0:00:06 > 0:00:09Good evening, and welcome to Inside Versailles.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Well, we have Rohan trying to kidnap the Dauphin and therefore get
0:00:13 > 0:00:16huge power over the King in France, if you get the Dauphin.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Yeah, I mean, this is a real plot.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's called The Latreaumont Conspiracy.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24He had basically been friends with the King for years and then,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27essentially, was lured to the dark side
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and he was trying to kidnap the Dauphin
0:00:30 > 0:00:33in order to take Normandy away from France, break away.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37But it didn't actually get as far as the kidnapping because
0:00:37 > 0:00:39they were overheard conspiring in a dodgy part of Paris
0:00:39 > 0:00:41by one of the King's musketeers.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44So for the King probably quite scary,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46because Rohan had been his friend for many years.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50It's so daring, to try and kidnap the Dauphin who, for many people,
0:00:50 > 0:00:51is completely sacred.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53So the idea of taking him and making him into
0:00:53 > 0:00:57a mere person by imprisoning him is absolutely shocking.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00So he was clearly someone who was at the edge of desperation.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Yeah, he'd been disgraced at court,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04he'd racked up huge debts and he'd been offered this...
0:01:04 > 0:01:05- Nothing to lose.- Nothing to lose.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08He'd been offered this way out by Latreaumont and he's figuring,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09"OK, I'll give it a go."
0:01:09 > 0:01:11But unfortunately for him it doesn't work out
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and he gets his head lopped off, so, you know,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17you take your risks when you're going against the King.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20This picture of Versailles I think really sums up what we're seeing
0:01:20 > 0:01:22in the second series because now we're moving into
0:01:22 > 0:01:24the great flowering of Versailles.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27A lot of the building is finished, it's this huge court,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and we keep seeing these nobles beginning to complain
0:01:30 > 0:01:33because they're used to living on their huge estates in
0:01:33 > 0:01:36the countryside and now they will have to live in this palace,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38which is beautiful, but it's cramped and small.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And many of the men felt they were utterly disempowered because
0:01:41 > 0:01:44they couldn't have their huge entourages,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48but for the women Versailles is all about manners and appearance
0:01:48 > 0:01:49and fashion and gossip,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52and that's somewhere where women can really get some power.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Absolutely, and someone who is thriving at the court at
0:01:54 > 0:01:57this time, of course, is his maitresse-en-titre,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and we should probably go have a look at her painting.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00- Let's go and have a look.- OK.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03So, here we have Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- Quite a mouthful.- Quite a lady.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09She's an absolute firecracker.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11She's sexy, she's charismatic, she's smart...
0:02:11 > 0:02:15And she knows how to please him. And even though she's tempestuous,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19she demands a lot for her family and she demands a huge amount of money.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21I think her nickname is Quanto - "how much?" -
0:02:21 > 0:02:25because she's so focused on cash and privileges and honours.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26But still, he adores her.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Yeah, she's about five years into her mistress career here
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- in this painting, I think. - Which is quite a career.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33- Which is good going. - She's at her prime here.- Yeah.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34She's a magnificent woman.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36And she's got this thing called l'esprit de Mortemart,
0:02:36 > 0:02:41this sort of sense of joy and conversational flair.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43It's said that even many years after her death,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46the Duc de Saint-Simon reports that those who knew her still
0:02:46 > 0:02:50speak in the same way that she did, they sort of carry on her language.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53She had such an influence over how people spoke at court
0:02:53 > 0:02:55that it sort of lives on past her.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And she really is kind of the focal point of what
0:02:57 > 0:02:59everyone's talking about and looking at.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02But after several years at court, other women are starting to...
0:03:02 > 0:03:05You know, they're coming in, looking to see if maybe they can get
0:03:05 > 0:03:08in the King's good favours, so she's got rivals as well now.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Her husband is not so keen on this whole business, is he?
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Some husbands love it, but not hers.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16That's the thing that perhaps is quite surprising is she's married,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20she's got two kids by her husband, and he takes it really badly.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23And for many at court, particularly the religious faction,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25the devots, this is a scandal too far.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Because of double adultery.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29So a King is married, she is married -
0:03:29 > 0:03:31that's why they call it double adultery,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34because if she were single it would be perhaps easier to talk about.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Absolutely, and I think we'll see a lot more of her coming up
0:03:36 > 0:03:39through the series, so pay attention.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41OK, join us next week, we'll be seeing a lot more of Versailles,
0:03:41 > 0:03:46a lot more of Athenais and a lot more scandal and intrigue.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47- Bonsoir.- Bonsoir.