

Versailles
Those who come after us will think that they are just fairy tales...
The story of a young Louis XIV on his journey to become the most powerful monarch in Europe, from his battles with the fronde through his development into the Sun King. Historical and fictional characters guide us in a world of betrayal and political maneuvering, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.
Cast

George Blagden
Louis XIV

Alexander Vlahos
Philippe d'Orléans, aka 'Monsieur'

Tygh Runyan
Fabien Marchal

Stuart Bowman
Alexandre Bontemps

Elisa Lasowski
Queen Marie-Thérèse of Austria

Anna Brewster
Athénaïs de Montespan

Evan Williams
The Knight of Lorraine

Maddison Jaizani
Sophie de Clermont, Duchess of Cassel

Steve Cumyn
Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Joe Sheridan
François de Louvois

Pip Torrens
Cassel

Noémie Schmidt
Henriette d'Angleterre

Amira Casar
Béatrice de Lorraine, Madame de Clermont

Sarah Winter
Louise de La Vallière
Gilly Gilchrist
Jaques
Seasons
Versailles, 1667. King Louis XIV is a 28-year-old monarch on the cusp of greatness. A ruthless leader, he will stop at nothing to achieve his vision of creating the most beautiful palace in Europe and seizing absolute control of France and his enemies. In order to rule over the nobility and to permanently impose his absolute power, he launches the construction of Versailles, like one sets a trap. Louis XIV is a young king haunted by childhood trauma, the Fronde, a rebellion of the nobility against his father Louis XIII… Outstanding political strategist, manipulator, Machiavellian, he will “invent” Versailles in order to keep the Nobles away from Paris and under control

E1Welcome to Versailles
Nov 16, 2015
In 1667 in France, Louis XIV is a young king who wants to impose his power whereas he is traumatized by the Fronde (the revolt of nobility during Louis XIII's reign) and despite the attacks of conspirators. Then, Louis XIV decides to establish the seat of the power out of Paris, in Versailles. At that time, Versailles is just a hunting lodge but Louis XIV radically wants to transform this castle.

E2I Am the State
Nov 16, 2015
The Queen gave birth to the first royal baby and it triggers some rumors. Besides, Louis XIV's counselors advice him to go to war in order to impose his power. Furthermore, Louis XIV's brother Philippe dreams of glory and wants to be on the field of the future battles.

E3Mirror for Princes
Nov 23, 2015
Louis XIV wants the nobility to live at his side in Versailles. But noblemen and noblewomen have to prove their noble origin to obtain this privilege. Montcourt is one of them, but he can't prove his noble rank. Then, Montcourt meets a strange Duke called Cassel to help him. Besides, Louis XIV asks the Queen to welcome Annaba, an African prince.

E4The Road
Nov 23, 2015
Cassel's brigands continue to slaughter visitors to Versailles including the king's god-daughter though Fabien has his suspicions as to their identity and arrests a likely suspect, aiming to trap the murderers. Philippe is declared a hero, following his actions at the siege of Cambrai and Louis sends his brother's lover the Chevalier to join him though not before Chevalier has played the king's mistresses against him as several ambitious women arrive at court. Louis visits his brother on the eve of a battle and is taught that, of the two of them, Philippe is clearly the better soldier.

E5Bow to Your King
Nov 30, 2015
Philippe returns to Versailles, a super-confident war hero, ready to challenge his brother as the peace treaty with Spain is signed. Louis plans a celebratory party but the attacks on the highway continue and Fabien believes there could be another attempt to kill Louis. Suspicious of Cassel, who refuses to attend the party,as being behind the attacks, the king sends glamorous mistress Athenais de Montespan, accompanied by naive young Sophie de Clermont, to tell Cassel that he must turn up or host it at his own expense. Dangling Sophie as bait Athenais succeeds in forcing Cassel's attendance and obeisance to the king. However the sound of fireworks has a traumatic effect on Philippe, recalling gunfire whilst Sophie shocks her ambitious mother with an unwise liaison and Cassel returns to what is left of his home to find the king has well and truly beaten him.

E6Invalides
Nov 30, 2015
Ex-soldiers working on construction at the palace feel aggrieved at their treatment and down tools. On advice from gardener and confidant Jacques, who suggests a war hero act as intermediary, Louis is nonetheless jealously intransigent when Philippe offers his services. The king's bullying also extends to his refusal to allow ex-mistress Louise de la Valliere to leave for a convent whilst Athenais conducts her own agenda and Cassel, his home burned to the ground, is forced to move into the palace from where he continues to scheme. Louis is ultimately forced to bring Philippe in for a public relations exercise as he breaks the strike, after which Philippe makes his own plans to leave Versailles.

