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(gentle music)
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- [Narrator] Paris.
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A city of perfection and passion.
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And on its border, a palace filled
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with secrets dark and strange.
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The encrypted letters of the
ill-fated Marie Antoinette,
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the deadly skills of the musketeers,
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and the invention of an
assassination machine.
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Secrets hidden in plain sight,
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inside the Chateau of Versailles.
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(mysterious music)
(electricity sizzling)
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(pages whooshing)
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(bright music)
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Every year on the outskirts of Paris,
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10 million visitors flock to a museum
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that was once a royal palace, Versailles.
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In these rooms, kings ruled
France and much of Europe
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by convincing their subjects
they were appointed by God.
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- It's a theater, Versailles.
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It's a place for a permanent show,
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by the king of its
unique person and power.
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- [Narrator] From the
arrival of the Sun King,
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Louis XIV in 1682,
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until the beginning of the
French Revolution in 1789,
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(people shouting)
(guillotine thudding)
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Versailles was the
epicenter of the nation.
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Here the monarchs
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of France commissioned
exquisite treasures,
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made beautiful babies,
and started bloody wars.
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(soldiers shouting)
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This solemn gallery is known
as the Hall of Battles.
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Many French regiments are represented here
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including some that still exist today.
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(soldiers shouting)
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But this uniform was only
worn for a few decades.
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It has the white cross of the musketeer.
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- [Announcer] "The Three Musketeers."
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- [Narrator] In the movies, the musketeers
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are happy-go-lucky warriors
off on an adventure.
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Porthos, Athos, Aramis,
and the young D'Artagnan
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thrust and parry their way to victory.
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The cry of, "One for all and all for one."
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(dramatic music)
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But what was it really
like to be a musketeer?
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That is our museum secret.
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(picture whooshing)
(bright music)
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The story begins at the 17th
century Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte
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where Louis XIV attended lavish parties,
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accompanied by his musketeers.
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These modern swordsmen are experts
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in the musketeers' history
and fighting technique
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and today they've agreed
to train a new recruit.
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- Thank you very much,
I'm Rob, nice to meet you.
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- Michel.
- Hi.
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- [Narrator] Robert Miles is an actor
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who's going to play D'Artagnan
in "The Three Musketeers."
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- So what are we gonna
be doing today then?
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- Ah, sounds good to me, okay.
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To be here as a British actor fighting
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these French former world
champion stage combat fighters,
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you don't get opportunities
like that very often,
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to be honest, and I'm really hoping
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that I can make the most of it.
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- One, you see?
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Two, three.
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- [Narrator] Rob also
hopes to learn something
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about the musketeers as people.
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(men grunting)
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It turns out that the fictional D'Artagnan
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was based on a real nobleman from Gascony,
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a region famed for
producing fiery warriors.
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- What about the attitude
of D'Artagnan as a person?
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Did he like fighting?
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Did he do it because he had to?
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- I am D'Artagnan.
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- You are D'Artagnan, okay.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- Okay, right.
- Okay, let's fight.
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- So he wants to fight.
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- Yes.
- Okay.
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- Very quick to anger.
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- Very quick to anger, okay.
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That's good stuff to know.
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All right, and is that because
of where he comes from?
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Is that a Gascon trait?
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- [Michel] Gascon, Gascon.
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- That's very, okay, I see.
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(swords clanking)
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- [Narrator] In reality, as in the movies,
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musketeers trained to be deadly swordsmen.
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(swords clanking)
(man groaning)
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(men laughing)
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- Got me there, absolutely.
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Made a mistake and it cost me my life.
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- [Narrator] Hollywood's musketeers spar
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with the Cardinal's men,
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and their exploits are
often played for laughs.
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The real musketeers had
a more serious mission.
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The crosses on their uniforms
symbolized their holy calling.
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They were the king's bodyguards
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which made them God's bodyguards.
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Every musketeer swore to protect
his God-king with his life.
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When the king attended social functions,
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like the ones at this chateau,
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he faced potential threats from assassins.
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At any second his musketeers
might be put to the test.
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- I'm sure you could be a musketeer.
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- [Musketeer] Really?
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- This is my father's sword.
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(swords clanking)
(dramatic music)
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- It's a bit rusty, don't you think?
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- Still sharp enough to run you through.
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(swords clanking)
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- [Narrator] Rob is starting to think
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that the life of a musketeer
would have been great fun
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just like in the movies.
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(shouting in foreign language)
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But what he doesn't know is that
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when Louis XIV declared
war, everything changed.
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To understand what happened,
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Rob visits Versailles' Hall of Battles
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to meet historian, Elva Travion.
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- Their mission first, was
to protect the king's life.
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But they also had the
mission to fight in battles.
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On the flag you can see a bomb falling
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and the motto was,
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"Where they fall, the death
is running with them."
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- I see, okay, right.
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So wherever they go,
death follows with them.
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- Yes.
- Right wow, biblical.
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(both laughing)
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- [Narrator] As the king's
men, they were expected
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to be the bravest and the
ones to lead the charge.
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- They were often called
enfants perdue, lost children.
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- Lost children, really?
- Yes.
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They were called so because
there was a very high rate
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of losses during the fight.
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(men yelling)
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(people chattering)
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- [Narrator] In the movies, the story ends
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with D'Artagnan receiving
his commission and a musket.
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In real life, D'Artagnan got a musket ball
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through the throat and
died on the battlefield.
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So many musketeers were lost
defending their God-king,
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that Louis XIV retired
the name of the company.
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- Coming into this, obviously
with only an understanding
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of D'Artagnan from pop culture,
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has really shown me how I
can maybe do it differently
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and perhaps change the performance
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that I was intending to
give prior to coming here.
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- [Narrator] A darker, grittier D'Artagnan
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may be just what is needed to
revive the musketeer franchise
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for a new generation.
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Up next, the mysterious
death of a king's mistress.
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(dramatic music)
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(gentle music)
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At the palace of Versailles,
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the kings of France chose their wives
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to enhance political alliances,
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and produce heirs to the throne.
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But for love and for sexual pleasure,
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kings looked elsewhere
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to the ladies-in-waiting of their court.
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Some of the most famous mistresses
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in French history graced Versailles.
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Madame de Pompadour, Madame du Barry,
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and Louis XIV's Madame de Montespan.
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- She was enormously clever
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and the greatest beauty of her generation.
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She was extremely passionate,
extremely glamorous.
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She gambled like a drunken soldier
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and made love like a Parisian whore.
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She was really quite an
extraordinary character.
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And it wasn't considered at all scandalous
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to be the lover of the king.
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- [Narrator] The inevitable
illegitimate children
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such liaisons produced were welcomed
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as proof of a king's virility.
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(dramatic music)
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But there was a time
when it was scandalous
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to be a mistress.
