The Day of a King

The Morning
In the Kings room the day began at about a quarter to eight, when the First Valet de Chambre, who had slept in the room, would dismantle and put away his folding bed; if it was winter, the two porte-buchon du roi, the royal faggot bearers , would next make their appearance to light the King's fire, followed a minute or two later by the King's watchmaker to wind up the royal watch. From a side door would enter the royal wigmaker, coming from the room in which the King's wigs reposed, each on its pedestal, in glass-fronted wardrobes -hunting wigs, council wigs, evening wigs, walking wigs, an endless array of wigs. But at the moment the wigmaker carries two only, the short wig which the King wears whilst dressing, and the first wig of the day.

All this time Louis would be in bed asleep, or pretending to be so, with the bedclothes turned down to his hips, as is his uncomfortable custom, winter and summer. On the first stroke of eight his valet would wake him and the exciting news that His Majesty was awake would pass into the closely packed anteroom to set the courtiers rustling like a field of ripe corn in a summer breeze. At the same moment the First Physician and the First Surgeon entered the room, together with the King's old nurse, who went up to the bed, kissed him and asked how he had slept, whilst the two medical men rubbed the King down and changed his shirt. At a quarter-past eight the Grand Chamberlain was admitted, together with those courtiers who had the coveted grandes entrées, and Louis was presented with Holy Water. Now was the time to ask the King a favor, we are told, which suggests that in this, as in so many other respects, his psychology differed considerably from that of ordinary mortals.

Had I been Louis, with Louis' day in prospect, it would certainly have been no propitious moment to approach me. The GrandeEntrées now withdrew, while the King recited the Office of the Holy Ghost, after which they were re-admitted for the treat of seeing him put on his dressing gown and wig, and a few minutes later the common herd of the nobility swarmed in and packed the room to watch Louis dress. We are grateful to one of them for having recorded the fact that they found him putting on his breeches, "which he did very cleverly and gracefully." When the moment came for him to put on his shirt, that garment would be handed to the senior person present by the First Valet, and the man so favored would then hand it to the King. So far, we notice that there has been no mention of washing, much less of taking a bath, in spite of the fact that so long ago as 1640 the well-bred person is recommended to wash his hands every day "and his face nearly as often." Not of course in water, which was considered a dangerous proceeding, but by rubbing the face with cotton soaked in diluted and scented alcohol. Perhaps Louis confined his washing to those occasions on which he was shaved, that is every other day. After that operation, during which the valet held a mirror in front of him, he washed in water mixed with spirits of wine, and then dried his own face without any assistance from his entourage. The barber, we may note in passing, was one of the King’s five hundred attendants who had free board and lodging at Court. Perhaps it was in the evening that Louis had his bath, for we know that he sometimes took one; and that it was a rare event may perhaps be inferred from the fact that when he did so, an official of the Fifth Section of the First Kitchen stood by with perfume burning on a red-hot shovel to keep the air sweet.