Palais-Royal Facts for Kids

Part of the Palais Royal today.

Entrance front of the Palais-Royal on the rue Saint-Honoré

Garden-side view with the columns of the former Galerie d'Orléans

The Palais Royal is a famous building in Paris, France. It was once a grand palace where members of the French royal family lived. Today, it's a beautiful public space with gardens and important government offices.

The palace was built in the 1630s by a powerful man named Cardinal Richelieu. He was a chief minister to King Louis XIII. Richelieu built it to keep his amazing collection of art.

When Cardinal Richelieu passed away in 1642, the palace became the property of the young King Louis XIV. He was one of France's most famous kings.

Later, in 1649, Henrietta Maria of France and her daughter, Henrietta, found shelter here. They had to leave England because of the English Civil War. King Louis XIV, who was Henrietta Maria's nephew, offered them a safe place to stay.

In 1692, King Louis XIV gave the Palais-Royal to his brother, Philippe, Duke of Orléans. This happened when Philippe's son, the Duke of Chartres, got married to Françoise Marie de Bourbon.

Several important people were born or died at the Palais-Royal. For example, Louis Philippe I, who later became the King of the French, was born here. His parents were Philippe Égalité and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. Also, Louise Henriette de Bourbon, who was married to Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, died in the palace.

Images for kids

The Palais-Cardinal, around 1641, before it became the Palais Royal.
Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans, the younger brother of Louis XIV.
A general map from 1692 by François d'Orbay. It shows the gardens as redesigned by André Lenôtre around 1674.
The Palais Brion on the 1739 Turgot map of Paris.
The duc d'Orléans' Council in 1716, with Cardinal Fleury at the Palais-Royal.
Palais-Royal on the 1739 Turgot map of Paris. The gardens were redesigned by Claude Desgots in 1729.
A plan of the Palais-Royal's first floor, showing the theatre in the east wing.
A 1780 plan of the Palais-Royal with Moreau's opera house.
The Salle Richelieu, designed between 1786 and 1790. It became the theatre of the Comédie-Française in 1799.
Palais-Royal around 1790, with Victor Louis' second theatre on the left.
Wooden galleries at the Palais-Royal, a lithograph from around 1825.
Palais Royal Gardens: An illustration from an 1863 guide to Paris.
A design from 1781 by Victor Louis for the garden side of the Palais Royal.
The garden surrounded by arcades in 2005.
A view of the Palais Royal garden looking north in 1788.
A plan of the Palais-Royal in 1795.
The south front of the Palais-Royal, with the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State) in the center.
A sculpture on the Pediment of the Council of State.
Sculpture on the south front, created by Augustin Pajou.
Napoleon on the Stairway of Honor in 1807.
The Stairway of Honor of the Conseil d'Etat. It has a trompe l'oeil painting of an arch.
The dome over the Stairway of Honor, with gilded pomegranate emblems of Philippe d'Orléans.
The Salle Napoleon, decorated between 1858 and 1860.
The General Assembly Chamber of the Council of State.
Murals in the General Assembly Chamber, showing France at work.
The Tribunal of Conflicts of the Council of State.
The trompe l'oeil ceiling of the Tribunal of Conflicts.
A wing of the building used by the Ministry of Culture.
The Salon Jerome of the Ministry of Culture, named after Napoleon's brother.
An office of the Minister of Culture.
The Stairway to the Constitutional Council.
The Office of the President of the Constitutional Council.
A meeting room of the Constitutional Council.
The Petit Salon of the Constitutional Council.
The Oratory, a small chapel created by Princess Marie Clothilde.
The Courtyard of Honor, with an art installation of columns by Daniel Buren.
The Homage to Arago plaque, marking the Paris meridian.
The Courtyard of Honor, showing the spheres of the Palais Royal fountain.
The noon cannon in the bowling green, fired by the sun at midday.
Paul Lemoyne, The Shepherd and the Goat (1830), a marble sculpture.
The beautiful gardens of the Palais-Royal.
The Alley of Colette.
The unified facade of town houses overlooking the garden.
Colette's town house entrance at 9 rue de Beaujolais.
The Gallery of Montpensier in the 18th century.
The Galerie of Montpensier today.
The Gallery of the Court of Honor, once part of the Gallery d'Orleans.
The Gallery of Beaujolais.
The Restaurant Le Grand Véfour, which opened in 1784 as the Café de Chartres.
The ceiling of the Restaurant Grand Véfour.
The Salle Richelieu, the main theater of the Comédie-Française.
The grand staircase of the Salle Richelieu.
The balconies of the Salle Richelieu.
The ceiling of the Pierre Dux salon in the foyer.
Mirrors in the foyer make the space seem larger.
Statues of caryatids decorate boxes next to the stage.
The Théâtre du Palais-Royal.
Dancers performing in May 2017 within the Columns of Buren at the Palais-Royal.

Palais-Royal facts for kids

Images for kids

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