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(cannon booming)
(men screaming)
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In the turbulent 15th century,
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much of France was
occupied by the English.
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The French king Charles VII was forced
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to flee with his court from
Paris to the Loire Valley.
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(dramatic music)
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Although Charles had a wife and children,
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he was transfixed by the arrival
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of a new lady-in-waiting,
named Agnes Sorel.
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(sweet gentle music)
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Charles took Agnes to his bed.
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(woman moaning)
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But after six years as
the king's mistress,
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the young woman dropped
dead of unknown causes.
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How did Agnes Sorel die?
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And did she leave a mark on history?
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Those are our museum secrets.
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(dramatic music)
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In France today,
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there is no history
detective more accomplished
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than forensic paleopathologist
Philippe Charlier.
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- My job is doing forensic autopsies.
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So I have to take all the samples
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to analyze them in order to say
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what is the cause of death,
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what is the circumstances of
death, the manner of death.
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I'm like a doctor but a too-late doctor.
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(gentle music)
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- [Narrator] Recently, Charlier
went to the town of Loches
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to investigate the death of Agnes Sorel.
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Some suspected that her
final resting place was here
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in this medieval church.
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Beside the alter there is a sarcophagus
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with the wings of an angel
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and an inscription that reads,
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"The woman of beauty."
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- So we wanted to exhume the body
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or what remained of the body,
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and to first confirm the
identity of this individual
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then try if possible
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to find the cause of death for this woman.
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- [Narrator] The burial urn
contained a human skull.
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Analysis of the teeth revealed
it was that of a young woman.
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And facial reconstruction
matched the likeness
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of Agnes Sorel.
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(mysterious music)
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Her coffin is next door to the castle
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where she spent the
last years of her life.
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Here she bore King Charles three children
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and also made her mark on
the history of fashion.
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- [Narrator] Agnes brought
a style formerly reserved
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for prostitutes to the king's court.
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But she wasn't just eye candy.
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She took a keen interest in politics.
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Agnes learned that the war with
the English was going badly
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because her beloved king
had run out of money
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to pay his troops.
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She used her considerable charm
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to convince rich nobles to back the king.
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- [Narrator] With these resources,
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Charles defeated the English
and secured his borders.
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To show Agnes his appreciation,
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the king did something no
French king had done before.
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He made her his official mistress.
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- The official mistress was
effectively a job at court.
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She would have her own apartment,
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she would have her own servants,
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she would receive visits in her own right
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as a significant member of the court.
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(somber music)
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- [Narrator] Church elders were horrified
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that a mere mistress should
be given such high status.
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Undeterred, Charles went one step further.
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He showed his love for Agnes
256
00:13:13,530 --> 00:13:15,853
by making their children legitimate.
257
00:13:17,230 --> 00:13:20,560
This infuriated Charles' eldest son
258
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:21,700
who feared the children would
259
00:13:21,700 --> 00:13:23,933
one day threaten his claim to the throne.
260
00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:34,523
Her enemies had reasons to want her dead.
261
00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:38,333
But to discover proof
that she was murdered,
262
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,540
Dr. Philippe Charlier needed
to determine her cause of death
263
00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:45,713
by examining the physical evidence.
264
00:13:48,220 --> 00:13:51,480
- [Philippe] We found a lot
of eggs and a lot of parasites
265
00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:53,683
inside the remains of the body.
266
00:13:55,380 --> 00:13:56,860
- [Narrator] Charlier also detected
267
00:13:56,860 --> 00:13:58,573
small amounts of mercury.
268
00:13:59,430 --> 00:14:00,263
- Why mercury?
269
00:14:00,263 --> 00:14:02,210
We know that mercury was used
270
00:14:02,210 --> 00:14:05,470
during this period,
Middle Ages, Renaissance,
271
00:14:05,470 --> 00:14:08,053
for the cure of internal parasites.
272
00:14:09,670 --> 00:14:11,250
- [Narrator] The mercury
could be explained
273
00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:12,253
as medication.
274
00:14:14,260 --> 00:14:17,970
But when Charlier did the
same test on her hair,
275
00:14:17,970 --> 00:14:19,763
the mercury levels spiked.
276
00:14:21,290 --> 00:14:24,870
- This testified really
of a very large amount
277
00:14:24,870 --> 00:14:28,333
of mercury in the two or
three days before death.
278
00:14:29,270 --> 00:14:33,020
- [Narrator] Perhaps someone
added mercury to her medication
279
00:14:33,020 --> 00:14:34,893
or forced her to ingest it.
280
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,770
Either way, Agnes received a lethal dose.
281
00:14:39,770 --> 00:14:42,500
- So it was maybe an
accident, it's possible.
282
00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:45,573
But maybe it was also crime in order
283
00:14:45,573 --> 00:14:50,040
to destroy the most important
influence she had on the king.
284
00:14:51,180 --> 00:14:52,750
- [Narrator] But if someone took her life
285
00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:55,923
to end her influence, they failed.
286
00:14:57,190 --> 00:14:58,660
From that time on,
287
00:14:58,660 --> 00:15:03,110
being the king's mistress
was no longer scandalous.
288
00:15:03,110 --> 00:15:06,130
- It was really a career and
a very serious one at that.
289
00:15:06,130 --> 00:15:08,490
And one for which many, many women were
290
00:15:08,490 --> 00:15:10,980
very happy to compete.
291
00:15:10,980 --> 00:15:13,770
The first official
mistress was Agnes Sorel
292
00:15:13,770 --> 00:15:15,730
and after that it was used for every woman
293
00:15:15,730 --> 00:15:18,680
who occupied the position of
the favored lover of the king.
294
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:21,060
- [Narrator] After her death,
295
00:15:21,060 --> 00:15:23,933
Agnes Sorel was long mourned by her king.
296
00:15:24,890 --> 00:15:29,143
We suspect that on her coffin
are traces of his tears.
297
00:15:30,341 --> 00:15:32,420
(dramatic music)
298
00:15:32,420 --> 00:15:36,683
Next on Museum Secrets,
the queen loses her head.
299
00:15:37,901 --> 00:15:39,790
(guillotine thuds)
300
00:15:39,790 --> 00:15:42,540
(dramatic music)
301
00:15:43,660 --> 00:15:46,450
For modern visitors to its gilded halls,
302
00:15:46,450 --> 00:15:48,290
Versailles can feel like a setting
303
00:15:48,290 --> 00:15:50,793
for lifestyles of the rich and famous.
304
00:15:52,110 --> 00:15:53,410
And that's because it was.
305
00:15:56,370 --> 00:15:59,730
Those who lived here were
the celebrities of their day
306
00:15:59,730 --> 00:16:04,213
and the dazzle reminded
everyone who was boss, the king.
