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HistoryThe big dates
Chronology
- 1630 The Day of the Dupes
- 1682 Versailles, capital of the kingdom
- 1685 Reception of the Doge of Genoa
- 1686 Reception of the embassy of Siam
- Wedding of the Duc de Bourgogne and Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy
- 1700 The Duc d’Anjou, king of Spain
- 1715 Reception of the Persian embassy
- 1715 The death of Louis XIV
- 1717 Visite of Peter the Great
- 1722 Retour of the Court to Versailles
- 1742 Visit of the embassy of the Sublime Porte
- 1757 Assassination attempt of Damiens against Louis XV
- 1763-1764 Visit of the child Mozart
- 1774 The death of Louis XV
- 1777 Visit of Joseph II of Austria
- 1778-1783 Versailles and the United States
- 1784-85 The scandal of the queen’s necklace
- 1789 Opening of the Etats Généraux (States General)
- 1789 Jeu de Paume Oath
- 1789 The departure of the king
- 1797 Creation of the Special Museum of the French School
- 1805 Visit of pope Pius VII
- 1837 Inauguration of the Museum of the History of France
- 1855 Visit of Queen Victoria
- 1871 Proclamation of the German Empire
- 1871-1879 The parliamentarians at Versailles
- 1875 Birth of the 3rd Republic
- 1919 The Treaty of Versailles
- 1957 – 1992 State visits
- 1953 Royal Affairs at Versailles
- 1962-1966 André Malraux and Versailles
- 1982 The Versailles Summit
- 1999 The storm in Versailles
1957 – 1992 State visits
June 1957 – February 1992, from Elisabeth II to Boris Yeltsin
Versailles, a national palace at the disposal of the President of the Republic, became the setting for official functions in the 20th century. When the gold of the monarchy served the prestige of the republic…
Since the visit of Queen Victoria in 1855, Versailles has been the privileged setting for the diplomatic receptions of France. Tsar Nicolas II and King George VI were received here respectively in 1896 and 1938. This use of the Château became a ritual during the 5th Republic.
The 4th Republic opened the ball with the reception, in April 1957, of the young queen of England, Elisabeth II, by President René Coty. It was her first official stay in France. Relations between the two countries were at a low ebb following the Suez expedition of 1956. The queen’s popularity was sure to improve relations between France and Britain. She was welcomed in Versailles by the Prefect and the Chief Curator, Van Der Kemp, and made her entrance into the palace by the Queen’s Staircase, as was only fitting. She then visited the grand royal apartments before having lunch in the Hall of Mirrors. That was followed by the inauguration of the Royal Opera House, restored for the occasion. She herself had contributed to this restoration.
Another outstanding reception was that given for President John Kennedy. He was received in Versailles in June 1961 by General de Gaulle. In this period of tension with the USSR, he had come to make sure of the support of France. The American president was accompanied by his wife, the lovely Jackie. The couple was welcomed by Malraux, the Minister for Culture. Dinner was served in the Hall of Mirrors after the tour of the palace, followed by a ballet performance in the Royal Opera House. The rules laid down under Louis-Philippe and Napoléon III were once again followed.
The ritual was repeated in October 1961 for the first visit of the Shah of Iran who returned to Versailles in 1974 when the Shah was the privileged guest of France. The Château was definitely the essential honour paid to outstanding guests. The same honours were shown in October 1985 to the hero of ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost’ in the USSR, Michael Gorbatchev. He was received and accommodated in the Grand Trianon. President Mitterrand followed suit in February 1992 for his successor, Boris Yeltsin, hero of the fall of Soviet regime in 1991. After 1995, Versailles lost some of its aura to Paris, a more convenient and less costly setting.