Louis XVI and Old Regime France: the man illustrated in all his royal finery is Louis XVI, King of France. In theory he was the latest in a line of absolute monarchs; that is to say, kings with total power in their kingdoms. In practice there were many checks on his power, and the changing political and economic situation in France meant his regime continued to erode. A financial crisis, caused largely by involvement in the American Revolutionary War, meant Louis had to seek out new ways of financing his kingdom, and in desperation he called an old representative body: the Estates General.