307
00:16:06,030 --> 00:16:08,253
- The king is a holy person,
308
00:16:10,610 --> 00:16:11,930
has been chosen by God
309
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:14,490
to be the king of France.
310
00:16:16,260 --> 00:16:20,490
- [Narrator] So in 1789,
King Louis XVI was unprepared
311
00:16:20,490 --> 00:16:24,470
for the revolution when his
subjects stormed the Bastille,
312
00:16:24,470 --> 00:16:26,240
declared all men equal,
313
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,113
and four years later sent
him to the guillotine.
314
00:16:30,641 --> 00:16:32,470
(guillotine thudding)
315
00:16:32,470 --> 00:16:35,310
But though his death changed history,
316
00:16:35,310 --> 00:16:37,213
his wife is better known.
317
00:16:39,010 --> 00:16:41,020
Marie Antoinette,
318
00:16:41,020 --> 00:16:44,587
portrayed as a spoiled,
childish libertine who said,
319
00:16:44,587 --> 00:16:46,580
"Let them eat cake,"
320
00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:49,653
when told that starving
French peasants had no bread.
321
00:16:51,770 --> 00:16:55,450
- It's a sort of tragic
glamor of doomed celebrity,
322
00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:00,030
about Marie Antoinette.
323
00:17:00,030 --> 00:17:02,550
- [Narrator] But was she
just a shallow celebrity?
324
00:17:02,550 --> 00:17:05,940
The victim of circumstances
she didn't understand?
325
00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:08,323
The truth is a museum secret.
326
00:17:09,551 --> 00:17:11,470
(dramatic music)
327
00:17:11,470 --> 00:17:13,660
The story begins in Versailles,
328
00:17:13,660 --> 00:17:16,053
three months after the
fall of the Bastille.
329
00:17:16,940 --> 00:17:19,710
- 5th of October, rumors reach Versailles,
330
00:17:19,710 --> 00:17:21,960
the furious starving mob was preparing
331
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:23,870
to march on the palace.
332
00:17:23,870 --> 00:17:25,870
The royal family was
held very much to blame
333
00:17:25,870 --> 00:17:28,220
for the famine that was
afflicting the country.
334
00:17:30,290 --> 00:17:31,520
- [Narrator] In the middle of the night,
335
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,640
a violent faction stormed the palace
336
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,920
looking for Marie Antoinette.
337
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,610
- The queen like a magnet
has really concentrated
338
00:17:38,610 --> 00:17:42,350
all the hatred in France.
339
00:17:42,350 --> 00:17:45,000
- [Narrator] They attacked
and killed her bodyguards.
340
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,540
Marie Antoinette did not
intend to be the next victim.
341
00:17:50,670 --> 00:17:52,283
She took a secret passageway.
342
00:17:54,670 --> 00:17:57,440
- So the queen went
through these small doors,
343
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,230
leading to the king's apartment
344
00:18:00,230 --> 00:18:04,720
and she reached at the end this main door
345
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,740
and unfortunately the door was
locked from the other side.
346
00:18:07,740 --> 00:18:10,530
There was a valet of the king not very far
347
00:18:10,530 --> 00:18:12,853
who heard and who unlocked it.
348
00:18:16,130 --> 00:18:18,620
- [Narrator] Marie
Antoinette had saved herself
349
00:18:18,620 --> 00:18:21,490
but her ordeal had just begun.
350
00:18:21,490 --> 00:18:24,260
- At dawn this whole area was full
351
00:18:24,260 --> 00:18:27,220
of furious, shouting people demanding
352
00:18:27,220 --> 00:18:28,533
to see the royal family.
353
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:30,440
- [Narrator] The king promised
354
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,810
to look into the shortage of bread.
355
00:18:32,810 --> 00:18:35,914
Then rioters shouted for
a word from the queen.
356
00:18:35,914 --> 00:18:38,120
(people shouting)
357
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,480
- The million dollar question
about Marie Antoinette,
358
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,720
the one that every school boy knows,
359
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,300
did she say, "Let them eat cake"?
360
00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:47,590
Well she certainly spent a
great deal too much money
361
00:18:47,590 --> 00:18:48,830
on dresses and jewels,
362
00:18:48,830 --> 00:18:52,172
but she really didn't say
anything quite so callous.
363
00:18:52,172 --> 00:18:54,900
(somber music)
364
00:18:54,900 --> 00:18:57,240
- [Narrator] In fact, she said nothing.
365
00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,677
She stared down the mob
until a few began to chant,
366
00:19:00,677 --> 00:19:02,870
"Long live the queen."
367
00:19:02,870 --> 00:19:05,507
But others shouted "bitch" and "whore".
368
00:19:08,350 --> 00:19:12,087
By nightfall, the royals
were ordered to Paris.
369
00:19:12,087 --> 00:19:12,920
(people yelling)
370
00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:14,330
- It was a hideous journey.
371
00:19:14,330 --> 00:19:16,440
The royal family looked out
of the windows of their coach
372
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,230
to see the heads of the
two bodyguards stuck
373
00:19:19,230 --> 00:19:21,180
on bleeding pikes being waved
374
00:19:21,180 --> 00:19:22,830
at the windows of their carriage.
375
00:19:23,870 --> 00:19:25,350
- [Narrator] They spent
the next four years
376
00:19:25,350 --> 00:19:28,540
under house arrest until
the revolutionaries decided
377
00:19:28,540 --> 00:19:31,903
France couldn't move forward
while the king was alive.
378
00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:34,197
They solved the problem.
379
00:19:34,197 --> 00:19:35,210
(guillotine thudding)
380
00:19:35,210 --> 00:19:38,794
But for some, the king's
execution wasn't enough.
381
00:19:38,794 --> 00:19:41,377
(somber music)
382
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:43,753
- Marie Antoinette was brought here
383
00:19:43,753 --> 00:19:46,683
to the Conciergerie in August, 1793.
384
00:19:47,770 --> 00:19:49,900
- [Narrator] Prisoners of
the revolution were kept here
385
00:19:49,900 --> 00:19:51,203
while awaiting trial.
386
00:19:53,770 --> 00:19:55,997
- The trail of Marie Antoinette
387
00:19:55,997 --> 00:19:59,213
was an absolute shame
and disgrace, absolute.
388
00:20:01,010 --> 00:20:06,010
No respect of the rules, no
chances left to the defense.
389
00:20:07,090 --> 00:20:10,190
- [Narrator] Her celebrity
had made her a target.
390
00:20:10,190 --> 00:20:11,850
- Most of the accusations
391
00:20:11,850 --> 00:20:14,900
by witnesses were entirely specious.
392
00:20:14,900 --> 00:20:18,300
She was accused of spying,
of contempt for the people,
393
00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:20,700
of orgiastic behavior, of drunkenness,
394
00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:22,910
even though she was a
well-known teetotaler.
395
00:20:22,910 --> 00:20:25,770
Perhaps the worst of them was
that she had committed incest
396
00:20:25,770 --> 00:20:27,773
with her then seven-year-old son.
397
00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:30,860
- [Narrator] And so it appears
398
00:20:30,860 --> 00:20:33,733
the revolutionaries
convicted an innocent victim.
399
00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:36,710
Or maybe not.
400
00:20:36,710 --> 00:20:38,740
In the French National Archives
401
00:20:38,740 --> 00:20:41,840
are several revealing letters
written by Marie Antoinette
402
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:43,633
while she was under arrest.
403
00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:48,110
- One of Marie Antoinette's
most important correspondents
404
00:20:48,110 --> 00:20:50,570
was her old friend and some say lover,
405
00:20:50,570 --> 00:20:53,103
the Swedish diplomat
Count Axel von Fersen.
406
00:20:54,780 --> 00:20:57,790
- [Narrator] These letters
were written in a secret code.
407
00:20:57,790 --> 00:21:00,340
- A code word would be
chosen for each letter
408
00:21:00,340 --> 00:21:03,070
after which different
letters would correspond,
409
00:21:03,070 --> 00:21:05,160
line by line alternately,
410
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,530
to produce a new set of phrases.
411
00:21:07,530 --> 00:21:09,270
- [Narrator] The code
could only be deciphered
412
00:21:09,270 --> 00:21:10,343
with a key word.
413
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,500
- What's moving, I suppose,
414
00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:17,860
about the key word here
is that it is courage.
415
00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:24,233
It seems a fairly desperate cri de coeur.
416
00:21:25,540 --> 00:21:28,060
- [Narrator] You might think
these were love letters.
417
00:21:28,060 --> 00:21:29,370
But they're not.
418
00:21:29,370 --> 00:21:30,943
They're about politics.
419
00:21:31,970 --> 00:21:34,260
- Marie Antoinette was intensely aware
420
00:21:34,260 --> 00:21:36,460
of France's political situation.
421
00:21:36,460 --> 00:21:38,990
She spent a great deal of
time at her correspondence
422
00:21:38,990 --> 00:21:40,403
with her potential allies.
423
00:21:41,370 --> 00:21:43,120
- [Narrator] She pleaded with von Fersen
424
00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:45,880
and other foreign leaders
to help restore the monarchy
425
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,533
by invading France.
426
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,400
- This is high treason.
427
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,792
She betrayed her country.
428
00:21:54,792 --> 00:21:56,106
(people shouting)
429
00:21:56,106 --> 00:21:57,530
The hate was too strong.
430
00:21:57,530 --> 00:21:58,633
She had to die.
431
00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:03,730
- Marie Antoinette remained
remarkably calm and composed.
432
00:22:03,730 --> 00:22:05,280
As she walked up the
steps to the scaffold,
433
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,160
she had accidentally stand
on the executioner's foot
434
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,080
for which she apologized very graciously
435
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,230
saying that she hadn't done it on purpose.
436
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,340
- It's a tragic fate.
437
00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:18,550
From so high to so low.
438
00:22:18,550 --> 00:22:21,250
- [Narrator] Marie Antoinette
understood the political storm
439
00:22:21,250 --> 00:22:23,220
that was about to engulf her.
440
00:22:23,220 --> 00:22:24,757
But she could not stop it.
441
00:22:24,757 --> 00:22:26,910
(guillotine thudding)
442
00:22:26,910 --> 00:22:29,780
As for Versailles, no royal celebrity
443
00:22:29,780 --> 00:22:31,363
would ever live here again.
444
00:22:33,410 --> 00:22:35,850
But the dazzling show goes on
445
00:22:35,850 --> 00:22:39,216
in a palace now owned by the people.
446
00:22:39,216 --> 00:22:41,430
(somber music)
447
00:22:41,430 --> 00:22:44,823
Coming up, the secrets
of an inventive assassin.
448
00:22:46,103 --> 00:22:48,853
(dramatic music)
449
00:22:50,210 --> 00:22:53,580
After the French Revolution of 1789,
450
00:22:53,580 --> 00:22:56,683
no royal would inhabit
the halls of Versailles.
451
00:22:58,020 --> 00:23:02,430
But post-revolutionary
history hangs on its walls.
452
00:23:02,430 --> 00:23:05,840
A soldier named Napoleon
rose to rule France
453
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:06,893
and all of Europe.
454
00:23:07,966 --> 00:23:09,370
(men shouting)
(horses neighing)
455
00:23:09,370 --> 00:23:13,530
His formidable army numbered 600,000.
456
00:23:13,530 --> 00:23:16,430
But after a failed
attempt to conquer Russia,
457
00:23:16,430 --> 00:23:19,560
and a final defeat by
the British at Waterloo,
458
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,413
France fell into turmoil.
459
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,010
This is the period portrayed
in the many versions
460
00:23:26,010 --> 00:23:27,783
of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
461
00:23:29,820 --> 00:23:33,750
In July of 1830, an
insurrection broke out.
462
00:23:33,750 --> 00:23:35,390
But the new revolutionaries,
463
00:23:35,390 --> 00:23:37,943
called the Republicans, could not prevail.
464
00:23:39,330 --> 00:23:43,513
Instead, a nobleman named Louis
Philippe was crowned king.
465
00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:49,700
Historian Monroe Price is an
expert on this chaotic era.
466
00:23:49,900 --> 00:23:52,810
- Violence against Louis
Philippe and his regime
467
00:23:52,810 --> 00:23:56,160
began very soon after the July Revolution.
468
00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:01,050
And this was basically
because of the Republicans
469
00:24:01,050 --> 00:24:04,730
who were furious that a
republic had not been a result
470
00:24:04,730 --> 00:24:06,320
of the July Revolution
471
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,980
and that the revolution had been stolen
472
00:24:08,980 --> 00:24:10,893
from them by Louis Philippe.
473
00:24:13,230 --> 00:24:16,890
- [Narrator] In a gallery of
Versailles closed to the public
474
00:24:16,890 --> 00:24:20,090
this painting depicts an
event that happened five years
475
00:24:20,090 --> 00:24:22,750
after Louis Philippe's coronation,
476
00:24:22,750 --> 00:24:25,963
when a royal procession
went horribly wrong.
477
00:24:35,479 --> 00:24:37,990
- [Narrator] The trouble's
cause is hard to see,
478
00:24:37,990 --> 00:24:42,040
but if one looks closely
at a second floor window,
479
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,190
there is a puff of smoke.
480
00:24:44,190 --> 00:24:47,386
What happened here is a museum secret.
