Louis XIV

1638 – 1715

Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715, presiding over a 72-year reign that remains the longest of any major European sovereign in history. His revocation of the 1598 Edict of Nantes through the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau ended the legal toleration of French Protestants and drove an estimated 200,000 Huguenots into exile across Europe, devastating French commerce and intellectual life. His decades of war and the construction of the Palace of Versailles bankrupted the French state, leaving the foundations of the financial crisis that would erupt under his great-grandson Louis XVI.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM