Louis XlV is one of my favourite characters from history and appears in all of my novels! A lot of people have heard of him and know that he was called the Sun King, but here are 10 Things I thought might not be so well-known:
The Distant Hills
1) Louis was only four years old when he became the King of France.
2) The royal household was short of money when he was a child. He and his younger brother, Philippe, had to wear patched clothes and were so hungry sometimes that they sneaked into the palace kitchens and stole omelettes out of the frying pans as they were being cooked!
3) He had both Jewish and Moorish blood in him and was thought by some to look oriental.
4) He wanted trees and fountains at Versailles, but it was set in a bare plain so he had a machine made that would pipe water from the River Seine and planted mature trees which had been uprooted from the forests of Compiègne.
5) When the Italian sculptor Bernini carved a marble bust of him and correctly showed his nose to be slightly crooked Louis made him alter it to look straight!
6) One of his favourite foods was turkey and he had them bred especially for him on his own farm.
7) He waged war through much of his reign in his efforts to increase France’s glory but he cared a great deal about his soldiers’ welfare and built the Hôpital des Invalides to house his old or sick veterans (Now an army museum)
8) He outlived both his son and grandson (and was succeeded to the throne by his great-grandson.)
9) He was kind and polite to all women, although he was not above teasing them! His mistress, Athénais de Montespan, would freak out at finding hairs in her food so he deliberately put some in her butter one day to make her scream!
10) He instituted a rule at Versailles that no-one was allowed to knock upon any door of the chateau without first scratching upon it with their little fingernail!
Other articles you might like:
10 Things I'd Like My Readers To Know About Me By Judith Thomson