481
00:24:47,386 --> 00:24:49,360
(dramatic music)
482
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,670
Our story begins in the slums of Paris.
483
00:24:52,670 --> 00:24:56,630
In the 1830s, it was home
to impoverished war veterans
484
00:24:56,630 --> 00:24:59,463
including a man named Giuseppe Fieschi.
485
00:25:01,196 --> 00:25:03,090
- He was a extraordinary man in fact.
486
00:25:03,090 --> 00:25:05,380
He'd been a soldier in Napoleon's army
487
00:25:05,380 --> 00:25:07,880
and had actually survived
the retreat from Moscow.
488
00:25:08,780 --> 00:25:10,910
So he was certainly a tough man
489
00:25:10,910 --> 00:25:15,090
and had some brains,
intelligence, and practical skill.
490
00:25:15,090 --> 00:25:17,780
- [Narrator] Fieschi fell in
with republican conspirators
491
00:25:17,780 --> 00:25:20,553
who wanted to assassinate
King Louis Philippe.
492
00:25:22,290 --> 00:25:23,123
They had learned
493
00:25:23,123 --> 00:25:25,700
that an upcoming royal
procession would travel down one
494
00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:27,823
of the central boulevards of Paris.
495
00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:33,650
In return for a fortune,
Fieschi agreed to shoot the king
496
00:25:33,650 --> 00:25:36,863
and swore to safeguard the
conspirators' identities.
497
00:25:38,150 --> 00:25:40,110
To begin his preparations,
498
00:25:40,110 --> 00:25:42,060
Fieschi visited the Boulevard du Temple
499
00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:45,440
and rented an upstairs room.
500
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,500
From here the king's procession would be
501
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:49,033
within musket range.
502
00:25:49,970 --> 00:25:51,170
But there was a problem.
503
00:25:52,370 --> 00:25:55,580
Muskets take many seconds to reload.
504
00:25:55,580 --> 00:25:59,020
Fieschi would need to kill
the king with the first shot
505
00:25:59,020 --> 00:26:01,600
or there would be no time for a getaway.
506
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,666
He wasn't sure it could be done.
507
00:26:03,666 --> 00:26:06,416
(musket booming)
508
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,800
On a gun range near Paris,
509
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,703
Monroe will explore what was
going on in Fieschi's mind.
510
00:26:15,330 --> 00:26:16,860
- Fieschi prepared for his attempt
511
00:26:16,860 --> 00:26:20,540
on King Louis Philippe's
life with great care.
512
00:26:20,540 --> 00:26:25,140
He knew that he was
facing a moving target.
513
00:26:25,140 --> 00:26:27,120
The king was going to be on horseback.
514
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:28,610
He was going to be surrounded
515
00:26:28,610 --> 00:26:31,630
by several of his sons and his staff.
516
00:26:31,630 --> 00:26:34,893
So it was quite a difficult target to hit.
517
00:26:36,290 --> 00:26:37,877
- [Narrator] Targets
representing Louis Philippe
518
00:26:37,877 --> 00:26:40,810
and his retinue have
been placed at a distance
519
00:26:40,810 --> 00:26:43,360
from a marksman equal to the distance
520
00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:46,143
from Fieschi's window to the street below.
521
00:26:48,927 --> 00:26:51,677
(musket booming)
522
00:26:53,630 --> 00:26:56,420
- As you see, it's unlikely
with just that one shot,
523
00:26:56,420 --> 00:26:57,870
he'd have hit Louis Philippe.
524
00:26:59,290 --> 00:27:01,060
- [Narrator] Fieschi knew it.
525
00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:02,270
But as a war veteran,
526
00:27:02,270 --> 00:27:06,323
he also knew firsthand the
deadly power of massed muskets.
527
00:27:07,325 --> 00:27:09,074
(muskets booming)
528
00:27:09,074 --> 00:27:12,620
Fieschi wondered how could
that firepower be employed
529
00:27:12,620 --> 00:27:13,863
by a lone assassin?
530
00:27:18,370 --> 00:27:21,730
Necessity was the mother of invention.
531
00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:25,920
- This machine we see
here is the so-called,
532
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,300
has come to be known
as the infernal machine
533
00:27:29,300 --> 00:27:31,140
named after its inventor,
534
00:27:31,140 --> 00:27:36,140
and its first and so far only
operator, Giuseppe Fieschi.
535
00:27:37,700 --> 00:27:42,700
It is 25 musket barrels
arranged on a wooden frame.
536
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,660
- [Narrator] The night
before the king's procession,
537
00:27:47,660 --> 00:27:50,353
things did not go as Fieschi had planned.
538
00:27:51,270 --> 00:27:54,073
- [Monroe] He and his collaborator, Morey,
539
00:27:55,370 --> 00:28:00,370
charged all the musket barrels
with bullets and buckshot.
540
00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:03,730
- [Narrator] What Fieschi didn't know was
541
00:28:03,730 --> 00:28:06,293
that Morey tampered with
some of the barrels.
542
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,160
The conspirators didn't trust Fieschi
543
00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:11,693
to keep their plot secret.
544
00:28:12,950 --> 00:28:15,940
The next morning, the
king's procession approached
545
00:28:15,940 --> 00:28:17,880
along with a boisterous crowd.
546
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:19,240
(people shouting)
547
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,530
- He would have heard certainly
a great deal of noise,
548
00:28:21,530 --> 00:28:23,320
he'd have heard drums beating,
549
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,420
he'd have heard military music.
550
00:28:25,420 --> 00:28:30,420
And he must have been extremely tense.
551
00:28:30,550 --> 00:28:31,620
There was no way of knowing
552
00:28:31,620 --> 00:28:34,390
whether the machine would in fact work.
553
00:28:34,390 --> 00:28:38,000
Fieschi set off his
machine by putting a match
554
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,283
to the powder train at about
the 13th musket barrel.
555
00:28:43,540 --> 00:28:45,780
- [Narrator] Many barrels fired true.
556
00:28:45,780 --> 00:28:47,934
But some exploded in Fieschi's face.
557
00:28:47,934 --> 00:28:50,180
(man screaming)
558
00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:52,887
In the street, the barrage wreaked havoc.
559
00:28:52,887 --> 00:28:53,720
(people shouting)
560
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,550
- The scene was almost indescribable
561
00:28:56,550 --> 00:28:59,300
and very shocking and terrible.
562
00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:03,290
18 people around the king were killed.
563
00:29:03,290 --> 00:29:05,930
22 people injured.
564
00:29:05,930 --> 00:29:08,430
- [Narrator] But the
assassination attempt failed.
565
00:29:09,570 --> 00:29:12,620
- He missed the king by a whisker,
566
00:29:12,620 --> 00:29:14,600
almost literally a whisker.
