Line #25 Series/Versailles


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/versailles.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: Bontemps, Athénaïs, Louis XIV, Marie-Thérèse, Fabien, the Chevalier, Henriette, Philippe, Béatrice]]
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4	''Versailles'' is a Franco-Canadian television show about the life of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCEstMoi King of France]] UsefulNotes/LouisXIV from [[TheCavalierYears the year 1667 onward]]. Although it was primarily made by French television network Canal+ (with Canada's Incendo as a minority partner), it was shot entirely in English so that it could have wider international distribution, and it is the most expensive French television series to date due to it being filmed on location at the Château de Versailles. The first season was aired in France on November 2015 through Canal+ and on Super Channel in Canada, on May 2016 in the UK through BBC 2, and on November 2016 in the United States through Ovation TV. The second season premiered in France in March 2017, and the third and final season was broadcast in April 2018. Since December 2016, the complete first season is available on Creator/{{Netflix}} and since 2018, the second season as well.
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6	The royal court is in Paris, but UsefulNotes/{{Louis\|XIV}} [[KingBobTheNth the 14th]] goes to his hunting lodge, and then refuses to go home. He has a dream of making Versailles into the royal court, the pride of France. Everyone tells him [[ItWillNeverCatchOn that's crazy, it will never work]]. He says he's the king and ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem. So he brings his whole [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys Court Full of]] {{Long Haired Pretty Boy}}s and {{the Mistress}}es to Versailles and sets up the DecadentCourt there.
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8	There's a [[Characters/{{Versailles}} characters page]].
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10	Even when the inspiration is the same, this series is not to be confused with ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' nor the VisualKei group ''Music/{{Versailles}}''. Following the end of the series, Canal+ ordered a SpiritualSuccessor also set in Versailles about one century later, ''Series/{{Marie Antoinette\|2022}}''.
11	----
12	!!''Versailles'' provides examples of:
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14	%%* ArrangedMarriage:
15	%%** Louis with Marie-Thérèse.
16	%%** Philippe with Henriette, and later Philippe with Liselotte.
17	%%** Sophie with the Duke of Cassel.
18	* AnachronisticSoundtrack: a fair amount of the music is basically synthwave.
19	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: While the show ''did'' have a historical consultant, some plot points, like the Queen's baby, were based on rumors at the time, and others were entirely made up.
20	** The series ends with Liselotte coming to accept Philippe's relationship with Chevalier, even to the point of polyamory, but in her letters complains endlessly about the Chevalier de Lorraine and considered him a ToxicFriendInfluence on her husband.
21	* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: High mortality rate and dynastic needs mean that the King needs as many legitimate children as possible. King's mistresses also want to have babies to ensure his favor.
22	* BattleOfWits: Louis and William of Orange spend two nights in a convent having one of these.
23	* BigFancyHouse: The Château de Versailles. The series shows this hunting lodge in the middle of a forest being transformed into one of the most luxurious and famous palaces of Europe.
24	* BloodFromTheMouth: Someone on the production team must love this trope. [[spoiler:Masson, Henriette, Marchal and a minor courtier all vomit copious amounts of blood, then die.]]
25	* BrutalHonesty: Fabien does not believe in white lies. When Charlotte Parthenay, a dying child, asks if he can help her, he tells her no. Then he goes back to Louis, her godfather, and reports she suffered considerably for an extended period of time.
26	* CampGay: Philippe--although there's also the thing with him being emasculated so he doesn't threaten his kingly brother. His boyfriend, the Chevalier, also qualifies.
27	%%* ChickMagnet: Louis
28	%%* ChildhoodFriends: Henriette to Louis and Philippe, who had grown up at the French court on account of her family's exile from England following the Civil War.
29	%%* ChocolateBaby: The queen's daughter, played very straight
30	%%* ClassyCane: Fashion accessory of aristocratic French men.
31	%%* TheConspiracy: More than one, actually.
32	* CovertGroup: There is a secret circle of nobles who want to kill the King, kidnap the Dauphin and take control of the country.
33	* DecadentCourt: Naturally, Versailles was infamous as a center of intrigue and scandal. This is especially pronounced in the second season, which focuses on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Poisons Affair of the Poisons]], a massive scandal that caused the death and downfall of many aristocrats, [[spoiler:such as Madame de Montespan]].
34	* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
35	** Henriette: Swims in the lake, then goes indoors to have sex with Louis.
36	** Claudine: Performs an autopsy.
