Why did Louis XIV accept the Spanish crown for his grandson Philip?

When Charles II of Spain died in 1700, Louis XIV faced a difficult dilemma regarding the Spanish succession. Charles II’s will named Louis’s grandson, Philip, duc d’Anjou, as the sole heir to the entire, undivided Spanish inheritance.12

Louis XIV concluded that war was inevitable regardless of his decision. If he refused the will and adhered to the previously negotiated Partition Treaties, the Spanish inheritance would pass to the Habsburgs, and France would have been forced to fight to secure the territories promised to it under those treaties. By accepting the will, Louis ensured that the Spanish crown remained within the Bourbon family rather than passing to his rivals, the imperial Habsburgs. Consequently, he chose to acknowledge his grandson as Philip V, prioritizing the preservation of the inheritance for his dynasty over the risk of a general European conflict.12