Versailles Bedroom Etiquette

 The Royal State Bed at Versailles

Bedroom Etiquette in the Time of Louis XV

The following illustration is given of etiquette in the time of Louis XV: In the Queen's apartment there were two chambers. One day the Queen saw a speck of dust on her bed and showed it to the Madame de Luynes, her maid of honor. The latter sent for the valet de chambre, bed-maker to the Queen, that he might show it to the valet de chambre, bed-maker to the King. 

The latter arrived at the end of an hour, but said that the dust was none of his business, because the bed-makers of the King made the common bed of the Queen, but were forbidden to touch the State Bed. Consequently the dust must be removed by the Officers of the Household. The Queen gave orders that they should be sent for, and every day for two months she asked if the dust had been brushed off, but they had not yet found out whose duty it was to remove the speck. 

Finally, the Queen took up a feather duster and brushed it off. Great was the scandal thereof, but no one dreamed of blaming the absence of the officers. They only found that the Queen had been wanting in etiquette. –The Daily Alta, 1872

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Painful Versailles Etiquette Lesson

Louis XIV was also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi-Soleil). He was a Monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any Monarch of a major country in Europe's history. Versailles, Europe’s grandest and most opulent palace, became a center of political power and a symbol of the king’s dominance and wealth. In addition to the royal court, the 700-room palace housed the nobility that Louis XIV had brought into his sphere as well as the thousands of staff needed for its upkeep.

The royal court of France used to be a great place for etiquette. Louis XIV once caught a severe cold owing to the fact that on his arising from his bed one cold morning, the Lord of the Chamber, whose duty it was to hand him his shirt, happened to be absent. Not one of the numerous courtiers present had the courage to trangress etiquette by handing the garment to the shivering monarch. —London Scrap Book, 1908

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J, Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and the Petit Trianon

Built by Louis XV of France, the Petit Trianon was not only an escape for Marie Antoinette from the formality of French Court life, but it also allowed her to shake off the burden of her many Royal responsibilities. She was under considerable pressure and judgement at Versailles, from both the Royal Court, but her family. The Petit Trianon was her place of leisure, where she could rest from the etiquette and formality of her life at Versailles. Since all was “de par la Reine” (by order of the Queen), no one, including her husband Louis XVI, were permitted to disturb her there or enter the property, without the Queen's express permission. This exclusivity alienated Royal Court Nobility, and allowed only the Queen's close inner circle (including Gabrielle de Polastron, the Duchesse de Polignac, and Princess de Lamballe) to be invited.

The Petit Trianon

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The Favorite Resort of Queen Marie Antoinette of France

Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon to Marie Antoinette, and it became her favorite residence. To this turf, which she pressed with so light a step, the Queen of France came to forget the ennui and etiquette of Royal Majesty. Once at the Petit Trainon, the lovely Queen felt more happy. All her diadem was the flowers of her garden; she held, with a joyous hand, the light crook; in her Swiss dairy, which is still standing on the banks of a little brook, she herself prepared— with such delightful awkwardness—the milk of her cows! Poor Queen! How much site must afterward have regretted the sun, the waters, the flowers, the cream, and the strawberries, the sheep and the heifers of the Petit Trianon.– San Francisco Call, 1891

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette of French Nobility

Along with the demands of the exacting rules of court etiquette, there came a feeling of entitlement and narcissism. There was a sense that as a noble, one was possessed of greater intelligence, more refined sentiments and in general more deserving of the best life had to offer.

French Nobility

Nobility in France was hereditary, passed down through the male line. Being of noble birth had its privileges, such as being exempt from paying taxes, having the sole access to certain offices, coveted positions within the civil and military administrations of France, and all of the commissions in the army. 

There was a sense that as a noble, one possessed greater intelligence, more refined sentiments and, in general, that being of noble birth meant one was more deserving of all the best that life had to offer. Your position at the French Court was dependant on how well you recognized and defended etiquette. Personal feelings became irrelevant because the symbolic place held by a person actually mattered more. The attention you received from the place you held in the order of precedence, devolved from the treatment of others around you.

