Through the fortuitous death of his brothers-in-law, Henry Bourbon inherited the throne and founded the Bourbon dynasty. This family ruled France for more than 250 years and saw the final throes of the Ancien Règime and the end of absolute monarchy. Their greatest ruler, Louis XIV, was the personification of royal grandeur, whereas his innocent descendents became the symbols of all that was corrupt and parasitical in the monarchy. They paid with their heads!