567
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,240
- [Narrator] Fieschi
himself was not so lucky.
568
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,073
He'd been hit by shrapnel
from an exploding barrel.
569
00:29:21,690 --> 00:29:25,940
- It made a gash in his
forehead that was so deep,
570
00:29:25,940 --> 00:29:27,650
that when he was arrested,
571
00:29:27,650 --> 00:29:32,650
his brain could be seen
beating through the gore.
572
00:29:34,150 --> 00:29:36,370
- [Narrator] The king's
surgeons saved his life
573
00:29:36,370 --> 00:29:38,490
so he could face justice.
574
00:29:38,490 --> 00:29:40,140
He never knew that one of his own group
575
00:29:40,140 --> 00:29:44,230
of conspirators was responsible
for the exploding barrels,
576
00:29:44,230 --> 00:29:46,400
so he kept his side of the bargain
577
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,653
and refused to incriminate the others.
578
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,240
- Fieschi had pleaded guilty
so it was perfectly clear
579
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,133
that he would go to the guillotine.
580
00:29:58,330 --> 00:30:00,340
- [Narrator] Louis Philippe
commissioned this painting
581
00:30:00,340 --> 00:30:02,560
to commemorate a moment of terror
582
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:05,690
and his near escape from death.
583
00:30:05,690 --> 00:30:09,543
The king would keep his throne
as the last king of France.
584
00:30:10,721 --> 00:30:11,554
(guillotine thudding)
585
00:30:11,554 --> 00:30:14,413
While Fieschi would lose his head.
586
00:30:16,220 --> 00:30:19,396
Coming up, the secret of a monk's elixir.
587
00:30:19,396 --> 00:30:22,146
(dramatic music)
588
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,530
Inside the Versailles palace,
589
00:30:26,530 --> 00:30:31,010
museum director Beatrix Saule
has agreed to reenact a ritual
590
00:30:31,010 --> 00:30:33,023
from the days of Louis XIV.
591
00:30:35,810 --> 00:30:39,290
Once a day, this baton was
paraded through the halls
592
00:30:39,290 --> 00:30:43,472
to signal a momentous
event, the king's dinner.
593
00:30:43,472 --> 00:30:45,310
(bright music)
594
00:30:45,310 --> 00:30:48,100
By royal decree, his subjects were allowed
595
00:30:48,100 --> 00:30:51,193
to watch him eat his usual enormous meal.
596
00:31:09,890 --> 00:31:12,270
- [Narrator] Meanwhile,
200 kilometers away
597
00:31:12,270 --> 00:31:14,620
in this French monastery,
598
00:31:14,620 --> 00:31:17,423
a humble monk led a much simpler life.
599
00:31:18,820 --> 00:31:21,703
This monk shared just
one thing with Louis XIV,
600
00:31:22,570 --> 00:31:25,503
they were both born in the year 1638.
601
00:31:26,930 --> 00:31:29,240
The two men would never meet,
602
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,463
but their lives would
intersect in an intimate way.
603
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:36,729
How this happened is a museum secret.
604
00:31:36,729 --> 00:31:39,560
(dramatic music)
605
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,050
At Versailles, the courtiers catered
606
00:31:42,050 --> 00:31:43,707
to every whim of Louis XIV.
607
00:31:45,556 --> 00:31:47,900
The monk on the other hand, had to cater
608
00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:51,230
to the whims of his Abbot
who ordered him to make wine
609
00:31:51,230 --> 00:31:53,313
to pay for the monastery's upkeep.
610
00:31:54,750 --> 00:31:57,600
Unfortunately, the monastery was located
611
00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,780
in a northerly province.
612
00:31:59,780 --> 00:32:03,471
The winters sometimes killed grapevines.
613
00:32:03,471 --> 00:32:04,470
(speaking in foreign language)
614
00:32:04,470 --> 00:32:07,490
To wine enthusiast, Alexandre Loire,
615
00:32:07,490 --> 00:32:09,820
and vintner Richard Geoffroy,
616
00:32:09,820 --> 00:32:12,743
the monk's vineyard is a small miracle.
617
00:32:13,860 --> 00:32:16,100
- Here the background is really
618
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,800
the Clos Sacre, it's really
the original the vineyard.
619
00:32:21,530 --> 00:32:23,610
- [Narrator] Not only
was the climate cold,
620
00:32:23,610 --> 00:32:25,193
the soil was chalky.
621
00:32:26,290 --> 00:32:28,686
- It's very hard for
the roots of the vines
622
00:32:28,686 --> 00:32:31,600
just to progress in the chalk.
623
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,953
The greatest wines always
come from marginal situations.
624
00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:41,040
Greatness always comes on a
constraint, never comfort.
625
00:32:42,620 --> 00:32:44,050
- [Narrator] The constraints the monk had
626
00:32:44,050 --> 00:32:46,635
to contend with were not only aboveground,
627
00:32:46,635 --> 00:32:50,540
but below in the monastery's wine cellars.
628
00:32:50,540 --> 00:32:54,740
- During winter, the yeasts are
slowing down their activity.
629
00:32:54,740 --> 00:32:57,390
So people realized that
630
00:32:57,390 --> 00:33:01,773
at springtime the wine
was fermenting again.
631
00:33:02,660 --> 00:33:04,180
- [Narrator] Double fermentation causes
632
00:33:04,180 --> 00:33:05,893
carbon dioxide bubbles.
633
00:33:06,830 --> 00:33:10,780
- At that time, bubbles in
the wine were not considered
634
00:33:10,780 --> 00:33:13,320
as a competitive advantage.
635
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,460
It was more a defect of the wine.
636
00:33:16,460 --> 00:33:17,690
- [Narrator] And the carbon dioxide
637
00:33:17,690 --> 00:33:19,893
also caused the bottles to explode.
638
00:33:21,710 --> 00:33:24,270
With religious zeal, the monks strove
639
00:33:24,270 --> 00:33:27,560
to minimize the bubbles
and maximize the taste
640
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,943
by combining green and red
grapes in a unique way.
641
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,360
- He has been the very first man
642
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:38,780
who decided to blend the
grapes prior to press them.
643
00:33:38,780 --> 00:33:40,570
And he succeeded to create
644
00:33:40,570 --> 00:33:43,843
what he called later the
best wine in the world.
645
00:33:45,770 --> 00:33:48,760
- [Narrator] When Louis
XIV tried the monk's wine,
646
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:50,590
he loved it.
647
00:33:50,590 --> 00:33:52,343
For the monk, life was good.
648
00:33:53,530 --> 00:33:56,010
The wine was named for his home province
649
00:33:56,010 --> 00:33:58,513
which happens to be called Champagne.
650
00:33:59,890 --> 00:34:02,990
But for Louis XIV as the years passed,
651
00:34:02,990 --> 00:34:05,123
life became excruciating.
