In the last days of April 1774, Louis XV returned from Petit Trianon with a few members of his inner circle, including Madame du Barry. Over the following days, the king began complaining of feeling unwell but nevertheless continued on his usual hunting trips. However, by the 28th April the king was still ill, so his First Doctor was summoned. On the doctor's orders, the king was removed back to Versailles.
Once returned to his gilded palace, the king was placed on a camp-bed in his own bedchamber. Usually, he would be surrounded by a throng of ambitious courtiers but on this day they had been replaced by bickering doctors. These men of science could not agree on the diagnosis - and consequently on how to treat him. After almost an entire day of arguing back and forth, they decided on their usual course of action: blood-letting.
The king was first bled on the 29th April in the morning. Not long after, at around 10.30, it became apparent that the king was suffering from smallpox. Smallpox was a very common disease in the 18th century but was no less deadly for that. Louis XV had never been exposed to smallpox before and as such had not developed immunity from the disease. When the news inevitably seeped out through the bedchambers' walls, the courtiers' reactions were mixed. Some were rather relieved; after all, since smallpox was so well-known, it was thought that the doctors could cure the king of it. Others, on the other hand, were concerned at both the king's age and his lack of immunity to the disease.
Amongst themselves, the courtiers immediately took to scheming according to their own advantages. Madame du Barry's supporters were insisting that the disease was not something to worry about; they absolutely refused that the king should have need of the last rites. On the other hand, the Duc de Choiseul and his supporters were pressing for the Grand Almoner to be summoned at once - not because they were particularly concerned about the king's disease, but rather because if the king received the last sacrament, then he would have to send away Madame du Barry.
The next days were particularly unpleasant for the king. His fever grew worse as did his headaches. As if this was not bad enough, his body soon began to break out into the tell-tale pustules of smallpox. Still, by the 1 May his condition did not worsen which led to some hope for his medical entourage. As the pus was lanced from his body, Louis seemed to get better. While the king's health was wavering, he summoned Madame du Barry on the 4 May. By this point, the king must have known that he was likely not going to recover because he took formal leave of his mistress - while declaring that he would not repeat the scenes after Metz. By these words, the young woman was made perfectly clear that she should not expect to be called back if the king recovered.
Meanwhile, the doctors were waiting for the decisive point in the disease which came about a week later. On 8 May, the symptoms suddenly reappeared - and worse than before. The fever grew higher while the king's pulse was abnormally fast; it also became impossible to lance his pustules. It is hardly a wonder that the king became delirious at this point. While the doctors were scrambling to save him, it quickly became evident that the king was going to die.
The king was not quite alone in his demise. The Abbé Maudoux, the king's confessor, remained with him which caused the Abbé to also catch smallpox (he eventually recovered). The two had many conversations during the king's illness. His daughters, Mesdames Adélaide, Victoire and Sophie, were with him too. Although the doctors urged the royal princesses to withdraw to avoid contagion, they refused and shut themselves up with the king. It should be said that none of the women had ever had smallpox themselves and thus risked their very lives by attending to their dying father.
The disease was - and is - extremely contagious. Fifty people in the palace caught the disease; it was said that they had caught it by merely walking in the Hall of Mirrors.
The remaining pustules turned black while the pustules in his throat become so sore that he could no longer swallow. It was a terrible sight to behold. The man who had long been considered the handsomest man at his own court had been turned into a hideous effigy of himself. Finally, the doctors admitted defeat and sent for the king's Grand Almoner who administered the last rites. While the king was definitely ill, he was not quite motionless. When the priest arrived, the king - albeit with difficulty - managed to get out of his bed himself and kneel to receive his final sacrament. Once the king had received that, the official repentance was read aloud. This was done by the Grand Almoner who formally asked pardon on the king's behalf for any wrongs he might have done.
By 10 April, the king was still conscious - although he might have wished it otherwise. He did not move and by around 11 o'clock, it was clear that the king's end was near. Due to the risk of contagion, a signal had been agreed upon, to announce the king's death. A candle was placed in the window which was to be blown out at the moment of death. At a quarter past three in the afternoon, the candle was finally extinguished.
While the courtiers rushed to congratulate the new king and queen, the corpse of the newly deceased king had already begun til rot. Due to the condition of the king's body - caused both by the disease and the useless remedies administered by the doctors - the decomposition was fairly swift to set in. Many refused to enter the chamber until finally a few did - all died not long after. This caused the doctors to refuse to embalm the king's body as was otherwise custom for a dead monarch; he would be the only Bourbon king not to be embalmed. Thus, Louis XV's remains were swiftly taken from Versailles to his grave in Saint-Denis without much pomp.
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