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The longest-reigning King of France (5 September 1638- 1 September 1715)—and indeed the longest-reigning monarch of any European Great Power note Several minor German princes reigned longer—known as Louis the Great or the Sun King. He was the most influential monarch of the 17th century. His most visible legacy is his ludicrously grand palace at Versailles.
- A Child Shall Lead Them - Became king at only 4 years old.
- Agent Peacock: A magnificent dancer for most of his life, he had many mistresses and illegitimate children.
- Bald of Awesome: Became bald very early, which explains his love of wigs.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: His aim of having Vetinari Job Security actually bit him in the ass during much of the War Of The Spanish Succession, where most of his generals, while possessing Undying Loyalty to him, were complete idiots on the battlefield, and were summarily trounced when pitted against real generals like Marlborough and Prince Eugene. What saved him in the end was Britain pulling out of the war and Marshal Villars, another political appointee general (but a good one), winning at Denain well enough so that Louis would not have to negotiate with the Grand Alliance from a completely humiliating position.
- Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Louis XIV never actually said "L'Etat, c'est moi" (I am the State). What he said was "L'Etat, Versailles"
- Big Eater: Had a stomach thrice the average size of his time and presumably bigger than the nowadays average size. Hence this trope.
- Didn't Think This Through: Sorta. Abrogating the Edict of Nantes was a long-thought move, but he didn't foresee it would deprive France of numerous useful and crafty people.
- And then there was the system of government he established. While it put an end to noble rebellions and abuse of power, it depended on a strong, competent monarch to keep everything running. Louis XIV certainly fit the profile, but when Louis XV and XVI took over, their ineptitude eventually led to the French Revolution.
- The Emperor: Non-evil variant, of course. Despite not owning the title, he was one of the most powerful sovereign of his time in the whole world, if not the most powerful.
- Ermine Cape Effect
- Freudian Excuse: It is said that his actions towards the nobility stemmed from his exprience during the Fronde rebellion when a mob burst into his chambers in the Tuileries Palace.
- Founder Of The Kingdom: While the role really belongs to Clovis I, Louis is usually credited with the birth of Modern France as we know it.
- Happiness Is Mandatory: As a noble at Versailles.
- Hidden Depths: Was extremely devout and even came to shun his frivolity and womanizing back when he was young.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Like so many French rulers, tends to regularly fall victim of this in works written in english. Reality was grey, as usual.
- King Bob the Nth
- Light Is Not Good - Depends.
- Long Runner: He ruled for 72 years (1643-1715), the longest reign in France's history and one of the longest in World history. Outlived his first wife, most of his mistresses, his little brother, his son, his grandson and his eldest great-grandson. He died at age 77.
- Morton's Fork: Louis XIV's actions in the Succession Crisis preceding the War of Spanish Succession can be viewed as this, as Louis could either: A) Accept Carlos II's will, that left all of Spain to his Grandson, provoking war with all of Europe's major powers or, B) Refuse and let Spain and its rich colonies fall into the hands of the Austrian Habsburgs, which would put France in danger.
- Napoleon Complex: Had this in spades even before the Trope Namer. Unlike the actual Napoleon Bonaparte—who was actually of average height—Louis really was short, and wore 4-inch heels to get around that.
- The Power of the Sun: Louis was nicknamed the "Sun King", based on the fact that everything in his court supposedly revolved around him. During most of his reign, he was also the most powerful man in Europe.
- Really Gets Around
- Royal Blood
- Royal Brat: Amazingly averted, thanks to his mother and Mazarin.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Besides being a very dedicated and competent ruler, he frequently led his troops on the battlefield, though his Camp Gay little brother was better at it than him. Louis was not amused and quickly deprived his brother of any military command.
- The Mistress: Louis had plenty of Mistresses.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With his first love, Marie Mancini, Mazarin's niece.
- Vetinari Job Security: Louis used this to his advantage by seeking to control his nobles by having them wait on him, thus increasing his authority. The nobles, trying to gain more honor via Louis' favor would go to great efforts to simply get the honour to ,say, be appointed the one in charge of Louis' wardrobe.
- The Workaholic: Became his own prime minister and personally ran the business of the kingdom himself, whereas his father appointed cardinals like Mazarin and Richelieu to handle much of the business of statecraft.
- Worthy Opponent: No less a figure than Napoleon Bonaparte declared Louis to be "the only King of France worthy of the name." Bear in mind that the Bourbons were just about the last people Napoleon would have any reason to compliment.
- The Wrongful Heir to the Throne: some people believe the Man in the Iron Mask is Louis' twin brother, wrongly imprisoned as to not get in the way of Louis'ascension.
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