Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (farm) alongside the lodge and shrine. The site was purchased from the monks in 1719 by King Philip V, after his summer palace nearby at Valsaín burned to a shell. He was the first Spanish king from the French Bourbon dynasty. Beginning in 1721, Philip began building a new palace and gardens modeled on Versailles, built by his grandfather, Louis XIV of France. Like Versailles it embraced a "cour d'honneur" on the approaching side, and formal gardens, with a main axis centred on the palace, that were surrounded by woodland in which further hidden garden features were disposed. Like Versailles,
Palace of Versailles Research Centre Palace of Versailles Research Centre The Palace of Versailles Research Centre (in French: "Centre de recherche du château de Versailles" - CRCV) is the first research centre established in a French palace. It originated as part of a French government project called "Digital Great Versailles" (in French, "Grand Versailles Numérique") to improve public access to the Palace of Versailles. It is located in the Jussieu pavilion, near the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon, on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, which is in the Île-de-France region of France. The Centre serves as a resource to scholars and curators