Interesting Things About Louis XIV Of France
1. Louis XIV was born on 5th September 1638 and died on 1st September 1715, four days before his 77th birthday.
2. Louis XIV holds the record of being the ruler for the longest period of time of any of the major European monarchies. He ruled France for 72 years, 3 months and 18 days.
The second longest reigning monarch was Franz Joseph I who was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary from 1848 to 1916 (68 years), and third is Queen Victoria, who ruled Great Britain from 1837 to 1901 (63 years)
3. Louis XIV became King at the age of four in 1643 after the death of his father, Louis XIII (Louis the Thirteenth). As he was still a little nipper at the time, his mother Anne of Austria carried out ruling duties, assisted by Cardinal Jules Mazarin, who was chief minister of France. Louis XIV took charge in 1661 after the death of Cardinal Mazarin. By then, he was 22 years old.
4. The American state of Louisiana is named after Louis XIV. It was under French control between 1682 to 1763 and again from 1800 to 1803 and was known as La Louisiane (Land of Louis).
5. Louis XIV married twice. His first wife was Maria Theresa of Spain to whom he was married from 9th June 1680. She died on 30th July 1683. Louis XIV remarried in 1685 or 1686. Due to the fact that his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, was of a different social standing to the King, the marriage had to be kept secret. However, it was something of an open secret. It was never officially announced and no records exist of it taking place, but everybody knew about it! Louis XIV remained 'married' to Françoise d'Aubigné until his death
2. Louis XIV holds the record of being the ruler for the longest period of time of any of the major European monarchies. He ruled France for 72 years, 3 months and 18 days.
The second longest reigning monarch was Franz Joseph I who was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary from 1848 to 1916 (68 years), and third is Queen Victoria, who ruled Great Britain from 1837 to 1901 (63 years)
3. Louis XIV became King at the age of four in 1643 after the death of his father, Louis XIII (Louis the Thirteenth). As he was still a little nipper at the time, his mother Anne of Austria carried out ruling duties, assisted by Cardinal Jules Mazarin, who was chief minister of France. Louis XIV took charge in 1661 after the death of Cardinal Mazarin. By then, he was 22 years old.
4. The American state of Louisiana is named after Louis XIV. It was under French control between 1682 to 1763 and again from 1800 to 1803 and was known as La Louisiane (Land of Louis).
5. Louis XIV married twice. His first wife was Maria Theresa of Spain to whom he was married from 9th June 1680. She died on 30th July 1683. Louis XIV remarried in 1685 or 1686. Due to the fact that his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, was of a different social standing to the King, the marriage had to be kept secret. However, it was something of an open secret. It was never officially announced and no records exist of it taking place, but everybody knew about it! Louis XIV remained 'married' to Françoise d'Aubigné until his death