Versailles layout/ The Apollo Room/The Queen’s Bedchamber
On the sixth day of my trip to Paris, Friday, June 23rd, my study abroad class visited Versailles consisting of the King’s private apartments, the state apartments, the gardens, and the fountains. The state apartments or the Grand apartments were the publicly visible living areas of the king and queen of France in the Château de Versailles consisting of 14 rooms. These quarters were for public viewing of the king and queen’s official activities. Seven rooms belong to the king and seven symmetrical arranged rooms belong to the queen. The apartments are connected to the more private petite apartments and the king and queen often retired to their respective rooms in the petite apartments. In the daytime, the Grand Apartments were open to all wishing to see the king and the Royal Family making their way to the chapel (The King’s State Apartment, 2021).
Versailles was built by Louis XIV yet was not finished until the reign of Louis XV. Louis XV was the only French King to begin and finish his life at Versailles. The rooms in the King’s Grand Apartment are The Hercules Room, The Room of Abundance, The Venus Room, The Diana Room, The Mars Room, The Mercury Room, and the Apollo Room. The Hercules room was the last room built by Louis XIV and it was intended to showcase a painting of The Hypothesis of Hercules. The Room of Abundance was a refreshment room with drinks. It housed Louis XIV’s rare objects collection (The King’s State Apartment, 2021). All the rooms had many different purposes. These rooms were named after the planets, continuing the theme of the sun mythology that inspired the decoration in Versailles.
The Queen’s apartments had about seven rooms whose layout was identical to the King’s Grand Apartments. Eventually, under King Louis XIV, he modified all the rooms along the Marble Courtyard for his new apartments. Therefore the Queen’s space became restricted to her Grand Apartments. Later, the layout was altered by Marie Leszczynska and then Marie Antoinette to include a few smaller rooms for private use. The Queen’s Grand apartment includes the Queen’s Bedchamber, the Nobles’ Room, The Royal Table Antechamber, and The Queen’s Guard Room (The King’s State Apartment, 2021). The bed chamber was the most significant room in the apartments. The queen spent most of her time here sleeping, receiving guests, and giving birth in public. The decorations in the apartment reflect all three queens who previously occupied it. An interesting fact that I learned on the private tour was that to complete their Royal duties the king could visit the queen’s quarters but not the other way around. This tradition ensured that the King was seen conquering the queen’s apartment, depicting the emphasis on patriarchy in French culture at the time.
While there was a tragic event at the Paris American Academy, the continuous support received from the faculty and the full schedule helped our group carry on. Despite the adversity faced, Lasell University enabled my study abroad experience to continue in Paris and provide me with a rich experience.
-By Zoey Edwards
Work Cited
The King’s State Apartment. (2021, June 28). Palace of Versailles. https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/palace/king-state-apartment#the-venus-room
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