It was about ensuring that he had the right kind of education and surroundings, says Guy Ronn. He also wanted him to have a mixture of sort of classical education, but also arts. As we know later in Louis' reign, he is a very accomplished dancer. The fact that he was born into a divine right monarchy helped cement France's place within Europe more generally. So the idea of being a divine right moroc, and what he's only for, so he doesn't know what he is with a bit of love. Does that begin to grow with him as he grows? That is who you are? I mean that's extremely well established over a long period of time.
In 1661 the 23 year-old French king Louis the XIV had been on the throne for 18 years when his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, died. Louis is reported to have said to his ministers, “It is now time that I govern my affairs myself. You will assist me with your counsels when I ask for them [but] I order you to seal no orders except by my command… I order you not to sign anything, not even a passport, without my command, and to render account to me personally each day”
So began the personal rule of Louis XIV, which lasted a further 54 years until his death in 1715. From his newly-built palace at Versailles, Louis was able to project an image of himself as the centre of gravity around which all of France revolved: it’s no accident that he became known as the Sun King. He centralized power to the extent he was able to say ‘L’etat c’est moi’: I am the state. Under his rule France became the leading diplomatic, military and cultural power in Europe.
With
Catriona Seth
Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford
Guy Rowlands
Professor of Early Modern History at the University of St Andrews
and
Penny Roberts
Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Warwick
Producer: Luke Mulhall