7 Louis XIV 7Louis XIV and His Family, oil painting by Nicolas de Largillière, 1711; in the
Wallace Collection, London. Reproduced by permission of the trustees of
the Wallace Collection, London; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.
of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal’s
absolute power.
In 1660 Louis married Marie-Thérèse of Austria
(1638–83), daughter of Philip IV of Spain, in order to ratify
peace between their two countries. When Mazarin died in
1661, Louis assumed responsibility for ruling the kingdom.
A believer in dictatorship by divine right, he viewed him-
self as God’s representative on Earth. For 54 years Louis
devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the small-
est detail escaped his attention. To deal with the potential
threat posed by the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in