The Last King (2003) s01e03 Episode Script
Episode 3 & 4
1
The fire flew from street to street
like the devil himself!
Why are these houses still standing?
We must have a fire block.
If you pull down a man's house,
he is owed compensation. Who pays it?
How can you talk of money now?
Many houses will have to be sacrificed.
Better to destroy half the city ourselves
than lose all of it to the fire.
Can you feel the heat
of God's wrath, Charles Stuart?
His glorious day of judgement is come!
- Christ and his fiery angels
- Get him out of here.
A golden guinea for any man with the
courage to stay and fight the fire!
- I'll stay, sir!
- Good man!
How can I help?
Find the Duke of York. He'll tell
you where you can be most useful.
At the first count,
13,000 households have been destroyed,
four bridges and 90 churches.
St Paul's Cathedral has been scorched
from the face of the earth.
The old city has vanished.
It's as though it never existed.
- And the dead?
- A handful that we know of.
No one knows how many of the poor and
indigent have disappeared without a trace.
Who did this to us? Who burned my house?
The fire is an act of God.
No one is to blame.
London will be rebuilt
and better than before, I promise.
A Papist ran from Farrinor's bakery
in Pudding Lane holding a lighted torch.
It was the Catholics.
Them French and Spanish Jesuits!
It was them bloody Papists all right!
Do you really believe a
Catholic can rule here?
You must protect your loyal Catholic subjects
from the false accusations of the rabble.
Why not blame the Quakers instead?
One religious minority
is as good as another!
The fire was an accident.
We can only tell the truth.
We cannot make people believe it.
An accident is no use to a man
who has lost everything.
He must have someone to blame.
The last hope of toleration
lies buried in the ashes of London.
I am dying at last, thank God.
You will soon be well again.
He is foolish and wilful.
It is your duty to serve him.
Make him see
that Louis is his saviour.
He must die
in the Catholic faith.
Better all England be
burned to the ground
than he should lose
his immortal soul.
Now kiss me and go.
Iwant to go to my husband.
I have kept him waiting
too long.
Tell him I can make him a true king!
Forgive me, ladies, if excess of love
if excess of love
me beyond rules of modesty does move.
'Tis some excuse, that I my love declare
when there is no medicine
left to cure despair.
Oh, heaven! Can fair
Aurelia weep for me!
There is some comfort to my misery
The king's in again.
Third time this week.
Your verse speaking was shoddy tonight.
No one comes to Drury Lane
to hear me speak the verse.
You're jealous because I'm popular.
Jealous of a common slut who was selling
oranges to the pit a year or two ago?
I think not! I'm an artist.
Come on, Charlie, don't be sulky.
You know you love me.
What do whores know about love?
If you've got flowers, leave them
with the others at the stage door.
Might the divine Aurelia consent
to dining with her most fervent admirer?
You mean dine with a man
who hasn't introduced himself?
You might not be a gentleman.
Forgive me.
I am Charles.
Charles who?
Nell, I've never witnessed
a dramatic talent to match you.
I taught her everything she knows.
On stage and in bed.
You always said I was a natural
in both departments!
Nell has a certain art with vulgar comedy,
but she should aspire to higher things.
The tragedies of my great-uncle
William Shakespeare, for example.
She would make a moving Cordelia.
I hate tragedy. The theatre
should be about entertainment.
I agree. Comedy is the
spirit of the age.
That'll be two pounds and 15 shillings.
- You know I never carry money.
- Neither do I.
Good God, but this is
the poorest company I have ever been in!
- You're very beautiful, Nell.
- You don't have to pay me compliments.
I'm not one of your simpering court ladies
with a head full of romantic poetry.
I warn you
I want more than a quick pleasuring
and a few trinkets for my trouble.
How much more?
I don't mean money.
I want respect.
I know what I'm worth, and any man who
spends time with me better know it too,
and that includes kings!
But if you do want to give me a token
of affection, I won't be offended.
