Être reçu en audience chez le roi

Abstract

At the time of Louis XIV, the royal audience was integrated into the court’s daily ritual. Depending on whether the audience was for a courtier or a foreign political representative, its role and its organization differed. The courtiers who gained audience thanks to the royal favour they enjoyed or through influential intermediaries were received soon after the king rose or after his dinner, in his office. These interviews were relatively short and informal. The audiences with foreign political representatives, however, were more codified. There were three types: public, private and secret. The ceremony, detailed and impressive, gave the public audience its meaning. It was conceived as a revelation of the rank and importance accorded to a foreign minister received at court. Thus, it was qualified by multiple variations depending on the political representative’s state and his character. As for private and secret meetings, they were useful to royal policy, an opportunity for ambassadors or their envoys present at court to negotiate the policies of their sovereign directly with the king.

Keywords

• Louis XIV
• royal audiences
• ambassador
• envoy
• courtier
• royal favor