In Cinderella's story, the prince invited all the unmarried young women in the capital to choose a bride.
Who knew whether this prince had ever conducted a census, or whether his castle could hold so many lovely guests? But since it was a story, the point was probably that the ball was tremendously lively. Every girl dressed to the nines to win the prince's favor, and for a while, it was impossible to tell whether flowers resembled beauties or beauties outshone flowers.
It must have been a delightful sight. What was more, on a romantic night, Cinderella won love by dancing with the handsome prince in a splendid ballroom, and the prince refused to marry anyone but that mysterious girl.
Leaving aside what tiny country this prince ruled, Cinderella was first included in Grimm's Fairy Tales, which were folktales from the German-speaking regions. As for the French court alone, it was already difficult enough to gain a chance to approach the king in overcrowded Versailles. Positions such as household servants, messengers, valets, and inner-court attendants all had to be bought, costing roughly 30,000 to 100,000 livres. Most minor nobles simply could not afford them.
If a woman wished to have an audience with the queen, she had to submit reliable documents to a genealogist beforehand, proving that her noble lineage could be traced back to 1400. Sometimes men came to join the fun as well. Thus, the first requirement for attending a court ball was to be "invited," especially for a ball held in the Mirror Room at Versailles, which could hold only around five hundred people. It had originally been a grand corridor, the "main thoroughfare" of Versailles, and no tables or chairs were ordinarily placed there so as not to obstruct passage.
But when the king ordered festivities