Crowded house
Especially during the reign of King Louis XIV when the Palace of Versailles was still under construction, there was always noise and dust. And, for all residents, it was just very crowded. At the time of the reign of Louis XIV between 3,000 and 10,000 people lived at the Versailles Palace. Pests like mice and rats outnumbered the human population many times.
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The King's family lived there, officially. King Louis XIV died in 1715, at the age of sixty-seven, very old in that period of time. He had been King of France for seventy-two years! In his lifetime he produced a lot of offspring.
He had six children from Queen Maria Theresia (only one would grow up to be an adult). He also had numerous illegitimate children with various women. Most of them were legitimised by the king and for those who grew up he arranged marriages into the aristocracy.
The male descendants of the king, also the illegitimate ones, and their families kept living at the palace. The daughters were usually married off to foreign royalty and left, often at a very young age. For example, Marie Louise Elisabeth, eldest daughter of Louis XV, married on her 12th with the son of the Spanish King Philip of Bourbon. Unmarried daughters, and also cousins and other family members lived at the Palace.
King Louis XV had 11 children with Queen Marie Leszczyńska. 4 Of his daughters never married, and remained at court. They had their own apartments, which you can visit (see Tips for visiting Versailles).
In addition to the King's family, it was not unusual for the King's mistress(es) to occupy an apartment in the Palace, often with her children.