Versailles

Louis XIV is 28 years old. It is a year since the death of his mother. He is now alone in the seat of power. Haunted by the trauma of the nobles' Fronde revolt, he needs to keep his rebellious aristocrats in check.

Louis launches the Grande Enqu̻te to check the legitimacy of the nobles' titles, the first stage in his strategy to bring rebellious minds to heel. The first victim is the ever-conspiring Montcourt. The entire court now feels vulnerable.

Louis welcomes the African Prince Annaba to Versailles. To gain access to African territories, Louis plays his trump card, his wife Marie-Therese.

Accounts of Philippe's prowess on the battlefield trouble Louis: what can he do with this brother who basks in military glory while risking his life?

The war over, Philippe returns to the Court and the soldiers to the construction of Versailles. Philippe has won glory but returns from the battlefields a changed man.

On the Versailles construction site, Louis is confronted with a soldiers-workers strike. They claim the honours and privileges of a victorious Royal army.

Louis is gravely ill. This offers opportunity for the conspiracy to act. Cassel, Montcourt, Beatrice and the Chevalier de Lorraine are now united with the aim: to put Philippe on the throne.

Philippe is deeply upset and agitated at the arrest of the Chevalier. Though poisoned by Beatrice, Fabien manages to escape from the Palace and find refuge with Claudine.

Henriette masterfully leads the negotiations with her brother King Charles II. She returns to France in great honour, though gravely weakened by a mysterious illness.

Henriette's health violently deteriorates. The poisoning theory is confirmed. The Palace is locked down and Claudine gives her all to save her patient. Louis is devastated.