Original subtitles

for a thousand years kings and queens of

Europe had absolute power but absolute

power corrupts absolutely

greed revenge sex madness

witchcraft murder every monarch had

their royal secrets

[Music]

when it came to sex all powerful kings

and queens had the pick of the kingdom

for their amorous adventures but even

Royals were made fools of by love

[Music]

England's Henry the eighth destroyed and

Berlin the woman he once loved Prince

George and Princess Caroline were a

public tragicomedy and French King Louis

the 15th paid the ultimate price for his

wandering eye they were all consumed by

lust

Henry the eighth's passionate pursuit of

an Berlin is one of the great romantic

tragedies in the end history was changed

and an paid the ultimate price for her

love

it was here at Hever Castle in Kent that

a young woman first toyed with the King

and ended up playing with fire

[Music]

in the early 1500s this perfectly

preserved Tudor mansion was home to two

little girls Mary and Anne Berlin and

their father Sir Thomas and was the

younger a determined girl who would grow

up to be an ambitious and clever young

woman her less disciplined older sister

Mary was uninhibited and out for a good

time

Sir Thomas whose grandfather went from

humble beginnings to become a wealthy

Lord Mayor of London was a social

climber who wanted to move his family

even further up the social ladder he was

determined to see his children enter the

royal court and rub shoulders with the

most powerful people in the land

[Music]

so Thomas had big plans for the social

future of his young daughters Mary and

Anne his dream was of royal

grandchildren playing in the castles

gardens and was to fulfill his every

dream and become queen of England but at

a terrible price meanwhile King Henry

the eighth's was married to his first

wife Catherine of Aragon over the years

the Queen had eight children but only

one a girl survived desperate for a male

heir to succeed him on the throne Henry

began to take on mistresses

and one of the first was Mary Boleyn

Anne's older sister the King of England

often visited Mary at Hever Castle for

his trysts

[Music]

but in 1525 Henry the eighth's laid eyes

on a 25 year old sister Pam

the king was smitten from the start he

fell head over heels in love with an

though no great beauty and was said to

have eyes which couldn't rap and / which

used to having his way with women the

King moved quickly to capture an and

count her as his latest conquest but

Anne was no easy prey and played

hard-to-get the game of love was joined

to bring her closer to him Henry

appointed an maid of honor to Queen

Katherine Anne's calculated response was

a provocative promise of delights to

come love letters between Henry and Anne

still exist and show the chase was not

going to be easy the warrant of maid of

honor induces me to think that Your

Majesty has some regard for me since it

gives me the means of seeing you often

ER and of assuring you by my lips which

I shall do with the first opportunity

that I am your Majesty's very obliged

and obedient servant without any reserve

Henry was excited unaware of how his

long extraordinary pursuit of Anne's

favors would lead him to change his

country forever the more Anne withheld

her favors the more lovestruck the King

became conveniently forgetting he was

still a married man Henry promised he

would at least be faithful to Anne he

wrote by deceit sure now with all my

heart to let me know your whole

intention as to the love between us -

for more than a year I have been struck

with the dart of love and I'm not yet

sure whether I shall fail we'll find a

place in your heart and affection if it

pleases you to play the part of a true

loyal mistress and friend and to give

yourself body and heart to me I promise

to take you for my only mistress casting

all others out of my thoughts and

affection and serving only you in her

response and made it clear she was not

settling for second best your wife I

cannot be both in respect of my

unworthiness and also because you have a

queen already your mistress

I will not be

headstrong and wise to the nature of men

and knew just what to do to arouse the

Kings passions

she refused to give herself to Henry

though the king was raging with lust she

wouldn't allow him ly to touch her no

matter how much the most powerful man in

England begged and besieged and resisted

for six years her terms were simple no

crown no sex

Henry's hunger for Han drove him to

drastic measures he sought a divorce

from Catherine but the Pope refused it

so Henry took a step which would alter

the course of British history in the

most dramatic act of his reign Henry

removed his kingdom from the Pope's

jurisdiction and put himself at the head

of his own church the Church of England

and the Kings first act was to grant

himself a divorce from his Queen a free

man at last Henry gained access to an

Berlin's bed to satisfy his lust henry

had moved history

Henry married Ann in January 1533 when

she was already carrying the Kings child

the baby was born in September but it

was a girl named Elizabeth

[Music]

Henry had mortgaged the nation's soul

for Anne's love but he still needed a

son the new queen suffered two

miscarriages and a stillborn child her

failure to bear him a boy now reminded

Henry of his royal obligation to produce

a male heir the king's romance with Anne

cooled that he consoled himself with the

company of a new woman Lady Jane Seymour

as he had done to his ex-wife Catherine

he appointed his new romantic interest

as maid of honor to Anne ready for a new

wife Henry ordered and jailed in the

Tower of London just three years after

they married she was then sentenced to

death on trumped-up charges of adultery

and treason Anne Boleyn Queen of England

remained proudly defiant to the end as

she wrote to her husband during her last

days let not your grace ever imagine

that your poor wife will ever be brought

to acknowledge a fault never a prince

had wife more loyal in all Duty and in

all affection you ever found in Anne

Boleyn I see now that the ground of my

preferment lay on no surer foundation

than your Grace's fancy and the least

alteration was sufficient to draw that

fancy to some other subject from my

doleful prison in the tower

your most loyal and other faithful one

[Music]

Henry granted his wife a final favor

knowing English executioner's were

clumsy he ordered a swordsman brought

from France to behead her at 9:00 in the

morning on May 19th 1536 the Frenchman

severed her head with a single blow and

held it up to the crowd her lips and

eyes were seen to move as the crowd in

search of souvenirs surged forward to

dip handkerchiefs in Han Berlin's blood

the same day Anne was / headed Henry

received permission from his hand-picked

Archbishop to Mary Anne's maid of honor

Jane Seymour he continued his quest for

a male heir through three more marriages

but sired only one sickly boy who died

at 16 Ann's father Sir Thomas died two

years later never knowing that Anne's

child his own granddaughter would become

one of England's greatest molix Queen

Elizabeth the first while Henry the

eighth used drastic means to get rid of

Anne Boleyn three hundred years later

England's George the fourth had a harder

time shedding an unwanted wife his

troubles began while he was still Prince

of Wales

the young George was a charmless Prince

a heavy drinker and a gambler

particularly fond of horse-racing

he consistently lost huge sums owing

debts equivalent today to tens of

millions of dollars he constructed huge

luxury housing for the rich like these

mansions in london's regents park it was

here the Prince threw wild parties for

his friends dancing and drinking until

dawn

[Applause]

George decorated the exteriors with

sensual erotica some reflecting his

preference for older women the English

loathed George for his decadence and

indifference to his subjects

his father the mentally unstable King

George the third tolerated his dissolute

son until he finally went too far in

1785 the King discovered his son and

heir had secretly married a mrs.

Fitzherbert under the Constitution

British monarchs were forbidden to marry

Catholics or divorcees and mrs.

Fitzherbert was both she could never

become queen of england the king ordered

them to separate but his son would only

comply if his gambling debts were

cleared the nation's Treasury was forced

to cover the princes huge losses his

secret marriage was then annulled an

unofficial marriage was arranged for the

prince his bride was Princess Caroline

of Brunswick

her portrait was sent to George and met

with his approval but court painters

often depicted their subjects in

flattering ways George was in for a

surprise the day before the wedding

George nervously awaited his bride in

eager anticipation a woman arrived and

headed straight for George she was

introduced as his future wife Prince

George was aghast she was short

fat smelly and ruddy-faced though no

paragon of beauty himself the Prince

recoiled muttering oh I am NOT well the

heavens take bring me a glass of brandy

George remained drunk throughout his

wedding day and had to be propped up at

the ceremony disconsolate he wept

throughout the entire service on his

wedding night the inebriated George

passed out in the fireplace instead of

consummating the marriage in the morning

he dragged himself to Caroline's bed and

performed his royal Duty for the first

and last time the Fertile princess

became pregnant after this solo

encounter but within weeks the couple

had separated for good George remarked

to a friend I'd rather see toads and

vipers crawling over me dinner than sit

at the same table with earth cartoonists

gleefully rushed to sketch the royal

marital farce George left his wife to

return to mrs. Fitzherbert and a string

of matronly mistresses spurned by her

husband the vivacious and flamboyant

Caroline enjoyed her freedom she tried

on makeup eight large quantities of

onions and drank brandy she invited

friends to her house and many men into

her bedroom she considered sex our happy

and healthy activity describing herself

as a little devil in petticoats I have a

bed fella whenever I like nothing is

more wholesome scandalized London's

society was filled with rumours of

princess caroline's affairs it was even

said she had another child by a

prominent noble sir Sydney Smith but the

guileless Princess Caroline didn't

realize that Prince George eager to

prove her adultery for a divorce was

spying on her one of her servants

reported to the Prince Mary Wilson said

to me how she went into princess

caroline's bedroom in order to make up

the fire but she found her answer Sydney

in such an indecent situation that she

immediately left the room and was so

shocked that she fainted away at the

door

the princes evidence was hearsay and a

special commission found it unconvincing

but vicious court gossip forced Caroline

to leave England for an extended tour of

Europe during her visit to Italy the

irrepressible Caroline rode through the

streets of Milan in a pink feathered hat

an address which showed off her ample

posterior and stout legs there Caroline

met her true love a handsome but

penniless Italian adventurer named

Bartolomeo Pagani they traveled together

through Europe making no attempt to

disguise their intimacy six years later

Caroline learned that King George the

third had died and her husband had

become King George the fourth the

princess headed for England to become

Queen

George offered her a king's ransom of

more than two million dollars a year to

stay away but Caroline refused to be

bought off and went back to England

desperate to get a divorce

George launched an official

investigation into Caroline's love life

[Music]

