Mercury Room

Mercury was the ceremonial bedroom of the State Apartment. Its bed could be removed in winter to make room for games tables during court gatherings. The bed displayed today was introduced in the nineteenth century under King Louis-Philippe, as Versailles became a museum. The room once had a silver barrier around the bed alcove. That metal was melted down in 1689 to help pay for war. This is a separate room from the bedroom Louis XIV adopted in 1701, behind the central windows of the Marble Courtyard.