I'll make you rich, Nell.
Comfortable will do.
To start with.
He is a very handsome little fellow!
He has much of his father in him.
I hardly know the gentleman
well enough to say.
I mean his father the king, of course.
Henry Jermyn certainly is a gentleman.
Some might even call him a prince
among men, but is he a king now, too?
What's Jermyn to do with it?
This is his child, is it not?
It is yours and you know it is.
The child cannot be mine. I have not
visited your bed these many months passed.
I will not acknowledge him.
I demand
the tone of the evening be elevated!
Miss Nelly must give us a speech.
Something noble from Jonson or Dryden.
I'm a professional, Rochester.
I don't work unless I get paid!
I made more money than that
selling oranges in Drury Lane!
There is no a whore in London
who would not be glad of such a fee.
Then find a whore who needs the money.
This one's retired.
Steal what riches you can
while the sun still shines,
actress!
The king will soon grow bored of you
and toss you back on the dung heap
where you belong!
As you are intent on poetry, Rochester,
why not provide it yourself?
A short epigram in your honour, then,
Your Majesty.
We have a pretty, witty king
Whose word no man relies on
Who never said a foolish thing
Nor ever did a wise one.
Be just, Rochester.
The wise words are my own.
The deeds are my ministers'.
Your expenditure reaches beyond your resources.
Your creditors are insistent.
Parliament would sooner see my household
starve than grant me what is due.
The Commons is loyal in its way.
It means to bring the king to heel
before throwing him a few scraps.
- Is that what you want?
- I will not be Parliament's slave.
If I have to rule without them, I will.
- The people will not support you.
- My people are loyal.
It is Parliament that stokes
the fires of sedition.
The behaviour of some does not help.
Lady Castlemaine's extravagance
is matched only by her depravity.
Is this not true, Danby?
Alas, certain vile things are being
repeated on the streets, Your Majesty.
She brings your court into disrepute
Any man would give his right arm
to share her bed.
Lady Castlemaine may drag herself
through the gutter,
but she shall not take the king's
reputation with her. Enough is enough!
Bishop Braybrooke's tomb was
discovered during the rebuilding work.
The body is perfectly
preserved despite the fire.
- When did this good bishop die?
- 200 years ago and more.
Miraculous that a body of such
antiquity should defy age and decay.
The corpse is most delicate.
You must take care not to disturb it.
Perhaps Lord Coleraine,
we might be allowed a moment alone
to consider God's mercy?
Of course.
His skin is remarkably dry.
His face seems almost animated.
I could half believe some distant
spark of life yet lingered in him.
If it does
I'm the woman to find it!
The bishop is truly intact!
But not aroused by your attention, alas!
I'm not yet defeated.
Oh! No living soul could resist
such a courtesy!
His spirit is truly extinct.
Bored!
Do not move.
Bloody freezing in 'ere!
Why can't I be a goddess
who kept her clothes on?
Fine clothes, precious jewels,
and now a portrait by the
great Sir Peter Lely.
My lord.
- You've surpassed yourself.
- The king is very generous.
Your new house is the talk of the town,
but it's no more than you deserve.
- You are Venus to the life!
- Whoever she was!
The goddess of love.
A most fitting subject for you.
Well, the goddess of love
has had a bellyful of art for today.
Be careful, my lord.
That hand belongs to royalty now!
- I saw you before the king.
- First come, first served, is it?
- You weren't always so modest.
- I wasn't the king's mistress then.
He will not be faithful to you.
It makes no difference.
You cannot love him!
Aren't I capable of the finer feelings?
You've sold yourself at a good price.
Now you can have your fun.
If it's money you want,
you won't find me ungenerous.
I thought you were the king's friend.
- Does he object to a little sport?
- Perhaps not, but I do.
I belong to the king not because he
bought me but because I choose it.
And as long as he wants me,
I'll be his and his alone.
And you know what?
I do love him.
He's kind and decent,
and he'll look after me.
How's that for a transaction?
