Domaine National du Palais-Royal

The Palais-Royal began as the personal residence of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis the Thirteenth. He commissioned the architect Jacques Lemercier to build the structure in the sixteen thirties, and it was originally known as the Palais-Cardinal. Richelieu intended the building to be a grand display of his own influence and power while remaining conveniently located near the Louvre. When the Cardinal died in sixteen forty-two, he bequeathed the entire estate to the King.