To his supporters, Louis was le Roi Soleil—the Sun King—in whose reign France expanded and strengthened her borders. To his detractors, he was a near tyrant, whose belief in absolutism—the ...

(Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; iStock) A depiction of France's King Louis XIV known as “The Sun King” at Versailles. (Ian Langsdon/AFP/Getty Images; iStock) At Versailles, Louis XIV built ...

Louis was able to project an image of himself as the centre of gravity around which all of France revolved: it’s no accident that he became known as the Sun King. He centralized power to the ...

Louis XIV—C. S. Forester—Dodd ... reminiscent of glittering splendor and jewelled magnificence during the Sun King’s reign. But Mr. Forester points out that the palaces were drafty and ...

Louis didn’t start wearing a wig until his hair began thinning in his mid-thirties. Also full-bottomed, Trump has his own style of big hair. Even if less abundant than the Sun King’s ...