French courtiers were princes, dukes, counts, barons, bishops, priests, bankers, and merchants, all from different backgrounds (German, French, Italian, Swiss, Spanish). Towards the end of the 17th century King Louis XIV the Sun King built the Royal palace of Versailles (Chateau de Versailles) and moved his governement and court to Versailles to distance himself from his subjects. Louis XIV also exempt the nobles and clergy from taxes while the peasantry still needed to pay.During the reign of his successor King Louis XV, France saw the loss of two wars in 2 decades making the monarchy very unpopular. In the 1780s under the reign of King Louis XVI, France was on the brink of collapse. Court spending and assisting the Americans fight the British caused the taxes to increase at the peasant's expense. While four percent of the population were pampered in luxury at Versailles eating tons of food and in good health, the peasants were starving due to bread famine. This lead to the French revolution. In the beginning some of the nobility supported the revolution while others did not want reform, but when Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793, it was made clear that non of the nobles were welcome. Many French nobles and clergy emigrated to the Holy Roman Empire and England, while some went to Canada and the United States. This is one of the many French courtiers who lived a papmered lifestyle at the palace of Versailles.