Louis XIII Statue

The most beautiful house would not stand if it didn't have a solid foundation. Louis XIII is in my humble opinion too often overlooked in French history.

But long before his son Louis XIV could dub himself the Sun King, Louis XIII and his main minister Richelieu planted all the seeds to make France a power player in Europe. For that, they had to do all the dirty work.

Richelieu is depicted as a dark figure by Alexandre Dumas in the Three Musketeers and Louis XIII as a weak King. Sadly, in this day and age, people actually believe what they read in a historical noval... If that is printed, it must be true...