He wore the heels because he was quite short, a la Napoleon who always made himself look taller in his portraits by sitting on a horse etc . . .
He was a great king, though he spent a lot of money . . .
Louis was the personification of vanity, but also of power!
I was there this past 3rd August!!!
Later i'll try to post up some photos I took there!
It was really worth it!
There are lot of fountains in the park and in the early days of Versailles, fountain guards were ordered to whistle when Louis XIV approached, so that the fountains could be fully turned on because the supply in water was difficult.
hum hum! :-/
our discussion was not very serious :-[: we speak about the WC: it is very comfortable, and Napoléon sat on it! ;D 8)
Yes, those high heels must have been so expensive...
Ah, well, if Napoloeon sat on it, that makes it the most important WC in the world!!! ; - )
Pretty unlikely...he would have choked on his own hair and beard in a locked mask...think about it....
Which supports the theory that guards were stationed by him at all times, ready to kill him if he removed it...
that along with the prision officers calling him 'Prince'..would hint to him being someone VERY powerful..
James
Or it supports the theory that this is a made-up story!
There is also the amusing anecdote about the Comte de Provence (later Louis XVIII), on meeting his niece Madame Royale for the first time after her release from the Temple. Instead of saying how awful it must have been, the first thing he wanted to know was whether her father had told her the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask!
My God! These photos are absolutely and spectacularly breath-taking. I'll get there one day :)
The Trianon is actually quite more modern to what i expected, and it surely is different from the Austrian court and imperial apartments! It wasn't quite furnished according to the French court standards was it?
Marie Antoinette's bed looks exceedingly uncomfortable; it gives me the impression of being covered in clingwrap!
Also what were the wc's like in palaces before the 19th century? Were chamber pots relied on mostly?
The nobility had what was called a chaise percée. It was like a normal (very ornate) chair with a hole in it. Underneath would be the chamber pot which would be removed by a servant. Ladies had little stools - a servant would crawl under their voluminious skirts to put them into place!
Everyone else used the corridors I believe. :) Well, you did ask!
Sadly it was to late to go to the gardens, so in my next trip to Paris, I'll return to Versailles!
You will have to devote a whole day to the gardens exclusively umigon for they are so huge and there is so much to see.
I am lucky enough to live in Paris and go and see them every year during the summer and am always amazed at their beauty and magnificence ! Besides a lot of work is done by the gardeners and there frequently new things to see.
For all those who plan to visit Versailles gardens, I recommend you to do it in spring or during the summer and during the week end to see les grandes eaux (all the fountains are working) - almost magical !
I am reading a biography of Luis XIV. written by Anthony Levi and in this book he says, that Queen Anne of Austria and Mazarin had a long-standing love relation (probably ended with a secret marriage!?) and Mazarin is the real father of King Luis XIV. Levi has some "proofs" for it (based mostly on homosexuality of Luis XIII. and his hate towards Queen Anne and on one document with false date, supporting that Mazarin was in Paris in time of Queen Anna´s unexpected impregnation).
Is it serious theory supported by any other historians with some credible proofs or is it just Levi´s wild idea based on a rumours? I am very surprised with this book and I don´t know anything about Anthony Levi - is he hictorian or journalist looking for sensation?