Louis, Grand Dauphin in the context of Louise Françoise, Princess of Condé

Louise Françoise, Duchess of Bourbon (French pronunciation: [lwiz fʁɑ̃swaz]; 1 June 1673 – 16 June 1743) was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan. She was said to have been named after her godmother, Louise de La Vallière, the woman her mother had replaced as the King's mistress. Before her marriage, she was known at court as Mademoiselle de Nantes.

Married at the age of 11, Louise Françoise became known as Madame la Duchesse, a style she kept as a widow. She was Duchess of Bourbon and Princess of Condé by marriage. She was later a leading member of the cabale de Meudon, a group centered on her half-brother Louis, Grand Dauphin. While her son Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, was Prime Minister of France, she tried to further her political influence, but to little avail.

Philip V (Spanish: Felipe V; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was king of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years, 9 months and 8 days) is the longest in the history of the Spanish monarchy, surpassing Philip IV. Although his ascent to the throne precipitated the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip V instigated many important reforms in Spain, most especially the centralization of power of the monarchy and the suppression of regional privileges, via the Nueva Planta decrees, and restructuring of the administration of the Spanish Empire on the Iberian Peninsula and its overseas regions.

Philip was born into the French House of Bourbon during the reign of his grandfather King Louis XIV. He was the second son of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and was third in line to the French throne after his father and his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was not expected to become a monarch, but his great-uncle King Charles II of Spain was childless. Philip's father had a strong claim to the Spanish throne, but since Philip's father and elder brother were expected to inherit the French throne, Charles named Philip as his heir in his will. Philip succeeded in 1700 as the first Spanish monarch of the House of Bourbon.

Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy (16 August 1682 – 18 February 1712), was the eldest son of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria and grandson of the reigning French king, Louis XIV. He is commonly known as le Petit Dauphin to distinguish him from his father. When his father died in April 1711, the Duke of Burgundy became the official Dauphin of France. Described by his contemporaries as a pious, intellectual, gentle and shy man who was faithful and loving to his wife, he never reigned, as he died in 1712 while his grandfather was still on the throne. Upon the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the Duke of Burgundy's third son became Louis XV.

Maria Anna Christine Victoria of Bavaria (French: Marie Anne Victoire; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as la Grande Dauphine. The Dauphine was regarded a "pathetic" figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly. She is the ancestor of all Spanish monarchs following her son Philip V.