Young Louis XV

A key visit

The recent meeting between Russian and French Heads of State recalls a journey to France undertaken by Peter the Great in 1717.  The circumstances were very different at that time.  Louis XV was only seven years old and this visit was an opportunity for the two monarchs to get to know each other.  For the Czar, meeting the heir of the Sun King was a highly symbolic moment; for the young King of France, who had come to the throne less than two years before, the most important instant was when Peter the Great lifted him up to embrace him.  From then on, both monarchs would truly be on equal footing.

Contents:

Versailles and me

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing: ‘All my life, I have loved Versailles’

Cover

Young Louis XV, the King’s first steps

Cover

The visit of Peter the Great, May-June 1717

Objects

Commodus as Hercules at the Latona Parterre

Key figures

The reign of Louis, Duke of Burgundy

Portfolio

A gardener’s view

War

Training and career of soldiers under the Ancien Régime

Archives and discoveries

The Duke and the Marquise

Unpublished letters between Christian IV and Madame de Pompadour

The Palace

The passions of Madame de Pompadour

Life at the Court

The styles of Léonard, hairdresser to His Majesty

Feature

Restorer in the graphic arts department

Diplomacy

Vergennes, or diplomacy at the service of the king

Co-publishers: Palace of Versailles and Editions Soteca

Number of pages: 84 pages
Date of publication: July 2017
Size: 23 x 29.7 cm
Published in: French