Inaugural celebrations begin at Louis XIV of France's new Palace of Versailles.

Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as absolute ruler of France in the early modern period.

The Palace of Versailles is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France.

May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 238 days remain until the end of the year.