Louis XIV of France

By Annikki
  • Birth

    Birth
    He was born on September 5th in the year 1638 at Saint-Germaine-en-Laye in France.
  • Father dies

    Father dies
    Anne of Austria, or Louis XIV's mother, along with her minister, Cardinal Mazarin, rule France after Louis's father dies in 1643. This caused many factions, like governments and princes, to rebel since they were not of royal blood. Which then brought on a civil war called Fraud that lasted from 1648-1653. During this time, he suffered through starvation and poverty.
  • Crowned

    Crowned
    He was crowned in a traditional crowning site in Reims which was used to crown early kings of France.
  • Marriage

    Marriage
    In 1660 he marries the king of Spain's daughter, Marie Mancini, out of duty instead of marrying the person he fell in love with which was Mazarin's niece, Marie-Thérèse of Austria. He had six children, but unfortunately only one survived to becoming an adult.
  • Ruling alone

    Ruling alone
    Told his ministers that he would not be ruling with the help of a chief minister and rule France by himself.
  • The Sun King

    The Sun King
    He personally chose the emblem of the sun which caused people to draw conclusions, later representing him as Apollo through art. This further gave him the name the "Sun King" since when he ruled, he was like the Greek god Apollo who actually had the power of the sun, just like how he had the sun's emblem. People also called him this because the nobles he would force to revolve around him were just like the planets that we know to revolve around the sun.
  • Hall Of Mirrors

    Hall Of Mirrors
    This was the symbol for the kings to show their absolute power through which was large enough to hold a court.
  • Affair of the Poisons

    Affair of the Poisons
    Now his current mistress, Marquise De Montespan was said to have taken part in "Affair of the Poisons" and was accused of murder and using magic. In order to help his reputation, Louis covered this up and did nothing.
  • The Palace of Versailles

    The Palace of Versailles
    Had the palace of Versailles built which caused his country to almost go bankrupt.
  • Royal Treatment

    Royal Treatment
    Commands 10,000 royals to live around him, forcing them to help him. He made them earn their keep by having them complement and flatter him.
  • Second Marriage

    Second Marriage
    After Maria Theresa dies on July 30th, 1683, he marries Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon in 1685 or 86 in secret because of her social class being so much lower.
  • Edict of Fontainebleau

    Edict of Fontainebleau
    He was very Catholic and did not like the idea of another religion. In response, he issued the Edict of Fontainebleau which went against the Edict of Nantes causing many Huguenots to leave France since they could no longer follow their religion.
  • Death

    Death
    On September first he died which was exactly four days before his seventy-seventh birthday.