I've known many ladies of wealth and
position who played the whore to perfection,
but I've never seen a whore
make such a fine lady.
Do not presume too far, George!
You know my regard for Nell.
I intended a compliment!
Speaking of titled whores
your consideration for Nell
will make Castlemaine mad with jealousy.
Everywhere I go, all I hear about
is Castlemaine's dissipation!
She goes too far.
She always did,
but what you once loved now repels you.
You're her oldest friend.
Speak to her.
I defer to no man
in appreciation of my own talents,
but persuading Castlemaine to change her
behaviour is a task beyond even my skills.
No matter.
I'll deal with her myself.
Your Majesty!
Are you one of these excitable men,
Captain Churchill,
who fancies himself in love
with Lady Castlemaine?
In truth I have little feeling for her,
but she was insistent.
And a gentleman should not be impolite.
- She's also generous.
- Too generous!
I gave this ungrateful wretch 500 pounds!
He had feelings for me then!
What have you done with it?
Invested it in a
pension, Your Majesty.
It must be the first time Lady Castlemaine's
money's seen the inside of a bank!
I forgive you, then.
You do this for your bread and butter.
You needn't think you're coming back!
What are you doing here anyway?
Is this my thanks after all I've done?
To be thrown onto the
street like a whore?
No whore was ever rewarded
as handsomely as you have been,
but now my purse, like my
patience, is exhausted!
I will not be usurped by
that slut of an actress!
I forgave you when you corrupted Monmouth.
I forgave your greed,
but I am sick of your meddling!
The whole world is sick of it!
The mob hates you and for
once, the mob is right!
Have this lady's goods packed.
She is leaving.
Do that and I'll cut off your hands
and hang them round your neck!
All I ask is that you live quietly
and cause me no more grief.
Do that, and I care not who you love.
You've been a kind of queen.
Be proud of that
and accept your time is done.
They say she has not been well.
Well, she was always delicate.
But her last letter said
she has never felt stronger.
The king's devotion to his sister
is most touching.
And useful. I am told Louis
is no stranger to her bed.
In that case,
we may be confident she has his ear.
Among other things
This show of family affection will not blind
Parliament to the king's true purpose.
We may be certain it will not
stomach any treaty with France.
What Parliament does not know
need not trouble it.
There must be no concealment,
especially where France is concerned.
It is for the king to
decide foreign policy.
Parliament will not pay
to make common cause with Papists.
- Louis is too strong to keep as an enemy.
- He is too strong to be anything else!
When he has finished with the Protestant
Dutch, he could turn his attention to us.
You cannot seriously think he would
launch a crusade against England?
What I think is not important.
It is what the people fear that matters.
Little Minette! You
have grown beautiful.
I am an old married woman!
You are my baby sister
first and before everything.
- Who is that?
- Mademoiselle de Keroualle.
- My lady-in-waiting.
- A charming girl.
Very charming and very young!
I am responsible to
Mademoiselle's parents.
I would fail in my duty
if she returned to them dishonoured.
Besides, is it too much to ask that I should
have you to myself for these few days?
Only God knows
when we shall see each other again.
Please, Madame, let me fetch a doctor!
No.
The king must know
nothing of my illness.
France will provide a subsidy
of two million livres to His Majesty
in return for recognition of Louis' claim
to sovereignty over the Netherlands.
Oh, it's a bargain, Danby. Or are
there more items on the bill of sale?
England must also agree,
at a time to be decided by France,
that both our countries
will declare war on the Dutch.
- We've no justification for an attack on Holland!
- Justification will be found.
And when Parliament discovers you intend
to use French money to rule alone?
Parliament will know nothing of this
treaty because no one will tell them.
Such a business cannot
remain secret for long.
I will not be servant in my own house.
I mean to rule.
With Parliament if I can,
without them if I must.
Why was I not told of this, Danby?
Who the king chooses to trust
with his decisions is his affair.
There are those
who would call this treaty treason.
