This gave Madame de Prie an opening of which she was not slow to take advantage. The Russian alliance, she declared, to _Monsieur le Duc_, was quite out of the question, for the Princess Elizabeth was reported to be a true child of her mother, and would be certain to acquire a great influence over the young King, which would, of course, be directed by Catherine. But let the prince resign his own pretensions to the hand of Marie Leczinska in favour of his Sovereign, and not only would he escape a marriage which only a sense of the duty he owed his family was impelling him to contract, but he would secure a Queen who would owe everything to him, who had no support either in France or abroad, and whose character promised obedience and docility. The name of Marie Leczinska had already been erased from the list of marriageable princesses, on the ground that she belonged to a poor and dispossessed family; but, urged on by his mistress and Pâris-Duverney, _Monsieur le Duc_ immediately proceeded to advocate her claims. His proposal met with the most violent opposition from the Duc d’Orléans, who presented himself before Louis XV., with tears coursing down his cheeks, and endeavoured to persuade him from a marriage contrary, he declared, to the wishes of the nation; while the King of Sardinia, his Majesty’s grandfather, indignant at not having been consulted, addressed the most reproachful letters to the young monarch concerning the _mésalliance_ which he was about to commit. But Fleury, a word from whom would have had more weight with Louis XV. than the expostulations of all the kings and princes in Europe, excused himself from expressing an opinion, and on 27 May, 1725, his Majesty announced publicly, after dinner, his approaching marriage with Marie Leczinska. It was a great triumph for _Monsieur le Duc_ and his mistress. At one blow, so to speak, they had got rid of the Infanta and the dreaded influence of Philip V.; affianced the King to a princess who might before a year had elapsed bear him a son to stand between the Duc d’Orléans and the throne, and secured a Queen of France from whose influence they had nothing to fear and everything to hope.