0:00:06 > 0:00:09Bonjour. Welcome to Inside Versailles where it's all happening.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11We've seen Beatrice being beheaded - nasty.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14- Louis de Rohan. Wrong 'un? - Wrong 'un.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Yeah, I knew it. And we've also seen Henriette being taken ill.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Hopefully, not too serious.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23And, also, there's a sort of curious thing for us Brits at home.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25We've got William and Mary being coupled up.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Yes, that amazing scene when Charles II said, "Well, actually,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31"William, you are my friend because you're going to marry my niece."
0:00:31 > 0:00:34And it brings it home to us that William Of Orange,
0:00:34 > 0:00:35the person so hated by Louis,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38so feared by him, is actually our William and Mary, our William III.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42- That's right, they're going to become our Kings in 1688.- 1688. - Joint monarchs.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Which has never happened, after all, before.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47But, really, we need to talk about etiquette.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49We've seen an awful lot of etiquette in the episode and we are
0:00:49 > 0:00:51joined by Dr Sara Barker.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Philippe is put in charge of etiquette. What does that even mean?
0:00:55 > 0:00:58What's going on in this lovely portrait? Could you give us a hand?
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Absolutely. Etiquette is really important at the French court.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04It's all about power.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06It's establishing who is in control,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09who's got preference, who's in favour with the King.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12So, there's all kinds of different things going on there.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15So, when you go to this picture here of the "grand lever," which is what
0:01:15 > 0:01:18we saw in the drama, the idea that when the king even gets out of bed
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- that's got to be witnessed by the courtiers.- Absolutely.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Every single minute of the day is scheduled, is timetabled and
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Louis is really on show the entire time from when he gets up.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32The day actually starts before Louis gets up.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36His valet, who we've seen throughout the series, sleeps on
0:01:36 > 0:01:39a bed in his chamber but gets up before him,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42gets all the servants in to silently go around
0:01:42 > 0:01:46getting the room perfect for when Louis will wake up.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48And it carries on from there throughout the day.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52It's quite funny, isn't it? Because we have this "grand lever" and the "petit lever."
0:01:52 > 0:01:54So, the petit lever is the one that you really want to be at
0:01:54 > 0:01:56cos it's very intimate, and then you come out
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and you basically get dressed in front of the whole court.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01A bit weird, getting dressed in front of the whole court.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Yeah, I think there are slightly different notions of privacy
0:02:04 > 0:02:06than we would have today. Various aspects...
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's strange to imagine our Queen doing that in Buckingham Palace.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Absolutely. The King's body is not quite his own.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Every single aspect of his morning routine is witnessed.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It's hilarious to think that actually some kings were
0:02:19 > 0:02:22so wearied by this great big ceremony that they got up,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26did some stuff, went hunting then when back to bed to have the lever.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Yes, because that's the only chance you get to have some privacy,
0:02:29 > 0:02:30really, during the day.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33And, also, he's not even sleeping in the bed, particularly this special,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36ceremonial bed. He gets into it from his other bed.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Well, he may well have been somewhere else during the night.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40- Right.- Well, of course.- OK.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45Yes, so, it is all highly-polished, highly-routine.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Everyone knows where the King is going to be at every single stage
0:02:48 > 0:02:51of the day and work that to their advantage because, as you say,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53it's all about proximity and access.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56This is where business is done and you actually see
0:02:56 > 0:02:58who's important and who's not.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00But Louis XIV didn't invent the lever, did he?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03No, he didn't, it's an amalgamation of traditions.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Some French traditions, some Italian, some Spanish.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08What Louis really does, is perfect this system.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12And it really works brilliantly well for him.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16He is incredibly good at remembering names and faces.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18He plays his part to perfection.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21He's really vain. Likes everyone to look at him.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23"Look at me getting dressed, how great!"
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I think you'd have to be like that to really make the most of it.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28And we know, of course, slightly alarming for our modern
0:03:28 > 0:03:32sensibilities, but Louis happily goes to the toilet in the open.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35He just drops his breeches and does it there and then.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37There's a chamber pot in the middle of the room.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40He had a special chair with a potty put into the chair,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43almost like a high seat for kids and he would just go on that and
0:03:43 > 0:03:44it wasn't until the 1680s
0:03:44 > 0:03:47that he even roped himself off with a little curtain.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49So, he openly did it in front of courtiers and if you were in
0:03:49 > 0:03:52the middle of a conversation, you just carried on chatting.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Well, it was rather difficult for the women because they were never allowed to go to
0:03:55 > 0:03:59the loo themselves and so, especially on campaign, they had to go with him
0:03:59 > 0:04:01for a long time and they couldn't possibly ever go to the loo, so some
0:04:01 > 0:04:04of them became rather desperate and bursting by the end of it.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07That's true, there's a, sort of, famous story that he would never let
0:04:07 > 0:04:10his ladies urinate if they were travelling in his carriage and
0:04:10 > 0:04:14apparently he had a very large bladder, he could hold his wee for quite some time.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18- So, they were really desperate. - One poor woman had to rush into a church.- Really?- Yes.- Crikey.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22So, Sara, it's almost like an instrument of political control, isn't it?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Because the nobles have to be there and do these pretty menial jobs.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I mean, you can't imagine the Duke Of Cassel being thrilled to
0:04:28 > 0:04:31have to stand there watching the King put his shirt on.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33No, I imagine that's probably true for some of them.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It's probably quite a tedious process.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40But it's also about recognising who has authority,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42who has power and not just with Louis,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44there's differentiation between the nobles as well.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48The closer you are allowed to the King the more in favour, the more high-ranking that you are.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51So, when you're here, you're really in.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56And it even comes down to the grandeur of the chairs in which people are sitting.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Louis here will always be in the most grand,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03ornate chair, and then chairs become increasingly less grand
0:05:03 > 0:05:05depending on where you are in the hierarchy.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Might get a stool if you're really lucky.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09The stool is actually very lucky because that means that you
0:05:09 > 0:05:13are allowed to sit at the foot of the King. And have his confidence.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Fascinating stuff, thank you very much, Sara.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19It's been a thrilling episode, we've got one more left to go next week.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23We've seen all kinds of people get their comeuppance and fingers crossed for Henriette.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27So, join us next week for the last episode of Inside Versailles.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28- Bonsoir.- Bonsoir.