an English naval officer reported that

Caroline switched cabins to be next to

her lover

an Italian servant testified she made

regular visits to her lover's bedroom

and that he saw them kiss in public and

bathed together in private

Caroline's cook claimed to have caught

the couple on a sofa in the throes of

love but tenacious Caroline fought for

her position as Queen she hired a tough

defense lawyer who publicly hinted at

the hypocritical Kings own adulterous

affairs and cowed the witnesses

one witness replied I do not remember 87

times the divorce failed

so in spiteful revenge George refused to

let Caroline attend his coronation

though a sympathetic public sided with

her

the humiliated Caroline lost her will to

fight a few weeks after the coronation

Princess Caroline a king's wife but

never a queen died from a blockage of

the bowel she had become a victim of

love and social hypocrisy leaving the

equally adulteress King to receive a

dispensation to finally remarry his old

love mrs. Fitzherbert

[Music]

unlike the public embarrassments of

england's prince georges scandal was no

problem in the deliciously decadent

French Court of Louis the 15th their

extramarital affairs was so common they

were governed by codes of etiquette

promiscuity was so widely accepted that

the Kings principal mistress held an

official position in the royal household

[Music]

Luise grandfather son king louis xiv

left advice about a monarchs love life

the time we give to our lovers should

never be to the detriment of our work

because our primary objective must be

the preservation of our glory and

authority when you lose your heart you

must remain in full control of your

senses

keep the caresses of your lover separate

from the responsibilities of kingship

the young king ignored his grandfather's

instructions and in the end he paid a

terrible price for a life devoted to

sexual debauchery Louis the 15th whose

reign spanned much of the 1700s was a

sexually voracious monarch he reputedly

had over a hundred mistresses and

countless fleeting liaisons during his

lifetime his Democratic taste in

partners included everyone from leading

courtiers to the lowliest Parisian

street girls

even if state functions Louis would spot

an attractive underage girl in the crowd

and order her parents to preserve her

virginity for him until she matured

[Music]

the Kings insatiable appetite needed a

full-time valet to audition and procure

potential royal bed mates

the job was performed by a masseur

LaBelle whose title was valet de chambre

the official vet chamber attendant lui

was only 15 when he married a Polish

princess initially faithful to his bride

he fathered a brood of 10 children in 12

years but his wife tired of Louis sexual

demands and found any excuse to deny him

her bed embarking on a hedonistic

lifestyle Louis was so busy with an

endless string of mistresses and lovers

he suspended the official public ritual

of retiring to bed to have more intimate

time with his conquests

[Music]

the King's first affair was with a woman

at his wife's household the contest erm

ie avoiding the formal Royal bedchamber

he ordered a cozier bedroom built

specially for the affair but then the

contests made the mistake of introducing

the King to her younger sister she was

cast aside in favor of the fresh

conquest the douche chest of Antonia the

glittering corridors and ornate rooms of

Versailles were well suited for furtive

love Louise most famous affair was with

a 24 year old commoner

named Jean antoinette Poisson the couple

met at a costume ball where she arrived

dressed as Diana the Huntress

the king was not easily recognized he

and his friends came disguised as you

trees had resembled a veritable forest

[Music]

meeting Jean Antoinette again a few days

later Louis was smitten and moved her

into an apartment in Versailles that

connected to his bedroom by a secret

staircase the King of France was so

taken with her beauty he transformed her

from simple Jean antoinette poisson into

the marquis de pompadour shrewd and

charming she remained a powerful

influence in the French Court for twenty

years and played a major role in

formulating foreign affairs the parade

of official mistresses failed to satiate

the king who simultaneously bedded a

string of prostitutes and one-night

stands

[Music]

rumors had it that Louie accompanied by

a pack of hounds pursued laughing naked

young women through the grounds of their

side

[Music]

the palace gardens echoed with giggles

as the panting King of France chased his

prey

a house in the palace grounds was fitted

out as a brothel to accommodate the

Royal harem which Louis would visit

disguised as a Polish nobleman

despite precautions to protect Louis

from his worst excesses even the King of

France paid a horrendous price for so

much licence Louis the 15th contracted

smallpox aggravated by what was called

the French disease syphilis

his skin erupted in oozing sores and he

suffered an agonizing death his corpse

was so rotten The Undertaker's skipped

embalming it and immediately destroyed

it in quicklime for Louis the 15th the

cupid of love had aged into the Grim

Reaper of death Henry the eighth's and

Anne Boleyn Prince George and Princess

Caroline French King Louis the 15th with

his countless lovers all were

star-crossed Royals all their power and

wealth couldn't change the capricious

ways of love in the end the royal

privilege of unrestrained passion proved

the downfall of many a monarch when they

became slaves to lusts

[Music]

[Music]