In general, there were 3 ways to become a noble:
1) By birth ~ The father must be of noble blood, known as Noblesse d'épée (Nobility of the sword), also known as Noblesse de race ("Nobility through breeding"). Noblesse uterine ("Nobility of the female line"), was for titles that were matrilineal (held through the mother's line) and could be inherited by female heirs; this was found in some families in the former independent territories of Champagne, Lorraine and Brittany. Illegitimate children could be ennobled by letters patent from the sovereign. The king’s illegitimate offspring were automatically noble, and therefore needed no ennobling. but they were still illegitimate, and needed to be legitimated, accomplished by naming only the father, and not the mother.

2) By holding certain offices ~ Noblesse de robe (Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of the Gown) were French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts, either by purchase or appointment, such as in the King’s household, or in the French Parliament.

3) By a royal decree ~ Chevalier an otherwise untitled nobleman who belonged to an order of chivalry; earlier, a rank for untitled members of the oldest noble families. Later distinction was that a Knight (Sieur) went through the dubbing ceremony (touched with a sword on the head and shoulders by the King), while the lesser rank of Chevalier or Knight Bachelor received the rank without the ceremony.

Écuyer (Shield Bearer) was the lowest specific rank in the nobility, to which the vast majority of untitled nobles were entitled; also called valet or noble homme in certain regions.

Gentilhomme (Gentleman) was the lowest non-specific rank indicating nobility

The following were the titles of nobility, the order of their importance and precedence:

1) Duc
2) Comte
3) Marquis
4) Vicomte
5) Baron

These titles, as well as the names of the family derived from, and the properties they were attached to, could each only be carried by one person. However, the presence or absence of a title was not in itself a test of nobility, because there were generally many more family members than there were actual titles to go around.

One you had reached the threshold of nobility, there were still more degrees of nobility that affected one's rank: How long had your family been noble? How many of your paternal and maternal grandparents’ lineages were noble? The oldest nobility was traced to the “Mists of Time,” back in the early recorded history of France.

Of those already blessed enough to claim the ties of nobility, some could also claim peerages. These peers originated from the twelve dukes who were raised in the 12th century above the other dukes by the King as his direct vassals. There were two kinds of titles used by French nobles: some were personal ranks and others were linked to the fiefs owned, called fiefs de dignité.

There were ecclesiastical peers, which ranked ahead of lay peers. For lay peers, the order of precedence was determined by date of peerage’s creation- except as it applied to Princes of the Blood, they gained precedence over the other peers, regardless of peerage creation date, because of their claim to royal blood. –Sourced from books and several online nobility websites, including Wikipedia, www.nobility.org and www.heraldic.org

Etiquette Enthusiast Maura J Graber is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Louis XIV's Exacting Etiquette

Part of Louis XIV's daily routine? Visiting the apartments of his mistress, Madame Maintenon, where he remained until 10 o’clock p.m., the hour of supper. And the supper was the great event of the day.

A Complete Look at the Daily Routine in the life of Louis XIV, at the Palace of Versailles

At 8 o’clock in the morning two servants carefully entered the chamber of the King. One, if the weather was cold or damp, brought dry wood to kindle a cheerful blaze up on the hearth, while the other opened the shutters, carried away the collation of soup, roasted chicken, bread, wine and water, which had been placed, the night before, at the side of the royal couch, that the King night find a repast at hand in case he might require refreshment during the night.

The valet de chambre then entered and stood silently and reverently at the bed-side for one-half hour. He then awoke the monarch, and immediately passed into an anteroom to communicate the important intelligence that the King no longer slept. Upon receiving this announcement an attendant threw open the double portals of a wide door, when the dauphin and his two sons, the brother of the King, and the Duke of Chartres, who awaited the signal, entered, and approaching the bed with the utmost solemnity of etiquette, inquired how his Majesty had passed the night.

After the interval of a moment the Duke du Maine, the Count de Toulouse, the first lord of the bed-chamber, and the grand master of the robes entered the apartment, and with military precision took their station by the side of the couch of recumbent royalty. Immediately there followed another procession of officers bearing the regal vestments. Fagon, the head physician, and Telier, the head surgeon, completed the train.

