French exhibition on the evolution of thrones

Since the earliest days of tribal society, humans have lived under the authority of a single figure, a ruler whose power and influence are either willingly recognised or endured.

Regimes come and go, but over thousands of years, the throne has become the enduring symbol of absolute authority, with kings literally sitting on high over their subjects.

Now a new French exhibition charts the evolution of these most exalted seats of power, as the BBC's Paris correspondent Christian Fraser reports from the Palace of Versailles.