On May 14, 1643, the barely four-year-old Louis XIV was proclaimed King of France after the death of his father, Louis XIII.
During Louis XIV's reign, the court moved to Versailles. The splendor of the royal residence and surroundings was the envy of all heads of state at the time.
The time during which Louis XIV ruled was the Golden Age in French history. A time of consolidation and unification of the state, of increasing its military power, its political role in world affairs, and intellectual and cultural flourishing. At the same time, however, the constant wars waged by Louis XIV imposed endlessly high taxes. The province suffered the hardships of the king's aggressive policy, and the abolition of the rules of tolerance towards non-believers led to a mass emigration of Huguenots from France, recalls the website History in Brief.
During most of the reign of Louis XIV, France was the leading European power. During this time, it participated in three major wars and two smaller conflicts. The king benefited from the activities of prominent political, military and cultural figures encouraged and patronized by him, such as Giulio Mazarin, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Henri de Turenne, Sébastien de Vauban, Jean-Baptiste Moliere, Jean Racine, Jean de La Fontaine, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Le Vaux, André Le Nôtre.
Just 4 days before his 77th birthday, the Sun King died on September 1, 1715 in Versailles. He was buried in the Cathedral of Saint-Denis. After his death, Louis XV ascended the throne. All of Louis XIV's heirs from his marriage to Maria Theresa died as children. Only his son Louis, known as the "Grand Dauphin", lived until 1711, leaving three sons. The eldest of them, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, died in 1712, and Louis XV thus became his second son, grandson of the Sun King.