I think you are amongst them, my lord.
Am I alone?
No one will overhear us.
I fear for your life
if anyone should discover our purpose.
Does Louis accept my new proposal?
You have agreed one dangerous treaty.
Are you ready to contemplate
a second infinitely more daring?
- Do you trust me, Minette?
- With my last breath.
- Then put aside your fears.
- Very well.
If you convert to the Catholic faith,
Louis will provide you with the money
to govern in your own right.
You need never turn to Parliament again.
Everything is prepared.
The treaty wants only a signature.
For your own safety and for the
preservation of the monarchy,
do not give such an undertaking.
I am not going to.
You are.
What?
As my trusted ministers, it is only right
that it be your names on the treaty.
A treaty you could then disown.
We have already been party
to one reckless adventure.
This new one must surely end
with our heads on the block!
Your Majesty, in the name
of our long friendship,
I beg you to reconsider,
not for my sake, but for yours.
If you are truly my
friend, Lord Arlington,
you will do my bidding.
Why must it be us?
Why not Buckingham or Danby?
I think you know.
Because we are Catholics.
I protected you when the Test Act
would have seen you thrown from office.
Now it is time for you to
be loyal in your turn.
As a Catholic I applaud your intention,
but as your minister, I
deplore and fear it.
This will help you rest.
It's just a chill on the stomach.
I will be well again soon.
- Promise you'll write to me.
- Every day.
Come on, boys.
You have no intention of becoming
a Catholic, have you? The truth, now.
You cannot take Louis' money
and offer him nothing in return.
He will have his Dutch war.
But he expects you to convert,
and to carry England with you.
Only fools believe
that England will return to Rome.
The King of France
is not an easy man to deceive.
The time may yet come when I have to
fight Parliament as our father did.
I am determined I will not suffer the same fate.
Louis is my protection.
If you face rebellion
you will announce your conversion,
obliging Louis to come to the aid
of a Catholic king.
If I have to bring England to heel with a
French army, then by God I will do it!
No matter what may happen,
I will always be at your side.
Always.
God have mercy on me.
I am in hell!
No!
Tell my brother
that I have loved him
more than life itself.
That my only regret in dying
is to be leaving him.
You cannot hide here for ever, meu amor.
Your ministers are waiting.
Everyone I've ever
loved has betrayed me.
Minette was never a traitor to you.
Only a fool ever allows himself to love.
I have lost my friends, Your Majesty.
Perhaps you have seen them?
No, I've seen no one.
Your Majesty has been most kind
since I came from Paris.
My sister always spoke very
fondly of you, Mademoiselle.
Poor Madame!
She was so good. I loved her very much.
Did she suffer terribly?
She was never afraid, Your Majesty,
even at the end.
She told me her only
sorrow was in leaving you.
Your life was dearer
to her than her own.
Thank you, Mademoiselle.
Sit down.
My sister took your good name
most seriously.
The protection of your honour
was her most pressing concern.
My honour is my own affair now.
And with your sister gone,
I must find another protector.
Hm.
But alas, sir, I have no money of my own.
I cannot remain in England.
Unless, of course,
Your Majesty wishes me to stay?
His Majesty can think of
nothing more charming.
You may kiss me now if you wish.
William! How was the
journey from Holland?
Why, you've grown handsome!
Mary would be proud.
I do not remember my mother well.
I was young when she died.
Both my sisters are gone now.
It grieves me to hear of your
country's recent hardship.
As England is the cause of much of it,
I am surprised to hear you say so!
It is a sad day when England
sides with Catholic France
against a fellow Protestant nation.
Louis has either bribed or tricked you.
England was sorely provoked,
and undertook war with a heavy heart,
but as you come to me to apologise
and make reparations, I bear no grudge.
- Blood is thicker than water, after all.
- I did not come here to surrender, Uncle.
Then why did you come here?
To tell you that Holland
will not be bullied.
- The war is lost! Do you not see that?
- We will defend Holland to the last ditch.