E7Revelations
Dec 7, 2015
Louis is struck down with fever and, whilst the official version is that he has had a hunting accident, the courtiers are suspicious and Philippe lets slip to Rohan that, if his brother dies, he will be regent. When the delirious Louis runs round the palace in his night shirt the facts become visible and the queen, Cassel and others meet secretly to plan ahead should he not survive but Louis recovers, thanks to Claudine Masson, daughter of the late court doctor whom Louis now appoints as his physician. Due to Fabien's spy network he also exposes the conspirators, in particular the CHevalier, and orders arrests to be made whilst finally releasing Mademoiselle de Clermont to become a nun on her request.

E8Diplomacy
Dec 7, 2015
With his lover in prison and his wife Henriette surviving a miscarriage Philippe is not a happy man but Louis, buoyant at overcoming his enemies, is keen for an alliance with England for an invasion of the Netherlands and sends Henriette to London to see her brother Charles II and negotiate terms. Cassel and others plot to kill her but the conspiracy is denounced to the king by Montcalm, anxious to be reinstated at court. Fabien survives an attempt to kill him whilst Louis has a job offer for Philippe.

E9Etiquette
Dec 14, 2015
Louis believes to triumph diplomatically when his queen Henriette negotiates an alliance with England against the Dutch for cash and a guard for her brother, English king Charles II, but when William of Orange personally comes question the Stuart 'reunion', Charles offers him a princess's hand. Rohan continues to elude Marchal's efforts to dismantle the secret society in Orange's service, even arranges the escape of a traitor locked up for torture. Marchal, who is losing Louis' confidence, proves the Pau ladies frauds, discretely executes the mother, his 'lover' and the poison monger, and chases the daughter. Chevalier convinces Philippe not to resent Louis' demand to devise elaborate court etiquette but to enjoy becoming the aristocracy at court's puppeteers, while Louis proudly radiates as a heliocentric sun.

E10Bring the Garden Here
Dec 14, 2015
Duchess Henriette becomes suddenly ill when she returns from a visit to her brother in England. They fear she might have been poisoned, so King Louis XIV shuts all access To Versailles.
Versailles, 1671. Louis has completed the first phase of his project the building far from Paris, of the most beautiful palace in Europe where he will effectively lock up the nobility to exercise absolute control over them. Unexpectedly, his project turns against him. Versailles is riddled with corruption. Louis has created a new civilization, where the courtesans are desperate to get close to the Sun. Behind the rules of etiquette imposed on the court, they dream of elevating their social status, wealth and power. Any and all means of doing so are utilized which inevitably results in the deterioration of morality and the spread of dangerous and poisonous behaviour… Blinded by the love for his favorite courtesan, Madame de Montespan, Louis remains deaf to the Church’s injunctions. The greatest enemy that stands before Louis is no longer the nobility, nor Guillaume d’Orange, it is God who now threatens the Sun King.

E1The Labyrinth
Mar 27, 2017
Though his palace continues to expand and receive admiration from around the world, Louis is still plagued by nightmares.

E2A Still Small Voice
Mar 27, 2017
The King's bed example is blamed for the nobility's immorality, fuelled by illicit love potions and powders. Philippe must meet his new bride. Another victim of poisoning confounds Marchal.

E3Who Will Guard the Guards Themselves?
Apr 3, 2017
A cool welcome awaits Princess Palatine both in the palace salons and her new husband's bed, but Sophie's destiny is worst. Marchal finds a prime suspect for the poisonings.

E4Miasma
Apr 3, 2017
Madeleine de Foix is arrested as the poisoner after trying to kill Fabien. Montespans baby suffers an illness. Louis faces criticism from Bossuet and Pascal. Sophie endures a terrifying experience when married to Cassel.

E5War and Peace
Apr 10, 2017
King Louis XIV's continued insomnia makes him increasingly volatile, meaning Marchal's loyalty counts for nothing. Claudine continues to investigate the mystery toxin, while Sophie seeks a solution to her situation.

E6The Sands of Time
Apr 10, 2017
A delegation arrives, but won't negotiate with the queen. Phillipe steps up to act as king while Louis is at battle. Fabien mourns Claudine and seeks to avenge her murder. The king's mistress takes her jealousy too far.