The head valet de chambre then poured upon the hands of the King a few drops of the spirits of wine, holding beneath them a plate of enameled silver, and the first lord of the bed-chamber presented the monarch, who was ever very punctilious in his devotions, the holy water, with which the King made the sign of the cross upon his head and his breast. Thus purified and sanctified he repeated a short prayer, which the Church had taught him, and then rose in his bed.

A noble lord then approached and presented to him a collection of wigs from which he selected the one which he intended to wear that day, and having condescended to place it, with his own royal hands, upon his head, he slipped his arms into the sleeves of a rich dressing-gown, which the head valet de chambre held ready for him. Then reclining again upon his pillow, he thrust one foot out from the bed-clothes. The valet de chambre reverently received the sacred extremity, and drew over it a silk stocking. The other limb was similarly presented and dressed, when slippers of embroidered velvet were placed upon the royal feet. The King then devoutly crossing himself with holy water, with great dignity moved from his bed and seated himself in a large arm-chair, placed at the fire-side. The King them announced that he was prepared to receive the First Entrée.

None but the especial favorites of the monarch were favored with an audience so confidential. These privileged persons were to enjoy the ecstatic happiness of witnessing the awful ceremony of shaving the King. One attendant prepared the water and held the basin. Another religiously lathered the royal chin, and removed the sacred beard, and with soft sponges, saturated with wine and water, washed the part which had been operated upon and smoothed them with silken towels.

And now the master of the robes approaches to dress the King. At the same moment the monarch announces the he is ready for his Grand Entrée. The principal attendants of royalty, accompanied by several valets de chambre and door-keepers of the cabinet, immediately take their station at the entrance of the apartment.

Princes often sighed in vain for an admission to the Grand Entrée. The greatest precautions were observed that no unprivileged person should intrude. As each individual presented himself at the door, his name was whispered to the first lord of the bed-chamber, who repeated it to the King. If the monarch made no reply, the visitor was admitted.

The Duke in attendance marshalled the new-comers to their several places, that they might not approach too near the presence of his Majesty. Princes of the highest rank, and statesmen of the most exalted station were subjected alike to these humiliating ceremonials. The King, the meanwhile, regardless of his guests, was occupied in being dressed.

A valet of the wardrobe delivered to a gentleman of the chamber the garters, which he in turn presented to the monarch. Inexorable etiquette would allow the King to clasp his garters in the morning, but not to unclasp them at night. It was the exclusive privilege of the head valet de chambre to unclasp that of the right leg, while an attendant of inferior rank might remove the other. One attendant put on the shoes, another fastened the diamond buckles. Two pages, gorgeously dressed in crimson velvet, overlaid with gold and silver lace, received the slippers as they were taken from the King’s feet.

The breakfast followed. Two officers entered; one with bread on an enameled salver, the other with a folded napkin between two silver plates. At the same time the royal cup-bearers presented to the first lord a golden vase, into which he poured a small quantity of wine and water, which was tasted by a second cup-bearer to insure that there was no poison in the beverage.

The vase was then rinsed, and being again filled, was presented to the King upon a golden saucer. The dauphin, as soon as the King had drank, giving his hat and gloves to the first lord in waiting, took the napkin and presented it to the monarch to wipe his lips. The frugal repast was soon finished.

The King then laid aside his dressing-gown, while two attendants drew off his night-shirt, one taking the left sleeve and the other the right. The monarch then drew from his neck the casket of sacred relics, with which he ever slept. It was passed from the hands of one officer to that of another, and then deposited in the King’s closet, where it was carefully guarded. The royal shirt, in the meantime, had been thoroughly warmed at the fire. It was placed in the hands of the first lord, he presented it to the dauphin, and he, laying aside his hat and gloves, approached and presented it to the King. 

Each garment was thus ceremoniously presented. The royal sword, the vest, and the blue ribbon were brought forward. A nobleman of high rank was honored in the privilege of putting on the vest, another buckled on the sword, another placed over the shoulders of the monarch a scarf, to which was attached the cross of the Holy Ghost in diamonds and the cross of St. Louis. The grand master of the robes presented to the King his cravat of rich lace, while a favorite courtier folded it around his neck.

