Young Louis XIV became king of France in 1643 at age five. His mother, Anne of Austria, ruled in his place until, at twenty-three, he ended her turbulent regency and became "the absolute monarch" of France, which, during his reign, became the dominant power of Europe.

The Boy King wears an elaborate metal armor punctuated with gold fleurs de lys, the symbol of France, and rests his left hand on a metal helmet. He wears a red baldric trimmed with silver lace across his chest and a brown leather glove trimmed with gold fringes which was probably scented. His fine white muslin chemise (shirt) trimmed in lace emerges from the cuffs. A neck wrap called a stock, made from the same type of fine fabric as the shirt, is edged in elaborate lace and tied under his chin. Just as the armor spoke of status, so did the quality and cleanliness of the shirt. With the great plague pandemics decimating one third of the European population during the Middle Ages, public bathing was abandoned. Because the body did not get cleaned for fear of infection, the shirt became a symbol of cleanliness and wealth since few people could afford frequent changes and washings. The garments, light-blonde curled periwig and deportment are those of both an adult and a king.