As long as one Dutchman remains alive,
we are not defeated.
- Such defiance will only bring misery.
- Better misery than disgrace.
However, if you wish to bring this war
to an honourable conclusion,
- I am willing to listen to your proposals.
- YOU are willing to listen?!
My Lord Buckingham only means
to convey his impartial concern
for your people's best
interests, Your Majesty.
Why should we abandon a war we are
winning, if not to our advantage?
You cannot afford to fight for ever.
Your supplies are exhausted and you
must turn to Parliament for more money.
And I do not think it will
give you what you want.
Parliament will act loyally, damn it!
When you are ready to
talk seriously, sir,
you will not find me unreasonable.
I never treated her well.
I pray for her forgiveness.
I have sworn before God
to be a better husband next time.
You know
my opinion of this new match.
It is undesirable for
you and for England.
- Mary of Modena is ideal.
- I will not be defied.
- I will not marry a Protestant.
- Then you will not marry at all.
You owe me this marriage.
A Protestant princess
would calm the fears of the people.
I am a Catholic and I will
have a Catholic wife.
If we have children, they will
be brought up in the true faith.
If there is a boy he
will be king one day.
And I pray he does his
duty to God and country.
You're my brother and my
blood and I love you
but God knows, you will
be the end of us all.
The mob's fury
against this dangerous marriage
will soon grow uncontrollable.
Your Majesty must calm
his people's fears.
This unrest is fanned by those in
Parliament who speak against the king.
Hear! Hear!
We in Parliament
seek only good Protestant government.
We will not keep silent
over treason in our midst.
Am I a traitor, then?
It is from loyalty that we challenge the Duke
of York's right to lead England to ruin.
It is often those who protest their
loyalty who prove the blackest rebels!
We are more loyal than those
whose deepest attachment is to the Pope!
If you have a son,
the Catholic monarchy will be restored!
It should never have been interrupted
by the bastard usurper Elizabeth!
The sooner England rejoins the path of
righteousness, the better for us all.
There will never be peace among
your subjects while they're afraid.
Remove the cause of their fear
and they will be content.
The Test Act carries your signature yet
Catholics remain close to the throne.
The Act makes an institution of bigotry
and the king a puppet of Parliament!
If the people are to trust in Your Majesty's
goodwill, the Act must be enforced.
It is the law of the land
which we must all obey, even the king!
You've made your choice, Shaftesbury.
So be it.
We must be enemies.
If I have made a choice,
it is one you forced on me.
The king should rule with Parliament.
You would destroy it.
It is the power of the king
that faces destruction.
True power lies not with king
or Parliament but the people.
I am content to be judged by them.
For Your Majesty's sake
and the good order of the country,
I must retire into private life.
I do not wish you to leave my service.
I need my old friends
about me at such a time!
To retain my position
I must deny my faith
and take Holy Communion
in the Church of England.
That I cannot do.
Damn it, man, it's only a form of words!
How we worship when no one
is at hand to see us is our own affair.
No man should be asked to
renounce his religion.
If our deeds are good
and our hearts true,
I am convinced God forgives
any transgression,
no matter what faith we call ourselves.
Tear up the Test Act
and tell Parliament to be damned.
- No, you must make this bargain.
- It's not YOUR position that's at stake!
Those who choose the Roman religion
should not be surprised
at the consequences.
- God bless and keep Your Majesty.
- Which God, Arlington?
Yours or Parliament's?
Now do you see the
cost of your marriage?
I fear the true cost will be much greater
than the loss of a few ministers.
This is a fine place you've
dragged me to, Shaftesbury.
I never saw such a nest
of traitors in my life!
There is no treason here, only a
desire to save England from tyranny.
If you are wise you will join us.
- I'm no rebel.
- Nor I.
But my loyalty is to a Protestant king
in a Protestant country.
When the Duke of York becomes king,
he will drag England back to Rome and destroy
the power of Parliament once and for all.