652
00:34:06,210 --> 00:34:08,190
His heavy diet had caused a swelling
653
00:34:08,190 --> 00:34:11,260
of the extremities called gout.
654
00:34:11,260 --> 00:34:15,260
The royal feet became a royal pain.
655
00:34:15,260 --> 00:34:17,260
But no matter what his doctor's told him,
656
00:34:17,260 --> 00:34:19,293
he wouldn't cut back on dinner.
657
00:34:20,450 --> 00:34:23,613
Or on the glass of champagne
he had with every meal.
658
00:34:25,190 --> 00:34:28,400
His senior physician claimed
champagne was good for him,
659
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,280
while others insisted it
was worsening his condition,
660
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,573
and even shortening his life.
661
00:34:35,700 --> 00:34:38,983
At the time there was no
way to prove who was right.
662
00:34:40,700 --> 00:34:43,920
At this modern wine
testing lab in Champagne,
663
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,393
Alexandre Loire hopes
to discover the answer.
664
00:34:48,380 --> 00:34:49,987
- Is it possible to know
665
00:34:49,987 --> 00:34:52,790
if the wine of Champagne
is good for health or not?
666
00:34:52,790 --> 00:34:55,090
- In order to assess this,
667
00:34:55,090 --> 00:34:59,730
I'm going to use this
device which is capable
668
00:34:59,730 --> 00:35:03,140
of measuring the total
antioxidant capacity.
669
00:35:03,140 --> 00:35:04,410
- [Narrator] Health-giving antioxidants
670
00:35:04,410 --> 00:35:07,460
are sometimes in the form of Vitamin C
671
00:35:07,460 --> 00:35:10,473
which happens to be a
modern treatment for gout.
672
00:35:12,540 --> 00:35:16,163
Dr. Hoda has found high levels
of antioxidants in red wine.
673
00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:19,993
While in white wine, they're much lower.
674
00:35:20,860 --> 00:35:22,780
As for champagne, you might think
675
00:35:22,780 --> 00:35:25,400
that because it looks
a lot like white wine,
676
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:28,053
it too will be low in antioxidants.
677
00:35:29,510 --> 00:35:31,713
Dr. Hoda is about to find out.
678
00:35:40,850 --> 00:35:43,390
- [Narrator] In fact, champagne
has double the antioxidants
679
00:35:43,390 --> 00:35:45,830
of white wine, which makes sense,
680
00:35:45,830 --> 00:35:48,180
because just as it was in the monk's day,
681
00:35:48,180 --> 00:35:52,223
today's version is a unique
blend of red grapes and green.
682
00:36:02,427 --> 00:36:05,550
- [Narrator] So champagne
probably eased the king's gout
683
00:36:05,550 --> 00:36:07,723
and it certainly didn't shorten his life.
684
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:13,623
Louis XIV lived to the ripe old age of 77.
685
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,163
He died in 1715.
686
00:36:18,310 --> 00:36:22,333
Coincidentally, so did the
monk who made champagne.
687
00:36:24,260 --> 00:36:26,800
Oh, and one more thing.
688
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:29,512
His name was Dom Perignon.
689
00:36:29,512 --> 00:36:32,179
(gentle music)
690
00:36:34,380 --> 00:36:38,483
Next on Museum Secrets, the
Sun King goes supernova.
691
00:36:39,775 --> 00:36:42,689
(dramatic music)
692
00:36:42,689 --> 00:36:44,310
(mysterious music)
693
00:36:44,310 --> 00:36:47,653
King Louis XIV clad Versailles in stone.
694
00:36:49,220 --> 00:36:51,893
But his palace is all about light.
695
00:36:53,780 --> 00:36:56,760
- If we start with this room,
his official state bedroom,
696
00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:58,590
it's built on an east, west access
697
00:36:58,590 --> 00:37:01,650
so that the sun rises
when the monarch rises
698
00:37:01,650 --> 00:37:03,583
and sets when he goes to bed.
699
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,300
- [Narrator] During the day,
sunlight from the gardens
700
00:37:08,300 --> 00:37:10,523
filled Louis' great hall of mirrors.
701
00:37:12,670 --> 00:37:14,790
Anyone who gazed upon him here,
702
00:37:14,790 --> 00:37:17,363
would be blinded by reflected brilliance.
703
00:37:20,610 --> 00:37:23,663
The message was, I am the Sun King.
704
00:37:24,750 --> 00:37:29,683
I alone have the power to
bestow life or withhold it.
705
00:37:32,350 --> 00:37:35,710
But while Louis was the
self-proclaimed source of light,
706
00:37:35,710 --> 00:37:37,893
he also liked to be enlightened.
707
00:37:39,370 --> 00:37:41,440
- He always was very anxious
that he hadn't been quite
708
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,720
as well educated as a king ought to be,
709
00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:45,260
so he was always trying
to make up for this.
710
00:37:45,260 --> 00:37:46,480
He wanted to read history books,
711
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,426
he wanted to know what as
happening in philosophy,
712
00:37:48,426 --> 00:37:49,960
in the sciences.
713
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,483
He would bring the best
people to him to do that.
714
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,420
- [Narrator] In 1666, Louis created
715
00:37:56,420 --> 00:37:58,423
the French Academy of Sciences.
716
00:38:00,580 --> 00:38:03,200
To allow his academy
to explore the heavens,
717
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,293
he built a world-class
observatory in Paris.
718
00:38:09,012 --> 00:38:10,410
In the 17th century,
719
00:38:10,410 --> 00:38:12,983
its telescopes revealed
the craters of the moon,
720
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,113
and the gap in the rings of Saturn.
721
00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:23,470
And in 1858, a French astronomer
built a telescope here
722
00:38:23,470 --> 00:38:26,233
that was more powerful
than any made before.
723
00:38:28,030 --> 00:38:29,970
- There was a kind of revolution.
724
00:38:29,970 --> 00:38:33,170
Leon Foucault who walked
in this observatory,
725
00:38:33,170 --> 00:38:35,853
invented the modern reflecting telescope.
726
00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:39,540
- [Narrator] This telescope
revealed a mystery
727
00:38:39,540 --> 00:38:42,993
that led to a discovery about
the origin of life on earth.
728
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:46,940
It's a museum secret
729
00:38:46,940 --> 00:38:50,433
that Louis XIV would find hard to believe.
730
00:38:51,693 --> 00:38:53,950
(gentle music)
731
00:38:53,950 --> 00:38:55,570
Our investigation begins
732
00:38:55,570 --> 00:38:58,283
at a modern observatory
in Toronto, Canada.
733
00:39:00,850 --> 00:39:03,920
Astronomer Ray Jayawardhana is the kind
734
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,290
of cutting edge thinker that
Louis would have invited
735
00:39:06,290 --> 00:39:07,763
to join his academy.
