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L'État, c'est moi: Difference between revisions
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* ''Louis XIV'' (reigned 1643-1715) , known as "The Sun King", is the one French king almost everyone knows the name of, mostly due to his love of having portraits and statues made of himself, naming places after himself, and his remarkable 72-year-long reign, a record for a European monarch. Came to the throne at a time when France was suffering from noble rebellions and a long-running war with Spain, both of which Mazarin skilfully ended before proceeding to vastly expand France's cultural, military and territorial power, although he almost bankrupted the country in doing so. The title of this page is derived from a quote attributed to him, but probably [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|not something he ever actually said]] (Though it does illustrate his view of power). When he appears in media, expect references to ''The [[Man in the Iron Mask]]'' (who may or may not have been his identical twin brother) and [[Everyone Looks Sexier If French|lots of hot chicks in low-cut ballgowns]]. By the time he died in 1715, just short of his 77th birthday, he had outlived his eldest son, grandson, and great-grandson, and was succeeded by a five-year-old great-grandson.
** Louis XIV proved to be a master of the [[Vetinari Job Security]], decisively putting an end to noble plots against the crown and transferring power to royal ministries. France thrived under this system in large part due to Louis' skills at recruiting talented ministers and managing their work, as well as his [[The Workaholic|workaholic]] tendencies (he was in the habit of getting up early in the morning to handle a substantial portion of the national paperwork, before officially getting up at the ''lever'' several hours later). Unfortunately, everything depended on a strong, decisive king to make the government work. And with that, we come to...
* ''Louis XV'' (reigned 1715-1774). Great-grandson to Louis XIV, unexpectedly became heir to the throne at the age of five years. He reigned until his death in 1774, aged 64. Timid, apathetic, and luxury-loving, he kept [[The Mistress|a parade of mistresses]] who bore him a small army of illegitimate children, in addition to the ten his queen, a Polish princess named Marie Leczinska, gave him. She described her marriage as "forever bedded, forever pregnant, forever in childbed". The most famous of his mistresses was Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, aka Madame de Pompadour (by whom, ironically, he had no children), followed by Madame DuBarry. Has been played by a lot of people of the years and featured in a [[Steven Moffat]] [[Doctor Who/Recap/
** The phrase "Après moi, le déluge" (After me, the Deluge) is attributed to him, suggesting he foresaw the Revolution after his death.
* ''Louis XVI'' (reigned 1774-1792) was unable to fix France's failing finances left by his grandfather Louis XV. Unrest erupted throughout the country, resulting in [[The French Revolution]]. Louis and his family were arrested. He was guillotined in 1793. Married to [[Marie Antoinette]]. Noteworthy for providing important aid to the American colonists during [[The American Revolution]], sending money, supplies and troops to support the rebels, although this hastened France's eventual bankruptcy which led to...
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