Joseph had no idea that Queen Mary had set him up with a new "Matchmaking Scroll," and it was with a very young girl.
During the dinner, he cautiously prepared to continue dealing with his mother's relentless matchmaking, but the Queen only occasionally gave him a knowing look and didn't bring up the subject again. Instead, she mentioned some customs and cultures of Russia.
At the following ball, Joseph became the focal point of all the nobles' attention.
A Crown Prince, not yet sixteen, personally led his troops to consecutive victories over the armies of Prussia and Hanover on the battlefield. This prompted the nobility to continuously compare him with the Sun King, Louis XIV.
Some even went so far as to say, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will surely surpass the Sun King."
Previously when Louis XVI mentioned commissioning a statue for the Crown Prince, some ministers disapproved, given that the King himself didn't have an official public statue.