Wife of Louis XIII and mother to Louis XIV. Despite the fact she has been called by history, "Anne of Austria" she in fact belonged to the Spanish branch of the House of Hapsburg. Her marriage to Louis XIII was unhappy and complicated by political intrigue and Louis's apparent disinterest in her. Louis was so disinterested in her that it has been claimed for years that Cardinal Richelieu was the father of Louis XIV and his brother Philippe and not Louis XIII. But after Louis was dead Anne ruled France as Regent until the Sun King was old enough to rule on his own.

The last dynasty of French Monarchs, this family reigned from the end of the Wars of Religion until the French Revolution tore the family and all of France apart.

For centuries the Fleur de Lys or Lily of France has been the symbol of a great nation and the men and women who shaped it. Get this lamp and have your own Fleur de Lys on your wall to provide all the light you'll ever need and with this white Fleur de Lys the Bourbon flair.

The first Bourbon King of France and Navarre. As a young man Henry IV was considered a Protestant womanizing wastrel, the exact sort that would make a poor king of such an important state as France. But after defeating Henry of Guise in the War of the Three Henries, and becoming Catholic, Henry IV proved a good king, except for his continued womanizing, which earned him the nickname "The Evergreen Gallant". A major achievement of Henry's was the Treaty of Nantes which provided religous toleration. Despite all, Henry was assasinated by a religous fanatic on the streets of Paris.

King at a young age, Louis was quiet and serious. After being ruled by his mother during his minority, he constantly quarreled with her and his wife the lovely Anne of Austria. And present at all of these quarrels was the consumate statesmen and one of history's best loved villians, Cardinal Richeliu.

The Sun King in all his glory. King from early childhood, Louis was the darling of his mother's eye and the Sun which the French court orbited. His many love affairs didn't slow him down from ruling his country and spending money like water on his Palace at Versaille. Louis was one of the longest reigning French monarchs, out living two throne heirs and dying of old age in 1714.

Like his great grandfather, Louis XIV, Louis XV came to the throne at a young age. Loved by his subjects in the prime of his manhood, age and the growing financial problems of France caused Louis XV to lose the love of his people. The decline of the Bourbons after Louis XIV was signaled by the fact that when it was time to marry, the only bride that could be found was the daughter of the deposed Polish King. Louis XV lived long enough to see his grandson, the future Louis XVI married to a beautiful Hapsburg archduchess named Marie Antoniette.

Relatively stupid and loving the hunt, Louis XVI was obvious to the poverty of his subjects until the Revolution broke out. Forced to abdicate by the Estates General, Louis forced the Committe of Public Safety's hand when he tried to escape with his family to Austria. They were captured and brought back to Paris where Louis was tried and executed.

The last direct Bourbon King of France. Plied with alcohol during the Revolution, Louis XVII betrayed his mother and his Aunt Elizabeth at their "trials". Left alone with only his sister Marie Therese "Madame Royal", both children were neglected by their jailors. But while Marie Therese survived to become Madame La Dauphin, Louis XVII died not long after his mother and aunt of consumption, having never reigned.

Another scion of the House of Hapsburg, Marie Theresa played only a small role in France and in her husband's life. By this time, the King's Mistress had more power than the King's wife. Marie Theresa died before her husband, who proclaimed her death was the only trouble she had ever given him. She is shown here with her eldest son, the Grand Dauphin.

Daughter of the formidable Empress Maria Theresa of Hapsburg, Marie Antoinette spent most of her life as a petted darling. Her only problem was her husband's lack of sexual prowess in any manner. Then the Estates General decided France would be better without the monarchs. Her life then desolved into a nightmare. First they were imprisoned, then her husband was executed. Finally she had to listen as her cherished son claimed she had sexually abused him and was condemed to die. Marie Antoniette was executed at the height of the French Revolution.

A distant cousin of Catherine de Medici, Marie married Henry IV in order to provide money that Henry had squandered on his mistresses and illegitimate children. A weak and rather stupid woman, she was ruled first by her childhood friend Leonora then by a young priest who proved a benefit in trying to rule France as regent, Cardinal Richeliu

Daughter of a deposed Polish King, Marie Lecizinska was not a powerful person in the French court after her marriage to Louis XV. Like many French Queens she had to put up with her husband's many mistresses, the greatest of which was Madame Pompadour.