Versailles

Louis XIV is 28 years old. It is a year since his mother's death and the start of his reign as King of France. He leaves Paris to transform his father's hunting lodge into the Palace of Versailles.

Harsh steps must be taken to preserve the royal reputation, while flamboyant Philippe causes a stir of his own. The king hopes that humiliating a suspect noble will bring others to heel.

Travellers to the rural palace are vulnerable targets when a dissident duke tries to pressure Louis to return the royal court to Paris, while a rich African prince suffers a curiously restrained reception.

Seductive young ladies vie to attract the king's eye at court, where behind the scenes there is bloody business being conducted and investigated. Philippe's new-found fame as a warrior threatens to eclipse Louis as the war reaches a turning point.

Philippe returns from war a changed man, while the still base appetites of dissident duke Cassel must be pandered to by Madame de Montespan as Louis prepares for a lavish celebration in the palace gardens.

A protest halts construction at the palace but Louis refuses to let Philippe help and matters escalate, allowing plotters to pose a genuine threat to the young king's rule. Things get physical as infidelity and treason take their toll.

With Louis laid low by a major fever, those conspiring against him grow in strength and confidence while Philippe is caught in the middle, as are medic Masson and his daughter Claudine.

While Louis proposes an audacious alliance with England, and an unexpected envoy to negotiate it, normally brazen Beatrice fears revelation of her secrets. The palace of dreams is home to murderous schemes as the extravagant drama continues.

The traitor strikes in the palace prison, Henriette has a rocky reunion with her brother, Charles II of England, while Béatrice risks a rendezvous with Marchal. Diplomacy and duplicity dominate the drama's penultimate episode.

The traitor changes tactics, striking at those closest to Louis, with deadly consequences while Sophie stubbornly risks angering Marchal. A brutally bloody finale to the first season of the bold historical drama.