Timeline
1623
KING LOUIS XIII’S HUNTING LODGE
King of France Louis XIII started the construction of his hunting lodge in 1623, built to welcome him during game hunting trips...READ MORE
September 5, 1638
BIRTH OF LOUIS XIV
Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. His father Louis XIII and his mother Anne d’Autriche had desperately awaited the birth...READ MORE
September 21, 1640
BIRTH OF PHILIPPE
“Monsieur” Philippe I, Duke of Orleans was born two years after his brother Louis, on September 21st 1640...READ MORE
May 14, 1643
DEATH OF LOUIS’ FATHER
The King of France, Louis XIII, died on May 14 1643 when Louis XIV was only 4 years old. Louis XIV then succeeded his father to the throne...READ MORE
1648-1653
THE FRONDE
During the Fronde, a series of civil wars in France, the privileged groups of the nobility and the Parisian parlements, driven by hatred of Chief Minister Mazarin...READ MORE
June 7, 1654
CORONATION OF LOUIS XIV
Louis XIV was officially crowned the King of France in the city of Reims on June 7th 1654. Nevertheless, he left the power in the hands of Chief Minister...READ MORE
June 9, 1660
WEDDING OF LOUIS XIVAND MARIE-THÉRÈSE
A marriage based in politics, Louis XIV chose duty over love and married Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of the King of Spain...READ MORE
1661
THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV
In 1661, after the death of Chief Minister Mazarin, Louis XIV became the sole ruler of France at the age of 23 and broke tradition by choosing to rule...READ MORE
1661
PALACE OF VERSAILLES
The year 1661 marked the start of architect Louis Le Veau and gardener André Le Nôtre’s work at Versailles, transforming what once was Louis XIII’s...READ MORE
March 31, 1661
WEDDING OF PHILIPPEAND HENRIETTA
First cousins Philippe and Henrietta married on March 31, 1661. Henrietta of England was the daughter of Charles I...READ MORE
January 20, 1666
DEATH OF ANNE OF AUSTRIA
Louis XIV’s mother and Queen of France Anne of Austria died on January 20 1666 in Paris. Born in Spain on September 22 1601, she was the oldest...READ MORE
1667-1670
SEASON 1
To tame the nobility and win absolute power, 28 years old Louis XIV launches the construction of Versailles. A trap is set...READ MORE
1667-1668
WAR OF DEVOLUTION
In 1667, Louis declares war to Spain in the hopes of taking possession of the territories of Flandres and Brabant in the Spanish Netherlands...READ MORE
June 1, 1670
TREATY OF DOVER
Allying France and England against the Dutch, the formal Treaty of Dover, as planned by Louis XIV, was concerned with an Anglo-French military...READ MORE
June 30, 1670
DEATH OF HENRIETTA OF ENGLAND
Born June 16th 1644, Henrietta Anne of England was the youngest child of England’s King Charles. She died on June 30th 1670...READ MORE
1671
SEASON 2
Louis has completed the first phase of construction. Surrounded by corruption, greed and lewd behavior, he watches his dream crumble...READ MORE
November 16, 1671
WEDDING OF PHILIPPE AND PRINCESS PALATINE
“Monsieur” Philippe married his second wife Elizabeth-Charlotte of Bavaria (Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate)...READ MORE
April 1672-1678
THE FRANCO-DUTCH WAR
Louis XIV’s second war of conquest was fought to end the Dutch competition with the French trade and to extend the empire...READ MORE
May 1672
THE WATER LINE
In May 1672, the Dutch stopped the King’s advance on Amsterdam by opening the dikes of the Old Hollandic Water Line...READ MORE
July 1672
WILLIAM OF ORANGE TAKES THE DUTCH LEADERSHIP
In 1672, Dutch peace proposals were spurned by the French, a revolution broke out and...READ MORE
Late 1672
PRINCESS PALATINE IS PREGNANT
In late 1672, Princess Palatine became pregnant with the first of three children she would have with her husband Philippe...READ MORE
September 1, 1715
DEATH OF LOUIS XIV
On September 1st 1715, Louis XIV passed away from gangrene in Versailles, just four days before his 77th birthday. His death also marked the end...READ MORE