monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre
. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days. As such, it is one of the longest documented reigns of any European monarch.
Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661 after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin.
1643 Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
1654 Louis XIV is crowned King of France.
1660 James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
1661 Fall of Nicolas Fouquet: Louis XIV Superintendent of Finances is arrested in Nantes by D'Artagnan, captain of the king's musketeers.
1664 Louis XIV of France inaugurates the Palace of Versailles.
1670 In Dover, England, Charles II of Great Britain and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover.
1672 Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1682 Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles.
1686 Charles Francois Felix operates on King Louis XIV of France's anal fistula after practicing the surgery on several peasants.
1715 King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years — the longest of any major European monarch.