The day has come, mes amies—liberté, égalité, fraternité. They beckon! And scream for the heads of the monarchs and servants and courtiers and everyone who ever served them. So where does that leave Versailles? Actually,[…]
A Royal Affair
Welcome to Versailles, home of the king, queen, and many, many more mistresses. Who could live without them? Definitely not the state! Some of these women were intrinsic in determining domestic and foreign policy in[…]
A Royal Mess
Who could live without a good mistress or two? Certainly not the kings of France. Whereas you might remember Queen Marie-Antoinette, I’d bet some serious livres you couldn’t name another queen of France. That’s because,[…]
Fancy French Feasts
What better way to end the day—and day, really—than with a feast? Art de la Table, the practice of sumptuous meals being served on either the finest china or silver and gold plates along with[…]
All of Our Friends
Would you like to have, on any given day, 3,000 to 10,000 people living and leeching off your palace, vying constantly for your favor? Well, I sure hope so. The courtiers of Versailles were an intrinsic part[…]
A Day in the Life
“With an almanach and a watch,” wrote Duke Saint-Simon of Louis XIV, “one could, from 300 leagues away, say with accuracy what he was doing.” He wasn’t joking. The Sun King’s day was organized literally minute by[…]
Welcome To Your New Home
Ah, the Louvre—-the home of the Mona Lisa, the Nike of Samothrace, Liberty Leading the People and, until 1682, the French royal family and court. Until then, however, Versailles wasn’t, well, Versailles. Not in anything but name,[…]
What We Are & What We Aren’t
“L’etat c’est moi,” proclaimed Louis XIV. I am the state—-and how could he not be? He was the Sun King. Everything revolved around him; his grand palace, Versailles, was built for nobles to come far and[…]
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