That cannot happen.
If the king will not defend
the true succession, we will.
An attack on the Duke of York
is an attack on the king.
Then so be it.
You forget I am the king's friend.
Suppose there was another French treaty
beyond the one we know?
One which bound King Charles
to take the Catholic faith
in return for French gold and a Papist
army to suppress his own people?
- There is no such treaty.
- I have proof.
The king does not love you as you think.
He loves only his own power.
He is truly his father's son.
He has played you for a fool.
If James is removed from the succession,
what then?
- The king is childless.
- By his Papist queen perhaps,
but his many bastards
prove the fault hardly lies with him.
He can divorce and marry again.
But if not, he already has a son who would
unite the whole country in loyalty.
A fine young man,
and a good Protestant.
- Who is to fire the fatal shot?
- I do not know his name.
Only that he is a Jesuit
sent from France for the purpose.
Where is he now?
Fled, or hidden by his fellow conspirators,
but the king's life is yet in grave danger.
What danger?
He will be poisoned.
So now it is poison?
And who will do the deed,
or do you not know that either?
I know his name well.
It is Sir George Wakeman.
The queen's personal physician?!
He is the most honest
and upright of men!
He's a Papist, is he not?
The queen's household is riddled with treason.
If you're lying, I promise you,
your torture will be cruel!
Who wrote these?
They were brought to me
at the Royal Society
by an honest Christian preacher
named Israel Tonge
Never mind the Royal Society!
Who wrote them?
One who knows the
conspirators intimately.
His name is Titus Oates.
The final rites of their
black mass spoken,
Jesuit priests, crazed with bloodlust,
swept into the village
to seize two young virgins - children
of no more than eight years. Angels!
- Torn from their mothers' arms!
- Stop, Titus! I cannot listen!
No, go on. What did these foul monsters
do to their victims?
The screams of burning innocents
are a horrible thing, Israel!
God save us! The Catholic religion
is guilty of horrors beyond imagining!
Kirkby must have acted by now.
If not, England is lost.
Where is Titus Oates?
At your service, sir!
Scholar, philosopher and loyal
guardian of the flame of truth!
My Lord Danby wishes to speak to you.
As news of the king's death
became known,
6,000 Catholics were to rise as one
and slaughter us all in our beds.
Picture it, my lord!
London's streets running crimson
with honest Protestant blood!
How did you come by this information?
I overheard it in the queen's household.
Do you now claim intimacy
with the queen herself?
No, sir, but your lordship well knows
that the palace is open
He and the Pope are the
authors of the plot!
- Not the queen and the Duke of York?
- Papists all, shoulder to shoulder in villainy!
The French army are massing at Calais.
An invasion might be
launched at any moment.
My spies would have informed me
if there was a French army at Calais.
Maybe the Pope invoked dark magic
to make them invisible.
Gossip and mischief!
I will see you in the stocks in the morning.
- It is the truth!
- If you condemn us,
the king will die and you
will be held accountable.
Your Majesty!
Your loyalty and concern for my safety
do you credit, Mr Oates.
Where is your proof?
Safely hidden from prying
eyes, Your Majesty.
A wise precaution.
Who are the English Catholics behind
this terrible conspiracy? Give me names.
Beyond the queen and the Duke of York,
there are the Lords Stafford,
Arundell, Wardour, Powis,
Petre, Belasyse,
Wakeman, the queen's physician,
and Edward Coleman,
secretary to the Duchess of York.
This is nothing more than a list
of every eminent Catholic in the land!
I have letters proving their guilt.
Follow me, Mr Oates.
Bring your friends with you.
You never said anything about letters!
If I had, the Jesuits would have
cut your throat to find them.
Stand firm. We shall beat the devil yet.
What was your business at Whitehall?
Who invited you here?
I came to warn your ministers of the Catholic peril.
They never had time to see me.
My sympathy. Sometimes they hardly
have time for the king himself.
But still, after so many hours here, you
must have come to know my palace well.