736
00:39:09,610 --> 00:39:11,880
- Astronomy is quite difference
from the other sciences
737
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:15,733
in that most of what we know
comes from just decoding light.
738
00:39:16,660 --> 00:39:19,260
- [Narrator] The decoding
started with Isaac Newton.
739
00:39:20,380 --> 00:39:23,500
- Isaac Newton used a
prism to spread sunlight
740
00:39:23,500 --> 00:39:25,503
into the colors of the rainbow.
741
00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:29,950
- [Narrator] He called the
colors in sunlight a spectrum.
742
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:34,170
Soon after, prisms
would reveal the spectra
743
00:39:34,170 --> 00:39:35,943
of earthly sources of light.
744
00:39:37,170 --> 00:39:39,690
- It was long known that
different elements burn
745
00:39:39,690 --> 00:39:40,963
with different colors.
746
00:39:41,980 --> 00:39:44,320
And when scientists
looked through a prism,
747
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:48,380
they realized that each element
had a distinct spectrum.
748
00:39:48,380 --> 00:39:53,140
For instance, when we look at
helium gas through a prism,
749
00:39:53,140 --> 00:39:55,823
we can see its distinct spectrum.
750
00:39:57,340 --> 00:39:59,790
- [Narrator] The same is
true for other elements.
751
00:40:02,820 --> 00:40:06,410
Astronomers wondered, if earthly
elements can be identified
752
00:40:06,410 --> 00:40:07,433
by their spectrum,
753
00:40:08,870 --> 00:40:12,675
perhaps a prism can reveal the
elements burning in a star.
754
00:40:12,675 --> 00:40:15,860
(dramatic music)
755
00:40:15,860 --> 00:40:18,550
And that brings us back
to the Paris observatory
756
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:21,090
to the first astronomers
757
00:40:21,090 --> 00:40:23,503
to use the powerful Foucault telescope.
758
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,680
- Charles Wolf and George
Rayet were two astronomers
759
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:33,390
working in this observatory around 1860.
760
00:40:33,390 --> 00:40:35,960
They don't want to only
look at the star itself,
761
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,200
but they want to have the spectrum,
762
00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,990
so they have to use this
device which is a prism.
763
00:40:40,990 --> 00:40:44,810
And they put that in front
of the eyepiece like that
764
00:40:44,810 --> 00:40:47,633
and then they could see
the spectrum of the star.
765
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:50,480
- [Narrator] Through a prism,
766
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:52,713
most stars look much like this.
767
00:40:54,150 --> 00:40:58,230
But when Wolf and Rayet scan
the constellation Cygnus,
768
00:40:58,230 --> 00:41:01,160
they found three stars
that displayed bright spots
769
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:02,223
of yellow and blue.
770
00:41:03,940 --> 00:41:06,770
- And they could see very bright emissions
771
00:41:06,770 --> 00:41:09,333
at certain places on the spectrums.
772
00:41:10,187 --> 00:41:11,287
This is very special.
773
00:41:11,287 --> 00:41:14,583
These are the only stars which
have this characteristic.
774
00:41:16,210 --> 00:41:18,563
- [Narrator] They were
named Wolf-Rayet stars.
775
00:41:19,450 --> 00:41:21,490
But Wolf and Rayet never discovered
776
00:41:21,490 --> 00:41:23,933
which elements give them
their unique spectrum.
777
00:41:26,070 --> 00:41:29,513
- So this remained a mystery
for many, many years.
778
00:41:30,980 --> 00:41:32,440
- [Narrator] In the 20th century,
779
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:34,900
more powerful telescopes
allowed astronomers
780
00:41:34,900 --> 00:41:38,543
to see Wolf-Rayet stars
in a close-up view.
781
00:41:40,970 --> 00:41:43,560
- And here's an image taken
with Hubble Space Telescope,
782
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,240
one of the Wolf-Rayet
stars that we know of.
783
00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:48,510
As you can see, the actual
star is right at the center
784
00:41:48,510 --> 00:41:51,373
but surrounding it is all
of this other material.
785
00:41:52,630 --> 00:41:54,300
- [Narrator] With modern instruments,
786
00:41:54,300 --> 00:41:56,650
the spectra of the swirling material
787
00:41:56,650 --> 00:41:58,623
reveal a primordial brew.
788
00:41:59,910 --> 00:42:02,120
- [Ray] In those outer layers are elements
789
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,960
like carbon and oxygen and nitrogen
790
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:07,920
that were cooked up inside those stars.
791
00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:10,693
These layers are being
expelled into space.
792
00:42:11,860 --> 00:42:13,920
- [Narrator] These stars
are the early stages
793
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,230
of something much bigger.
794
00:42:16,230 --> 00:42:17,930
- Astronomers believe
that Wolf-Rayet stars
795
00:42:17,930 --> 00:42:22,820
will go on to explode fully,
completely as supernovi.
796
00:42:22,820 --> 00:42:26,510
Supernova are spectacular
explosions that really seed
797
00:42:26,510 --> 00:42:30,293
our galaxy with the elements
that are essential for life.
798
00:42:31,750 --> 00:42:34,130
The oxygen we breathe,
the iron in our blood,
799
00:42:34,130 --> 00:42:36,733
and calcium in our bones
comes from these stars.
800
00:42:37,678 --> 00:42:40,430
And if not for those
elements, we wouldn't be here.
801
00:42:40,430 --> 00:42:43,243
So Wolf-Rayet stars are
vital for life as we know it.
802
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:47,730
- [Narrator] Life that
includes you and me,
803
00:42:47,730 --> 00:42:50,973
and the Sun King Louis XIV.
804
00:42:52,890 --> 00:42:56,430
Louis believed that he had
the power to bestow life
805
00:42:56,430 --> 00:43:01,379
but in reality, Wolf-Rayet
stars are the real Sun Kings.
806
00:43:01,379 --> 00:43:04,296
(mysterious music)
807
00:43:06,790 --> 00:43:10,970
In a museum where royalty
and revolution meet,
808
00:43:10,970 --> 00:43:15,583
for every mystery we reveal,
far more must remain unspoken.
809
00:43:16,910 --> 00:43:19,142
Secrets of unbalanced minds,
810
00:43:19,142 --> 00:43:20,400
(guns popping)
811
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:22,093
and of courageous hearts,
812
00:43:23,030 --> 00:43:27,661
hidden in plain sight inside
the Chateau of Versailles.
813
00:43:27,661 --> 00:43:30,411
(dramatic music)
814
00:43:32,066 --> 00:43:34,566
(eerie music)
815
00:44:03,644 --> 00:44:06,477
(logo whooshing)
63619
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