E7A Night
Apr 17, 2017
Louis meets Guillaume d'Orange in a relentless combat and returns to Versailles full of new energy. The court is in shock of two new deaths and Montespan feels herself increasingly isolated.

E8The New Regime
Apr 17, 2017
Louis ends his relationship with Madame De Montespan who full of humiliation turns to dark forces. Palatine is suffering of suspected poisoning and Cassel reveals Thomas' secret plans to the king.

E9Seven Shadows
Apr 24, 2017
Louis has Phillipe get close to the spy. This ignites the Chevalier's jealousy. Fabien learns what Father Etienne does with the children he rescues. Montespan is desperate to reclaim the king's love, but Louis falls for someone more pious.

E10Of Blood and Stone
Apr 24, 2017
The affair of the poisons continues. Could it even reach deep into Louis's own court?
Louis XIV is ascendant after winning the war with Holland and solving the Affair of the Poisons -- but his angry citizens are fomenting rebellion.

E1Smoke and Mirrors
Apr 23, 2018
Louis welcomes Leopold, the Emperor vanquished of the Holy Empire, to Versailles. Philip, victorious in the war, was given the task of selecting prisoners to deport them to the colonies. But the presence of a mysterious prisoner with a masked face awakens his suspicions.

E2Trust Issues
Apr 23, 2018
Louis and Leopold compete for control of Spain, and Maria Theresa plays a dangerous game by supporting her lover rather than her husband. Philippe continues his investigation on the man with the iron mask. In the salon, the position of Maintenon, the king's pious favorite, is threatened. In Paris, the people refuse to pay taxes.

E3The Truth Will Burst
Apr 30, 2018
In Paris, Fabien finds it difficult to maintain order. At court, Louis rejects Maintenon when his troubled past is exposed to the light. Philippe is attacked after spotting the man with the iron mask. At the Vatican, Cardinal Leto wishes to hand over the King of France in his place.

E4Crime and Punishment
Apr 30, 2018
Louis has Marie-Therese confined to the castle, suspecting her of conspiring against him with Leopold. Louis raises indignation by imprisoning a prominent Protestant philosopher. In Paris, Fabien is released in exchange for prisoners, but Louis asserts his authority by having one of them executed as an example.

E5The Afterlife
May 7, 2018
Maintenon returns to the palace and encourages Louis to put his plans into action. Louis wants to discredit Leopold, and makes a secret pact with Barek, the Ottoman emissary. Philippe understands that the Church is at the origin of the conspiracy of the man in the iron mask, and suspects Louis to take part. Marie-Thérèse falls seriously ill.

E6The Wheel of Fortune
May 7, 2018
Louis changes tactics to counter Leopold, but he discovers a new opponent with Cardinal Leto, attending the funeral of the Queen. Meanwhile, Philippe discovers the unthinkable on the man with the iron mask.

E7The Book of Revelations
May 14, 2018
The burning question remains: who is the man with the iron mask? Leto decides to bring the man with the iron mask to Versailles, but Bontemps feels the danger. With the help of Fabien, he removes the prisoner and brings him to Louis and Philippe. The truth is finally revealed.

E8Of Gods and Men
May 14, 2018
While Philippe wants to send the man with the iron mask to the colonies, Louis knows that it must be eliminated. Meanwhile, the revolt rages in the streets of Paris, and the loyalty of Fabien is put to the test in the face of the violence of the King. Leto takes advantage of Louis' weakness and the threat of excommunication.

E9The Tinderbox
May 21, 2018
Fabien knows Louis has killed the prisoner and deduces the truth about the Man in the Iron Mask. Philippe decides to leave the court. Leto convinces Maintenon to support the marriage of Louis and the Infanta Isabella. But against all odds, Louis marries Maintenon and proclaims himself head of the Church of France. Louis accelerates his campaign of expansion in Europe and persecutes the Protestants.

E10The Legacy
May 21, 2018
After crushing the Protestants and thwarted Leto, Louis feels invincible. But his family and France are divided. What to expect from the future? What will be his legacy? Louis summons the Dauphin to show him how to be a good king. Louis decides to go to Paris to bless the sick. He does not know that the rebels fomented an attack for the murder...
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Storyline
The story of a young Louis XIV on his journey to become the most powerful monarch in Europe, from his battles with the fronde through his development into the Sun King. Historical and fictional characters guide us in a world of betrayal and political maneuvering, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.
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