Death of the Regent Philippe of Orleans

February 11, 1723

The Regent of France, who had guided the kingdom through Louis XV's minority with intelligence, debauchery, and John Law, collapsed at Versailles in the arms of a mistress. His experiment with collegial government died with him. The boy-king, now thirteen, was declared of age and handed to cardinals. Cardinal Fleury would govern France quietly and competently for the next twenty years in the Regent's shadow.