Philip V of Spain

Biography

Louis XIV's grandson Philippe de France became Philip V of Spain on the death of Charles II — a bequest that triggered the War of the Spanish Succession. Melancholic, indecisive, and prone to depression, Philip was far from an inspiring war leader, but he proved tenacious in holding Spain against repeated Allied invasions. Despite losing Italy and the Southern Netherlands at Utrecht, he kept the Spanish crown he had been given, founding the Bourbon dynasty that rules Spain to this day. He later renounced the Spanish throne briefly (1724) before reclaiming it, and died having reigned longer than any other Spanish monarch.