This was the first issue of dolls to use  the "LE" (limited Edition) prefix

King Louis XIV became King of France at the age of five, and ruled for seventy-two years.   For 54 years, he personally controlled the French government, in a type of rule known as Absolutism.   His long reign stabilised France, and the French culture became the most admired in Europe.   He is perhaps best remembered for building the Palace of Versailles.

He had a string of mistresses, but was always unfailingly kind to Queen Marie Thérèse, who became great friends with one of his many mistresses, Athenais, Marquise de Montespan

Louise, Duchess de la Valliere, lived openly as the king's mistress for six years, and was made a Duchess for her services.   One of her two illegitemate children by the king, the Compte de Vermandois, was later rumoured to be the "Man in the Iron Mask".   She eventually retired to a convent in 1674

Athenais had several children with the King, and became great friends with the Queen.   She was ousted from the King's affections by the governess she hired, Madame Scarron.   Athenais also retired to a convent

Whilst known as Madame Scarron, Francoise, Madame de Maintenon was governess to the children of the Marquise de Montespan.   Described as the best educated woman in his Court, Louis secretly married her in 1683, when he was 46.   He remained true to her for the next 32 years, until his death

The complete set consisted of the following five dolls :

• LE/50 - King Louis XIV, "The Sun King"
• LE/51 - Queen Marie Thérèse
• LE/52 - Louise, Duchess de la Valliere
• LE/53 - Athenais, Marquise de Montespan
• LE/54 - Francoise, Madame de Maintenon

Each doll was supplied with a numbered certificate of authenticity

The slideshow below displays the entire "Sun King" doll collection

The doll pictures will auto run as a slide show in the window above.

Press F5 (function key 5 on your keyboard), to re-start the slide show.

Alternatively, you may control the slideshow manually – follow the steps below :

• Place the cursor at the bottom of the window to access thumbnail and navigation control bar
• Click on the “?” (question mark) symbol (bottom left hand side of the control bar) for a detailed explanation of the controls
• See a full screen slideshow by clicking on the “Square with Arrow” symbol (2^nd from right on the control bar)
• Use the keyboard arrow keys to move forward and back through the slideshow, as desired
• Use the “ESC” key to leave full screen mode