The Palace of Versailles was built on the site of Louis XIII’s hunting lodge, which he rebuilt into  a château in 1631.  His son and heir, King Louis XIV, took great interest in the location.  He was sent to Versailles many times as a child, the first time most notably being in 1641, to escape a smallpox epidemic.  
After a lavish festival at Château Vaux-le-Vicomte, the residence of Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finance, Louis XIV ordered the expansion of his father’s château.  Construction commenced in 1661.  For the first 4 years, the main concentration was on the gardens, which covered about 2000 acres.  The existing bosquets (formal plantation of tree ) and parterres (symmetrical patterns of plant beds) were expanded on, and new ones were created. By now, Louis XIV had gained the title “Sun King”, and he embraced it.  Apollo and solar imagery were excessively used throughout the garden as metaphors of the King.  
Finally in 1668, Louis turned his focus to the château, deciding to turn it into a full-scale royal residence.  New wings were added, royal residences, a forecourt, pavilions and a chapel; and in 1670, focus turned to the interior of the Palace.  
In 1682, Louis XIV moved the royal residence of the French court and the government to Versailles.  This made Louis XIV the primus inter pares or first among equals, and the prominent figures at the time would spend fortunes for the chance to maintain their position.  Shortly thereafter, in 1688, the Nine Years’ War broke out, diminishing the funding for further construction.   
When Louis XIV died in 1715, the royal court moved back to Paris, and Versailles was left abandoned, and would remain so until 1722, when Louis XV returned.

Side Note: Due to a series of unfortunate events, Louis XIV was succeeded by his great-grandson, Louis the Beloved.  
Louis XIV’s son, Louis the Grand Dauphin, died in 1711 from smallpox. That same year, his eldest grandson, Louis Duke of Burgundy, died of measles and his 3rd eldest grandson, Charles, died from a hunting accident in 1714.  His 2nd eldest grandson, Phillip, was crowned King of Spain in 1700, a title he received from his mother’s side; she was the half-sister of King Charles II of Spain, who died childless.
Louis XV was the third son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, but his two older brothers died in 1711 from measles, just like both of their parents. At the time bloodletting was a common treatment for such diseases, but ultimately accelerated the fatally of the disease.  Louis XV was hidden away in a closet by his governess, who forbid the doctors from bleeding the 2-year old.  Despite being terribly ill, he survived, and 3 years later was crowned the King of France.

When Louis XV returned to Versailles his main intention was to complete the work of his great-grandfather, but over time, began to create more private spaces.  He complete the Salon d’Hercule, the Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Opera, and the king’s private apartment. When the Seven Years’ War broke out in 1756, all construction was halted indefinitely.  Louis XV died in 1774 from smallpox.

Another side note: Louis XV had ten children, only two of whom were boys.  Only one survived childhood, and the other, Louis Dauphin of France, died of tuberculosis in 1765,     before ascending the throne.  Louis XV’s eldest grandson would go on to inherit the throne, and be the most prolific king of France…Louis XVI!

In 1770, Louis XVI married Marie-Antoinette in the Royal Opera House, and it was one of the greatest events to ever take place at the Palace of Versailles.  It would also be the beginning of a succession of festivals and entertainment to occur there…and the beginning of the events that would lead to the French Revolution.  Decades of war and exorbitant spending on the construction of Versailles and the events that occurred there, left the country poor.  Protests and riots were occurring throughout Paris, but Louis barricaded himself in the Palace of Versailles.  On 5 October 1789, an angry mob incited by the revolutionaries, reached Versailles, and by dawn, they had breached the palace walls.  I can only imagine how infuriated they must have been, upon seeing the extravagance that lie beyond the walls-the marble and gold, the paintings, and silks.  The country had been starving for decades, and here the monarch are living in such riches. Louis and Marie were brought to Paris, and the Palace of Versailles was left abandoned once again.  Throughout the 1790s, most of the contents of the Palace (with the exception of the art) were sold off in order to pay France’s debts.
When Napoleon’s reign began in 1803, he decided to cut ties with the Palace of Versailles, and its poor image.  He instead settled in the Trianon, located on the Palace grounds.  In 1833, it was decided that the Palace of Versailles should be turned into a museum, and in 1837, and opened at such.