Versailles, as a new city, was founded by the will of King Louis XIV and became the de facto capital of France.

It served in this capacity for over a hundred years, from 1682 to 1789, before it became the cradle of the French Revolution. After losing its status as a royal city in 1790, Versailles became a prefecture of the Seinte-et-Oise department, and from 1968, Yvelines.