37	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Chevalier de Lorraine is not referred to by his actual name, presumably to avoid confusion, seeing as [[OneSteveLimit there already is a Philippe]] -- who happens to be his lover, no less.
38	* GildedCage: Once a noble has arrived at the palace, s/he cannot leave unless the King allows it. Even more sinister is that there is so much power and influence around the King that nobles don't ''want'' to leave it.
39	* GorgeousPeriodDress: TruthInTelevision, as there was a concerted effort by Louis to make Versailles the most fashionable court in Europe.
40	* HesitationEqualsDishonesty: Amusingly subverted between the Chevalier and Princess Palatine. He asks her if she thinks he's a coward, and she immediately says yes. Then he complains that she could have at least ''hesitated.''
41	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Everyone says this of making Versailles into the home of the royal court.
42	* TheJeeves: Bontemps, the King's First Valet, who is such an intimate member of Louis's household that he is one of the few people the King would consider a friend, even with the imbalance of power.
43	* KissingCousins:
44	** Henriette is Louis and Philippe's first cousin. She is Philippe's wife and Louis's mistress.
45	** Queen Marie-Thérèse is even worse. Her mother was the sister of Louis's father, and her father was the brother of Louis's mother, making them ''double'' first cousins.
46	* HeirClubForMen: The Bourbon Dynasty follows Salic Law, so those descending from a sovereign through a woman were excluded from succession to the throne. Princesses were good for alliances, but not to rule the country.
47	%%* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Most of the main cast.
48	* HyperCompetentSidekick: Louis's valet Bontemps. He loves his job so much it becomes bedtime stories for his son.
49	* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Louis, Philippe and the Chevalier are the foremost examples, but ''all'' the men have long, wavy or curly hair, and a fair number of them are pretty.
50	* MaternalImpression: DiscussedTrope. This is suggested as a possible explanation for a ChocolateBaby, although it's such a painfully weak excuse that no characters give the idea any credence.
51	-->'''Doctor:''' As for the condition of the child, I have an explanation.\
52	'''Louis:''' ''[sarcastically]'' I cannot wait to hear it.\
53	'''Doctor:''' {{As you know}}, sire, Her Majesty has enjoyed the company of a little blackamoor, Nabo. She liked to play games with him--peekaboo and so on. As I understand it, sire, shortly after Her Majesty fell pregnant, Nabo hid behind a piece of furniture and jumped out upon her to give her a surprise. And he gave her a look of such force that it served to corrupt the royal womb with darkness.\
54	'''Louis:''' ''[sarcastically]'' It must have been a very ''penetrating'' look.
55	%%* TheMedic: Claudine
56	* TheMistress: There are a ''lot'' of them. It almost borders on a RoyalHarem.
57	* OhCrap: In season two, when the Queen's regency has locked up the palace wine cellars, several courtiers led by Montespan and Lorraine go out into the palace gardens for a late-night party. Unfortunately, it gets too rowdy, and one of the party-goers accidentally drowns in one of the fountains. What makes it worse is that she was Colbert's niece.
58	* OldFriend: Rohan to Louis. [[spoiler:Rohan is secretly the ringleader of a plot against his "old friend".]]
59	%%* ThePlace: "Versailles"
60	* PraetorianGuard: The king is always surrounded by at least a pair of musketeers.
61	* RightThroughHisPants: Seems to be a Versaille favourite. The girls do a least get their skirts hiked up, but the men always seem to be ready to go with barely a stitch of clothing out of place.
62	* RoyalBlood: At least half the characters can claim this.
63	* RoyalWe: Louis pulls it on his brother during an argument in the first episode.
64	* SceneryPorn: Come on, this was shot at the actual Palace of Versailles.
65	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Philippe at the end of Season 1. Season 2 begins with him sulking at his personal home, the Château Saint-Cloud.
66	%%* SmugSnake: The Chevalier and Madame de Montespan, to some extent.
67	* SweetPollyOliver: Claudine, following her appointment as the King's doctor. It doesn't fool anyone.
68	* TangledFamilyTree: The royal families of England, France, and the Netherlands are all related, and pretty much all high-ranking marriages are between people who are related to some degree.
69	* ThemeTune: "Outro" by Music/{{M83}} plays during the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcF5z1qHf_s opening credits.]]
70	* ThoseTwoGuys: The two most prominent members of Louis's government -- Louvois, the Secretary of War, and Colbert, the Comptroller-General of Finance -- share most of their scenes together.
71	* VicariouslyAmbitious: Philippe's boyfriend wants him to be king much more than Philippe does.

Context Series / Versailles