Two handkerchiefs of the most costly embroidery and richly perfumed were then placed before His Majesty, on an enameled saucer, and his toilet was completed. The King then returned to his bedside. Obsequious attendants spread before him two soft cushions of crimson velvet. In all the pride of ostentatious humility he kneeled upon these, and repeated his prayers, while the Bishops and Cardinals in his suite, with suppressed voice, uttered responses. He then attended mass in the chapel. At 1 o’clock he dined alone, in all dignity of unapproachable majesty. 

The ceremony of the dinner-table was no less punctilious and ridiculous then at the toilet. After dinner he fed his dogs, and amused himself in playing with them. He then, in the presence of a number of courtiers, changed his dress, and leaving the palace by a private staircase, proceeded to his carriage, which awaited him in the marble court-yard.

Returning from his drive, he again changed his dress, and visited the apartments of Madame Maintenon, where he remained until 10 o’clock, the hour of supper. The supper was the great event of the day. Six noblemen stationed themselves at each end of the table to wait upon the King. Whenever he raised his cup, the cup-bearer exclaimed aloud to all the company, “drink for the King." After supper he held a short ceremonial audience with members of the royal family and at midnight went again to feed his dogs. He then retired, surrounded by puerilities of ceremony too tedious to be read.

Such was the character of one of the most majestic kings of the Bourbon race. France, wearied with them, drove them from the throne, and placed Napoleon there, a man of energy, of intellect, and of action; toiling, night and day, to promote the prosperity of France in all its varied interests. 

The monarchs of Europe, with their united millions, combined and chained the democratic Kings to the rock of St. Helena, and replaced the Bourbon. But the end is not eve yet. In view of the wretched life of Louis XIV, Madame Maintenon exclaimed: “Could you but form an idea of what a kingly life is! Those who occupy thrones are the most unfortunate in the world”. — Harper’s Magazine, 1880

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette helping the blind –“The King and Queen were patrons of the Maison Philanthropique, a society which helped the aged, blind and widows. The Queen taught her daughter Madame Royale to wait upon peasant children, to sacrifice her Christmas gifts so as to buy fuel and blankets for the destitute, and to bring baskets of food to the sick. Marie-Antoinette started a home for unwed mothers at the Royal Palace. She adopted three poor children to be raised with her own, as well overseeing the upbringing of several needy children, whose education she paid for, while caring for their families. She brought several peasant families to live on her farm at Trianon, building cottages for them. There was food for the hungry distributed every day at Versailles, at the King’s command.” 
–From MarieAntoinette.org

“Marie Antoinette is one of the most written-about women in history—and for the best writing reasons. Her story combines two unfailing narrative ingredients: a fairy tale flashing with all the diamond glint of palaces and courtiers, a horror story of human cruelty and blood. The combination is so compelling that the life of the lovely Austrian Princess who lived an infuriatingly frivolous life and died an endearingly brave death can be told and retold with remarkably little attention to the social upheaval that doomed her.” —From “Beautiful and Doomed,” Andre Castelot

All the diamond glint of palaces and courtiers – Depiction of Marie Antoinette in bed, from the 2006 film Marie Antoinette

“Her first desire was to purify the Court where licentiousness in either sex had long been the surest road to Royal favor. She began by making a regulation, that she would receive no lady who was separated from her husband; and she abolished a senseless and inexplicable rule of etiquette which had hitherto prohibited the Queen and Princesses from dining or supping in company with their husbands. Such an exclusion from the King’s table of those who were its most natural and becoming ornaments, had notoriously facilitated and augmented the disorders of the last reign; and it was obvious that its maintenance must at least have a tendency to lead to a repetition of the old irregularities. Fortunately, the King was as little inclined to approve of it as the Queen. All his tastes were domestic, and he gladly assented to her proposal to abolish the custom. 

“Throughout the reign, at all ordinary meals, at his suppers when he came in late from hunting, when he had perhaps invited some of his fellow-sportsmen to share his repast, and at State banquets, Marie Antoinette took her seat at his side, not only adding grace and liveliness to the entertainment, but effectually preventing license, and even the suspicion of scandal; and, as she desired that her household as well as her family should set an example of regularity and propriety to the nation, she exercised a careful superintendence over the behavior of those who had hitherto been among the least-considered members of the Royal establishment.” —From MarieAntoinnette.org 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia