

The Real Versailles
Could you be a courtier to the Sun King at Versailles?
As BBC Two premieres its lavish new drama set in the sumptuous surroundings of Versailles, Lucy Worsley and Helen Castor tell the real-life stories behind one of the world's grandest buildings. They reveal the colourful world of sex, drama and intrigue that Louis XIV and his courtiers inhabited. Lucy untangles Louis's complex world of court etiquette, fashion and feasting, while Helen delves into the archives and unpicks the Machiavellian world of court politics that Louis created. We meet the people behind the on-screen characters and discover what drove Louis to glorify his reign on a scale unmatched by any previous monarch, examine the tension between Louis and his brother Philippe, a battle hero and overt homosexual, and they meet the coterie of women who competed for Louis's attention. We see that Louis was ruthless in his pursuit of glory and succeeded in defeating his enemies. In his record-breaking 72-year reign, France became renowned for its culture and sophistication.
0More Like This

Marie Antoinette
2006

Versailles, the visit
1999

Versailles : Les défis du roi Soleil
2019

Versailles: The Dream of a King
2008

Marie Antoinette
1938

André Le Nôtre, le jardinier de Louis XIV
2014

Lady Oscar
1979

Louis XV, le Soleil noir
2009

La Commune (Paris, 1871)
2003

Madame du Barry
1954

Royal Affairs in Versailles
1953

Jefferson in Paris
1995

Versailles, construction d'un rêve impossible
2018

Louis XVI, l'homme qui ne voulait pas être roi
2011

Jeanne du Barry
2023

The Flood
2024

Versailles Rediscovered: The Sun King's Vanished Palace
2019

Farewell, My Queen
2012

Historia de la frivolidad
1967

Marie-Antoinette, la véritable histoire
2006