ABSTRACT
When writing about attitudes toward the sexual behaviours of the three King Louis who reigned between the establishment of the royal court at Versailles and the French Revolution, there is a confusing spectrum of reactions. While sometimes in conflict with each other, the different perceptions of and reactions to sexual behaviours in the life of the king were fed by tumultuous shifts in attitudes about gender, marriage and religion that turned the king’s harmless romantic galanteries, emotional and romantic dalliances with women, into scandal that could destroy the reputation of one king. Outside the court, at the time of his death, Louis XIV was reviled in popular song for being politically controlled by Maintenon, for his wars and for high taxation, but not for his former sexual habits. This was unlike his great-grandson and successor Louis XV, who during his reign and at the time of his own death became known for his uncontrolled sexuality.
