Connected thus closely with the Orléans, Philip V. had everything to lose by events which excluded his allies from power. In January, 1724, he had abdicated in favour of the Prince of the Asturias, though the new king’s authority was merely nominal, and on the son’s death, some months later, the father resumed the Crown. Some writers maintain that this abdication was in fulfilment of a vow that he had made in 1720; others believe that it was intended to facilitate his designs on the French throne; and this is far from improbable. For it is certain that Philip had not abandoned the hopes which he had cherished since the death of his grandfather, and which the feeble health of Louis XV., the well-known incapacity of the new Duc d’Orléans, and the false reports of his partisans concerning the popularity which he enjoyed in Paris, served to sustain. But _Monsieur le Duc_ was determined to resist to the uttermost any such pretensions, if only from jealousy of the Orléans. Hence, Philip detested the new Prime Minister, who was well aware that his Catholic Majesty would employ all the influence he possessed at the Court of France to effect his overthrow. In the face of these dangers and embarrassments, it was only natural that _Monsieur le Duc_ should have proceeded at first with caution and moderation, and have gone as far as he could reasonably be expected to go to disarm the malice of his foes. Such a course, indeed, was dictated by the most elementary prudence. It served, however, no useful purpose beyond proving to him the futility of attempting to conciliate those whom nothing but a virtual renunciation of his authority would be likely to satisfy. The Duc d’Orléans, it is true, declared himself, in his own name and that of his party, perfectly willing for an immediate reconciliation, and offered to marry Mlle. de Sens, the youngest sister of his rival. But the conditions he desired to impose--the recall of Le Blanc and his restoration to the Ministry for War, and his own admission to every audience which _Monsieur le Duc_ had with the King--were quite impossible for the other to accept. However, the Prime Minster, on the advice of his mistress, begged to be excused from giving an immediate answer and demanded a few weeks for reflection. A brief truce followed, during which _Monsieur le Duc_ still further strengthened his reputation for impartiality by including a number of combatants from the opposite camp in an important promotion to the Ordre du Saint-Esprit. The new _cordons bleus_ also included the husband and personal friends of Madame de Prie, who, at the same time, obtained for herself a lodging in the Château of Versailles. This was a move of the first importance, since it enabled _Monsieur le Duc_ to have close at hand in every emergency the woman who was not only his mistress, but his most trusted counsellor.