0:00:06 > 0:00:09Bonsoir, and welcome to Inside Versailles.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Pretty exciting episode - the Queen's becoming regent
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and, not surprisingly, Montespan thinks she might get frozen out.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Yeah, and this really did happen.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Louis did go to war and leave his queen as regent,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23which is a big placing of trust in her.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25It's astonishing, at a time when people thought
0:00:25 > 0:00:27that women were legal children,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29that he didn't give it to his brother - he gave it to his wife.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33And that also means perhaps he's now losing faith in Athenais.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38We're starting to see him think about his soul more than his loins.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39And Athenais, on the way down,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43also brings us to Alexandre Bontemps because we saw the King say,
0:00:43 > 0:00:44"If I ever fall under the spell of a woman,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46"you tell me and I'll ditch her!"
0:00:46 > 0:00:48And now we've seen Bontemps stepping forward and saying,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50"Sire, I'm worried about you."
0:00:50 > 0:00:53That's a big red flag because, of course, you know,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56the King likes to think that he's the one in total control,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59but we know that she's quite conniving and she's got him
0:00:59 > 0:01:01- wrapped around her finger. - I love Bontemps.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04He was kind, he was actually someone who never had
0:01:04 > 0:01:05a bad word to say about people.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Not a pushover - he was still tough, but very protective of the King.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12And it really shows why the King trusted him so much
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- and confided in him so much. - Extraordinary loyalty.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17- Such loyalty. - He's not the first Bontemps.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20His father had been a servant of the King,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22and there are three more after him.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25And, of course, we see him, we think, in this portrait,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27probably here, but, you know, we're not entirely certain,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30but certainly he's always going to be close to the King.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34But, of course, what Bontemps does for Louis is he's the gatekeeper -
0:01:34 > 0:01:36he's the one who closes the doors and says, OK...
0:01:36 > 0:01:39- You're not coming in.- Not coming in now. The King needs some quiet time.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42But you could go to Bontemps and say, I need some time with the King,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and he would say, I'll put in a word for you.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48So he was the sort of middleman shepherding the King,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50making sure the King had enough secrecy and privacy
0:01:50 > 0:01:53when he needed it, but also making sure
0:01:53 > 0:01:56the nobles at court weren't too grumpy, being left out.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58And it really does show that, if you want to make your way
0:01:58 > 0:02:01in Versailles, you have to devote yourself completely to the King.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And the role initially was created
0:02:03 > 0:02:05because the gentlemen of the bedchamber said
0:02:05 > 0:02:07that some of their role was too menial,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09so could you bring in an actual servant?
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Which was pretty much, I think, a mistake because,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14when everything you need in Versailles
0:02:14 > 0:02:16comes on how close you can get to the King, even if
0:02:16 > 0:02:20- you're just changing his socks, you need to be there.- Absolutely.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21But the other thing to say is the proximity -
0:02:21 > 0:02:24that's what also makes the mistresses so powerful.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26They're not just proximate - they are in his bed, with him,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28they are sleeping with him.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30So you can see Bontemps and Athenais are in
0:02:30 > 0:02:33a sort of power battle to see who can be the most trusted...
0:02:33 > 0:02:34- To get the King's body.- Exactly,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37access to the King's body, access to power.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39I love Bontemps as well because he does get rewarded for
0:02:39 > 0:02:43his long service - he has his own house with 12 servants.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46And what's very striking is that his descendants, they marry into
0:02:46 > 0:02:49great wealthy families and indeed into aristocratic ones as well.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52- Yeah.- So I do think that it shows that, if you do well,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55you still can be rewarded and gain elite membership.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Unfortunately, we've run out of time,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00so please join us next week for more Inside Versailles.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02- Bonsoir.- Bonsoir.