House of Bourbon: Louis XIV, XV, Or XVI?

Each of the three Kings had a nickname, but it was Louis XV who was known as "The Beloved." Louis XIV was referred to as Louis the Great, or The Sun King, while Louis XVI had the tamest nickname of all -- Louis Capet.

Louis XVI ruled through the French Revolution in 1789. Thanks in part to his inept rule and extravagant lifestyle, he was charged with treason and sent to the guillotine on January 21, 1793.

Queen Marie Antoinette was sent to the guillotine less than a year after her husband, on October 16, 1793. Their young son died in prison, while their daughter survived and was sent to live with family in Austria in 1795.

A 14-year old Marie married a 15-year old Louis XVI in a political move designed to smooth relations between the French monarchy and the Habsburgs. The shy king interacted very little with his wife in the early years of their marriage.

Louis XIV didn't just have the longest reign in the House of Bourbon line -- after 72 years on the throne, he is known as the longest-serving European monarch ever. Louis XV reigned for a still-impressive 59 years, while Louis XVI wore the crown for just 18 years.

Louis the XIV was something of a miracle baby. He was born 23 years after the marriage of his father Louis XIII to Anne of Austria, and was their first child after many attempts to start a family.

A 22-year old Louis XIV married his cousin Marie-Therese in 1654. Marie was the daughter of King Philip of Spain, and he proceeded to have numerous not-so-secret affairs throughout the union.

Louis the Beloved became King of France at the age of 5 in 1715, and ruled for 59 years until his death in 1774.

Louis XIV fought the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714, in which he struggled to help his grandson, Philip V of Spain, to maintain control over the Spanish Empire.

While Louis XIV married cousin Marie-Therese, and Louis XVI married the infamous Marie Antoinette, Louis XV married Marie Leszczynska in 1725. She was the daughter of the former King of Poland, and Louis himself was just 15 at the time of the union.

Louis the XIV was just four when he became king. Louis XV was a year older when he inherited the throne at age 5, while Louis XVI was 20 when he became the ruler of France.

Louis XIV was a dedicated Catholic and took it upon himself to revoke the Edict of Nantes, which had been issued in 1598 and allowed Protestants to practice their religion safely in France. Louis XIV's decision to revoke the Edict in 1685 sent Protestants spilling out of the country in search of religious freedom.

Versailles was a simple hunting lodge before Louis XIV transformed it into a 700-room palace -- the largest and grandest palace in the world at that time.

In 1682, Louis XIV moved his family and official staff from Paris to Versailles, 25 miles southwest of the city. From that year until the French Revolution, French royals lived in gold-plated opulence as ordinary citizens struggled to survive.

A young Louis XVI lost his mom and dad to tuberculosis as a child. More importantly, his heir-apparent brother Louis duc de Bourgogne also succumbed to the disease, leaving his younger brother to inherit the throne.

Louis XV produced 10 children with his wife, seven of which lived past childhood. Louis XIV produced at least a dozen children with various mistresses, but only a total of six offspring with his wife.

When he entered the world on August 23, 1754, Louis XVI became the first French king to be born at Versailles. He succeeded to the throne at age 20 upon the death of his grandfather, Louis XIII in 1774.

Louis XV surprisingly sided with former enemy Austria in the war, which started in 1756. France not only lost the Seven Years War but was also forced to give up many of its colonies to England at the conclusion of the war.

Hoping to restore his wife's father to the Polish throne, Louis XV plunged France into the War of the Polish Succession in 1733. France lost the War, but did manage to pick up some additional territories by the time the dust settled.

Angry mobs forced Louis XVI and his family from Versailles and forced the king to sign the country's first constitution in 1791, transforming France from a monarchy to a democracy for the first time.

Louis XV was largely hands off as king and allowed regents to run the country in his place. France was ruled by regent Philippe II from 1715 to 1723, then by Andre-Hercule de Fleury through 1743, all while Louis XV served as the official king.

Louis XV survived an attempted assassination after he was stabbed by a Parliament sympathizer on January 5, 1757.

Louisiana is named for Louis XIV, who was the French monarch when explorer Robert Cavalier de la Salle claimed the area for France in 1682.

Since Louis XIV inherited the throne at such a young age, his mom Anne of Austria served as regent until he came of age. He later become one of the only French monarchs to rule without the aide of a minister.

Louis XIV adopted the sun god Apollo and the sun itself as his official symbol. He even danced as the god Apollo in a French ballet at one point.

Louis XIV saw himself as an actual god and was known to utter, "L'Etat, c'est moi," or "I am the state."

The arts flourished under Louis XIV, but he was also known for his persistent and aggressive approach to battle. He was so aggressive, in fact, that the rest of Europe banded together in the 17th century to form a Grand Alliance aimed at protecting one another and controlling his attacks.

While it was referred to as French Blue during his reign, scientists established in 2009 that the huge diamond owned by Louis XIV and the gem now known as the Hope Diamond are one and the same.

The extramarital activities of Louis XIV are well-documented, so it was not really a surprise to people of the period when the king married his children's governess, the Marquise de Maintenon, which whom he had been carrying on a long affair.

Conditions were so dire during the reign of Louis XVI that he convened the Estates- General for the first time in more than 200 years. The effectively-powerless group consisted of clergy, nobles and common people, and Louis looked to them for help in getting France out of debt and controlling an increasingly restless populace.