“ | Listen, smart-arse, when you're king of France, you have better things to do than go around all day remembering your bloody number! | „ |
~ Louis to Joseph Montgolfier before head-butting him in the face |
King Louis XIV is the main antagonist of the Monty Python episode "The Golden Age of Ballooning", appearing in the sketches "The Golden Age of Ballooning" and "George III". He is a Scottish con artist who tries to steal the plans for the world's first hot air balloon by (badly) impersonating King Louis XIV of France, unaware that the man he is pretending to be died years before.
He was portrayed by Michael Palin, who also portrayed Luigi Vercoti, the Smuggler, and Cardinal Ximenez in the same series, as well as the Leader of the Knights who Say Ni and one of the heads of the Three-Headed Giant in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Pontius Pilate in Life of Brian, Charles Chiddingfold in Ripping Yarns, and Jack Lint in Brazil.
Biography[]
"The Golden Age of Ballooning"[]
In the sketch, Louis and his two "dukes" arrive at the home of Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier, the inventors of the hot air balloon, intending on stealing them and selling them to the highest bidder. Despite being an obvious fake - he speaks with a thick Glaswegian accent, knows nothing about the French monarchy, and has to be reminded several times that the King of France lives in Paris - he fools Jacques, who hands over the plans.
Before he can leave, however, Joseph storms into the room wearing only a towel and a bathing cap, having been reading in his bath, and declares that Louis is a fake - the real Louis XIV died in 1717, 65 years before the sketch takes place. Louis tries to cover his mistake by claiming to have misspoken, and that he is really Louis XV. When Joseph points out that Louis XV died in 1774, Louis angrily replies that he is Louis XVI, and headbutts him in the face. He and his dukes then take the plans and flee the Montgolfier estate, with Jacques, Joseph, and their butler O'Toole in hot pursuit.
"George III"[]
Louis and his dukes travel to England to sell the plans to King George III of England at Buckingham Palace. There, Lord North, the King's courtier, announces him as King Louis XVIII; when King George replies that there is no Louis XVIII, Louis says that he has "miscounted" because he is tired after a long journey, and that he is Louis XVII. Puzzled, King George asks, "Louis XVI is dead already?"
When Lord North goes back to Louis to find out what is going on, Louis head-butts him in the face, breaking his nose. He rushes to another of George's courtiers, mistaking him for the King, before one of his dukes points him in the right direction. Louis offers to sell George the plans immediately, but George insists on talking the matter over during a state banquet; Louis hurriedly replies that he does not want to "hang around". George agrees to give Louis 10,000 English pounds for the plans on the condition that he withdraw French troops from America. Louis agrees, but he tries to talk him out of contacting the real Louis XVI's chief financial advisor, Jacques Necker, by claiming that Necker has a drinking problem.
At that moment, Joseph - again clad only in a towel and bathing cap - charges into the room, declaring Louis to be a fraud. Before George can do anything, however, the Ronettes enter the room singing "George III", which so confuses and overwhelms him that he goes insane, screaming, "I'm not supposed to go mad until 1800!" Louis headbutts Joseph in the face once again before using the chaos around him to escape.
External links[]
- Louis XIV on the Monty Python Wiki