Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:13:12-3:14:08

Q&A: Choiseul could not see the King's secret policy

Choiseul had to implement France's public foreign policy without knowing that Louis XV maintained a separate and sometimes contradictory secret system.

Covert OperationsDiplomacyDuc de ChoiseulForeign PolicyFranceLouis XvSecret Du RoiStatecraftStrategic Coordination
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Question

What position did the Duc de Choiseul occupy, and how did Louis XV's secret diplomacy affect him?

Short answer

He was France's foreign minister and leading policy-maker, but the King withheld a separate secret foreign policy that repeatedly undercut his work.

Notes

Choiseul was foreign minister and the nearest functional equivalent to a prime minister in the French system. He designed and implemented policy through the official machinery of government. Louis XV did not tell him that the Secret du Roi was pursuing other objectives through private agents. Choiseul was therefore responsible for a national strategy that his own monarch was quietly undermining.