<P> Built in 1564, it was gradually extended until it closed off the western end of the Louvre courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres . Since the destruction of the Tuileries, the Louvre courtyard has remained open and the site is now the location of the eastern end of the Tuileries Garden, forming an elevated terrace between the Place du Carrousel and the gardens proper . </P> <P> After the accidental death of Henry II of France in 1559, his widow Catherine de' Medici (1519--1589) planned a new palace . She sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles, where her husband had died, and began building the palace of Tuileries in 1564, using architect Philibert de l'Orme . The name derives from the tile kilns or tuileries which had previously occupied the site . The palace was formed by a range of long, narrow buildings . During the reign of Henry IV (1589--1610), the building was enlarged to the south, so it joined the long riverside gallery, the Grande Galerie, which ran all the way to the older Louvre Palace in the east . </P> <P> During the reign of Louis XIV major changes were made to the Tuileries Palace . From 1659 to 1661 it was extended to the north by the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries . From 1664 to 1666 the architect Louis Le Vau and his assistant François d'Orbay made other significant changes . They transformed Philibert de l'Orme's facades and central pavilion, replacing its grand central staircase with a colonnaded vestibule on the ground floor and the Salle des Cents Suisses (Hall of the Hundred Swiss Guards) on the floor above and adding a rectangular dome . A new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were constructed in the south wing . The king's rooms were on the ground floor, facing toward the Louvre, and the queen's on the floor above, overlooking the garden . At the same time, Louis' gardener, André Le Nôtre, redesigned the Tuileries gardens . The Court moved into the Tuileries Palace in November 1667, but left in 1672, and soon thereafter went to the Palace of Versailles . The Tuileries Palace was virtually abandoned and used only as a theatre, but its gardens became a fashionable resort of Parisians . </P> <P> The boy - king Louis XV was moved from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace on 1 January 1716, four months after ascending to the throne . He moved back to Versailles on 15 June 1722, three months before his coronation . Both moves were made at the behest of the Regent, the duc d'Orléans . The king also resided at the Tuileries for short periods during the 1740s . </P>

Where did the french king live before versailles