A Brief History of the Sun King, Louis the 15th

Philip served as regent for seven years before the stress of command and his incessant drinking caught up with him. Louis the fifteenth was an intelligent man, but he never took much interest in the royal administration. His favors to his buddies had political consequences. He was frittering away all the royal power the sun king had so carefully gathered. The nobility were regaining their position. Ambitious nobles filled the void. This created a dangerous level of administrative chaos.