Life at Versailles was highly ritualized, with the king’s daily routine performed in public.
This served 2 purposes : to impress Louis XIV's subjects and to foster trust - as they always knew what he was up to.
Louis XIV's would wake up in this room at 8:30am.
The first person to see him was his valet, who slept at the foot of his bed.
Following this, a group of close courtiers and family members would enter to see him as he washed, shaved, and donned his wig.
Gradually, more courtiers would be invited in.
By the end, more than 100 people would be present.
The king would then go to mass, walking through the famous Hall of Mirrors, where hundreds of people would be waiting for him, hoping to catch his attention.
Afterwards, he would return to his apartments for meetings with his ministers, before often going out for a hunt or a walk.
His dinner would be served around 10 p.m. - and was also conducted in public.
Fun fact: the palace was so large, and the kitchens so distant, that food was often cold by the time it arrived!
3 evenings a week he would host parties for courtiers in the State apartments.
After dinner, the king would return to his apartments and prepare for bed, again in front of hundreds of people.
If a noble carried particular favor, he would be given the immense privilege of holding the king's candle.
Once the audience had departed, Louis XIV would go to bed, having shared a secret password with his guards, who slept in the room next door.
Louis XIV died in this room, after 72 years on the throne!
It was also here that Louis XVI and his wife, Marie-Antoinette, were confronted by an angry mob that stormed the palace and forced them to move to Paris - one of the first major episodes of the French Revolution.
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