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Ten rules of etiquette for your Versailles visit….
What could be worse than strolling Versailles and running into a noble, or even worse, the King himself and not knowing what to do? It might lead to one being forcefully removed from court and ridiculed for years to come… so, here are some rules of etiquette one should be aware of to be saved from eternal embarrassment. -If you…
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Les Honneurs du Louvre
To distinguish higher ranking nobles from lower ranking ones, there was something called Les Honneurs du Louvre at Louis XIV’s court. As the name hints, it had its origins in the Louvre and consisted of specific privileges that made it very clear to everyone else that the person who had Les Honneurs du Louvre was somewhat important to King and Kingdom. This set of…
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How and when to sit….
At Louis XIV’s court even the most simple of tasks, like placing one’s behind on a piece of furniture designed for it, was an utterly complicated matter at times. Not just was it very important how one sat down, sitting down at the wrong time on the wrong chair could mean one’s ruin. Who could sit where and when…
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Dining with the Sun King….. Table Etiquette
Etiquette, those terribly complicated rules of how to do basically anything, ruled the French court just like the Sun King in person. There was a rule for everything and every rule had some sort of exception. Learning all of this would be for us today like preparing for some sort of exam one’s life depends on, but back then the…