The Real Versailles

As BBC Two premieres its lavish new drama set in the sumptuous surroundings of Versailles Lucy Worsley and Helen Castor tell the reallife stories behind one of the worlds grandest buildings They reveal the colourful world of sex drama and intrigue that Louis XIV and his courtiers inhabited Lucy untangles Louiss 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 onscreen 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 Louiss attention We see that Louis was ruthless in his pursuit of glory and succeeded in defeating his enemies In his recordbreaking 72year reign France became renowned for its culture and sophistication