Louis XII (French: Louis XII, June 27, 1462 – January 1, 1515) was the eighth king of the House of Valois in France (reigned 1498-1515), known as the "Father of the People". He belongs to the Orleans branch of the dynasty. Before ascending to the throne, the title was Duke of Orleans (known as Louis II, starting from 1465).
Louis XII strives to become a good king of the people. He made many efforts in this regard, such as reforming the judicial system and reducing taxes. These actions earned him the title of "Father of the People". However, Machiavelli regarded Louis XII as a typical example of a failed monarch in his "On the Monarchy".

Louis XII was the son of Duke Charles I of Orleans and Mary of Clevis, born in Boulevard. His grandfather was Louis I, the younger brother of King Charles VI of France, and also one of the greatest court poets in France. After his father's death in 1465, Louis inherited the title of Duke of Orleans.

In 1476, Duke Louis of Orleans was engaged to his niece Jeanne of France, who was the daughter of Louis XI, the cousin of Louis. Jeanne is devout but disabled. After the death of King Charles VIII of France without heirs in 1498, this engagement was cancelled, and Louis married Anne of Brittany, the widow of Charles VIII, and was able to inherit the throne. Anne was the sole heir of Duke Fran ç ois I of Brittany, and Louis XII's political marriage ensured that the Duchy of Brittany and Burgundy remained within the territory of France. After the death of Anne in Brittany, Louis XII eventually married Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII of England.

Louis XII fully inherited Charles VIII's plan to conquer Italy, and his goals were even greater than those of Charles VIII. The Italian War became a European war involving many major powers during his reign, and for nearly half a century it left France unable to extricate itself.
In 1499, at the invitation of the Venetian Republic, which attempted to dominate Italy, Louis XII led his army into Italy and attacked the Duchy of Milan, the biggest obstacle to Venice's development in the Lombardy region. He successfully conquered Milan, but Milan's ruler Ludovico Sforza quickly regained it. In 1500, Louis XII signed a treaty with King Ferdinand II of Aragon (the Treaty of Granada in 1500), dividing Naples and acquiring the two Sicilian kingdoms; But Ferdinand II ultimately disrupted his plan. In 1502, Louis XII clashed with Ferdinand II, and in 1503, the French army suffered a major defeat in Galliano (Battle of Cherniola). By 1504, France's influence in Naples had been excluded by Spain. In 1508, France joined the Cambrian League, and in 1509, the French army led by Louis XII defeated the Venetians in the Battle of Aniadelo. In 1511, Pope Julius II joined forces with various cities and Spain to form the "Holy Alliance" against France in order to prevent Italy from falling into French hands. In 1512, Louis XII's army defeated the Confederate army in the Battle of Ravenna, but was later defeated by Swiss mercenaries when they attacked Milan again in 1513 (the Battle of Novara). That same year, the French army suffered a disastrous defeat in the small town of Truen in the Normandy region of northern France to King Henry VIII of England (the Battle of the Spurs). Afterwards, Louis XII almost completely withdrew from the competition for Italy.

Louis XII passed away on January 1, 1515 and was buried in the Saint Denis Abbey. Due to the strict adherence of the Salian Code to the principle of excluding women in France's succession to the throne, Louis XII's crown was passed on to his son-in-law, Fran ç ois I of Angouleim.

The eldest daughter, Claude de Valois (October 14, 1499 – July 20, 1524), married King Francis I of France on May 18, 1514 and has descendants
Second daughter Leni de Valois (October 25, 1510 – June 12, 1574), married Ferrara and Duke Ercole II d'Este of Modena, and had descendants