King Louis XIII is the king of France. He is a jealous man who is difficult to please. Although the cardinal and M. de Tréville often try to manipulate him, the king is often more astute than either of them expects. Although he is cruel to his wife, Queen Anne, the king appreciates the musketeers, especially when they win victories over the cardinal’s men.
King Louis XIII Quotes in The Three Musketeers
The The Three Musketeers quotes below are all either spoken by King Louis XIII or refer to King Louis XIII. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
Panics were frequent in those times, and few days went by when an event of this kind was not recorded in the archives of one town or another. Noblemen fought among themselves; the king was at war with the cardinal; the Spanish were at war with the king. And then, besides all this secret or open warfare, there were robbers, beggars, Huguenots, wolves, and lackeys, who were at war with everyone. The townsmen always took up arms against robbers, wolves, and lackeys, often against noblemen and Huguenots, sometimes against the king, but never against the cardinal or the Spanish.
Related Characters:
King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
And, as His Majesty had predicted, the cardinal was furious, so furious that for a week he did not come to the king’s card game. This did not prevent the king from greeting him graciously whenever they met, and saying in his most sympathetic tone, “Tell me about those two poor guards of yours, Bernajoux and Jussac. How are they doing?
Related Characters:
King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, D’Artagnan
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15
Quotes
The king’s animosity against the queen was deftly nurtured by the cardinal, who was much warier of women than of men in matters of intrigue.
Related Characters:
King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, Queen Anne, The Duke of Buckingham
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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King Louis XIII Character Timeline in The Three Musketeers
The timeline below shows where the character King Louis XIII appears in The Three Musketeers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...Tréville’s father was friends with Henry IV, the predecessor and father of the current king, Louis XIII . Because of his family connections, M. de Tréville became friends with Louis XIII at...
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The musketeers are so impressive that Cardinal Richelieu, who is at least as powerful as Louis XIII , decided to form a band of his own. His group of musketeers are informal...
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Chapter 3
...doesn’t seem to realize that Athos is absent. He begins berating Porthos and Aramis because the king recently told M. de Tréville that he should start recruiting musketeers from the cardinal’s guard....
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...he tells him that he cannot personally make him a musketeer. Musketeers are chosen by the king and qualified candidates must have much more experience than d’Artagnan currently possesses.
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Chapter 6
...Tréville needs to appease; he also needs to defend the actions of his men to the king . As such, he heads to the Louvre to meet with Louis XIII and explain...
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M. de Tréville assures the king that his musketeers were not at fault for the incident. Instead, he insists that the...
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When the musketeers learn that they will be received by the king , they are not that excited. They’ve been in the king’s guard for a long...
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...Eventually, the musketeers are victorious and d’Artagnan realizes it is time for his meeting with the king .
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Together with his three friends, d’Artagnan heads for the Louvre to see Louis XIII . However, when they arrive, the king is not in. Apparently, he decided to go...
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...M. de Tréville meets them there and then goes in for a private audience with the king because he wants to make sure that the king is not angry at the musketeers....
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The next day, Trémouille arrives and explains what happened the day before. His report pleases the king , who finally grants d’Artagnan and the three musketeers an audience. He is particularly impressed...
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Chapter 8
Because the money from the king eventually runs dry, the three musketeers do what they can to scrape some money together....
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Chapter 12
...its consequences. Initially, the duke was on track to become the ambassador of France. However, King Louis XIII quickly put a stop to that because he didn’t want the duke around his wife...
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Chapter 14
...duke a box, which contains diamond tags that were originally gifted to the queen by the king . This makes the cardinal happy because he knows he will be able to use...
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Chapter 15
...Immediately, M. de Tréville springs into action. He heads to the Louvre to talk to the king and the cardinal. Meanwhile, Athos is imprisoned at the Fort l’Eveque, where he is repeatedly...
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...As it turns out, the Louvre is a complicated place full of secrets and conspiracies. The king is jealous regarding Queen Anne who he suspects is having an affair. The cardinal knows...
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When M. de Tréville arrives, the king is angry because the cardinal recently informed him that he failed to catch the woman...
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Chapter 16
Unsurprisingly, the king is angry to hear that the Duke of Buckingham was in Paris. The cardinal knows...
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The king responds by saying that he is sure that the queen is having an affair. At...
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The king once again asks the cardinal if he thinks the duke met up with the queen....
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...is thinking about her terrible marriage and her lack of allies and friends. Before long, the king walks in and tells her that Monsieur de Sequier will be in to see her...
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...not like the situation himself but insists that he must carry out the orders of the king .
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...have on her person. This satisfies Monsieur de Sequier who promptly delivers the letter to the king . The letter is addressed to the queen’s brother, the leader of Austria, and it...
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The king also tells the cardinal that the letter contains some disparaging comments about him. The king...
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Chapter 17
The cardinal mentions the diamond tags to the king twice, which makes him suspicious. He thinks the cardinal is likely up to something, but...
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After the king leaves her chambers, the queen prays for someone to lend her a hand. She feels...
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Chapter 20
...tells him that they will only toast to the cardinal if he will toast to the king in return. This starts a fight and both the stranger and Porthos pull out their...
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Chapter 22
It is the day of the ball, and the king and queen are expected to perform La Merlaison, the king’s favorite dance. Throughout the day,...
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...to fetch the tags. While the queen returns to her dressing room, the cardinal approaches the king and shows him the two diamonds that he stole from the tags. He tells the...
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Eventually, the king makes his way to the queen and shows her the missing tags. The queen thanks...
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Nearby, d’Artagnan watches all of the interactions between the king , the queen, and the cardinal. He is one of the few people who understands...
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Chapter 60
Sick of taking part in the siege, King Louis XIII decides to return to Paris. When he leaves, he brings a group of musketeers with...
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Chapter 67
The siege of La Rochelle ends, and the king begrudgingly returns to La Rochelle after his long tenure in Paris. Though he doesn’t want...
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Epilogue
After a year-long siege, La Rochelle surrenders on October 28th, 1628. When the siege ends, the king returns to Paris and D’Artagnan accepts his promotion in the musketeers. One year later, Porthos...
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