alexandre de La Roche, who had been particular luck becoming the first owner of an electricity dealership (the company LRC), which subsequently Became statal property passing to the crown after the death of the owner. The couple is officially engaged in 1897 and married a lavish ceremony in the Cathedral of Saint Louis in Ludovicia in 1909. The marriage was first criticized by many for the fact that it to the lips of many had to solely serve to repair the state finances that were in distress, while others were opposed because the bride wasn't the an old generation aristocrat's daughter, but a member of the modern nobility that only from few decades had acquired the title of marquis in exchange of a sum of money. The marriage was however very happy for the young couple, and in particular the queen Juliette found a way to jump right into the hearts of his subjects actively dealing with national education and charity work.

World War I

Already in the late XIX century in Europe it was affecting the first symptoms of quelllo that would lead then to the outbreak of the First World War. When the French ambassador to Ludovicia came to the court of Louis VI in 1915 challenging the official request with which his country, by virtue of the agreed 1891, required support to the small kingdom to the war effort that the French Republic would have to bear after the signing of the act of belligerence, the sovereign listened carefully the proposals and immediately decided to convene a council of ministers to discuss the matter with the utmost urgency. While not a militarist, Louis VI was aware that the delicate position in which the Kingdom of Ludovicia was the end of the previous century, the subsequent economic crisis and the danger that could come Ludovicia overwhelmed commercially made much needed the support of the kingdom of Ludovicia to France as this would have also meant an economic engagement and a considerable effort of people at the front. It then created two strands, one said the "interventionists" led by prime minister Albert von Kreisbach (also minister of war) and the other of "pacifists" led by the archbishop of Ludovicia, monsieur Jean Eduard Piquet de Montreuil.

After extensive debates, Louis VI was resolved to accept the line of thought was called the "relative interventionism": the accord, presented directly by the sovereign, was intended as Ludovicia would never formally sign a declaration of war to the opposing powers to France in Europe, but would instead financially support the war efforts of the french, as well as providing a contingent of 15.000 men who were to be landed in Saint Jean de Monts in the Vendee (France) and they would take them in the war under french flag, so without official flags of the kingdom of Ludovicia. In return, the ludovician kingdom would keep its trading privileges with France during the war and would have the exclusive trade of some products with France, then engaging the French state to purchase such products solely from Ludovicia. The decision, strongly opposed by pacifists and ludoviciana church, actually had very positive effects on the local economy although entailed a costly sacrifice of human lives on the french front.

With the France's victory in 1918, although they can not directly participate in the peace conference held that year at Versailles (as it officially is that the kingdom had not taken part in the combats), the Ludovicia kingdom held great celebrations for the end of the war in the capital.

After the war

The years following the end of World War I, Louis VI represent for a particular period of splendor of his kingdom, because thanks to the abundant revenue during the war and the subsequent aid that he sent to France and later for the reconstruction of the country after the fighting, the state experienced a period of economic prosperity. Louis VI while not intending to celebrate the war, was able to revive nationalism and the role of the royal house of Orleans-Ludovicia through the distribution of many medals and honors to veterans of World War I returned from the French front.

Since 1924, then, he began to engage actively to exploit the money flowed into state coffers to boost all sectors extensively in crisis in the state, starting with the national health system by building a new hospital in Ludovicia, enhancing naval fleet commercial and military instance in port Royale, improving the port of Montmartre and conceding a first (and only in local history) devolution of central powers to the local governments in tax matters: the several counties of the realm, in fact, were able for the first After collecting the tax revenues on their own, holding back for local government 25%, while the remaining 75% was to be handed over to the central government within 60 days after the deadline, it will lose the accumulated economic privileges.

He died in the Royal Palace of Ludovicia in 1936.

Genealogy

Marriage and children

In 1909, the king Louis VI married the marquise Juliette de La Roche, unique daughter of a rich industrial, the marquess Alexander de La Roche. The couple had the following children:

• Alexandre Mathieu (b. & d. 1910)
• Louis François (1911-1929)
• Louis, crown prince (1912-1993), in 1965 married the countess Louise de Coulomb
• Eugénie Victoria Cécile (1915-1992), married ?
• Catherine Louise (1918-2009), married ?

Honours

National orders

• Grand Master and Knight Companion of the Order of Saint Louis
• Grand Master and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit
• Grand Master and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Ludovicia
• Grand Master and Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit

Foreigns orders

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Legion d'Honneur (France)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (United Kingdom)

Bibliography

• L. von Altbishofen, The great house of kings of Ludovicia from its origins to the present day, Ludovicia's Royal Print, 2015