Intimately, sir.
Then lead us to the place where you
heard this treason being plotted.
This is where I heard them
planning your death, Your Majesty.
Most convenient
for any traitor with a weak stomach!
Your Majesty, I remember it clearly.
It was a long room
with tall double doors
You do not know your way because you've
never been here in your life before!
Nothing this scoundrel
says can be believed!
I'm off to Newmarket in the morning.
Do not bother me with this again.
At your service, my lord.
(DANBY) Give your explanation again.
I know Lord Powis.
- This is not his hand.
- The writing is disguised.
- The Jesuits teach such skills to their disciples.
- They teach well.
Not one of these seditious letters
resembles its author's customary hand.
You say you know these
conspirators intimately.
- Who wrote this?
- Lord Stafford.
Of all these villains, he is the worst.
Stafford is a distinguished Fellow
of the Royal Society and nigh on 70.
He has a vicious spirit and is
closely allied to the Duke of York.
Examine the Duke's household, and you will
find all the evidence you need of treason.
Strike now, my lords!
Hesitate and all might be lost!
Stop!
There is no conspiracy, is there?
Hm? The truth now, or I'll
beat the life from you.
Every word is gospel.
Bring me a Bible and I will swear
I know baseless malice when I see it.
What is your purpose in all this?
- Is it money and preferment you seek?
- You insult me, sir.
Christ himself, he
came to me in a dream!
He charged me with the protection
of the Protestant faith in England.
I was a minister in a Catholic
school
and the boys laid false
and filthy charges against me,
and I lost my position.
I'm determined to have my revenge on
their whole stinking blasphemous faith!
You have chosen the moment
for your game well.
In such a desperate time, even your
ridiculous lies might be believed.
What will you do with me, sir?
I have reasons of my own
to let your poison circulate unhindered.
If others cannot tell a fake when they
see one, that is their misfortune.
What of the king?
He doesn't believe me.
The king has more pressing concerns,
schoolmaster.
5,000 pounds on a single
turn of the cards?!
If you shout at me, I shall faint.
Now you expect me to honour your debts.
Well, I cannot afford it!
You have stolen my honour!
Now you mean to make me a beggar!
If you need money,
why don't you ask your patron Louis?
- The King of France gives me nothing.
- Of course he does!
- He values his little spy.
- I am not a spy!
You have clandestine audiences
with the French ambassador!
Do you talk about the English weather?
I cannot live with
such wicked treatment!
You know how delicate I am.
If I fall ill and die,
it will be your fault!
You are not going to die
over a few cross words.
Of course I'll pay your creditors.
But you must be more careful in future.
5,000 is not very much.
Is it?
We won't talk about it any more.
There, now.
It's all better, isn't it?
The king still loves his little Fubs.
These letters were for Louis.
You say you will work
to destroy the Protestant heresy
and restore the Catholic
faith to England,
that you pray for the day
the Duke of York takes the king's place!
As God is my witness,
I meant no harm to anyone.
These are dreams, not plots.
Opinions of no significance.
You shared your ambitions with the Duke of York.
He encouraged you in this!
The Duke of York is innocent of any crime.
I swear I am no traitor.
(CHARLES) I asked you to end this matter.
Now it is infinitely worse.
What London believes
is more important than the evidence.
The mob will soon grow bored
of Oates' ridiculous accusations.
- Put the perjuring villain in prison.
- He's under the protection of Parliament.
Oates will give Parliament all the
excuse it needs to strike at Catholics.
God help any poor creature
that gets caught in his net.
Oates said Coleman's letters
would contain treason, and they did.
A lucky chance, nothing more.
Picture your own
wives and mothers,
sons and daughters, tied to
stakes in the midst of flames,
screaming out to God with hands
and eyes uplifted to heaven!
On the outside the Catholic looks like
us, eats, drinks and sleeps like us,
but inside he is not as we are.
He hates our liberty
and works every moment to destroy it
He would make slaves of
us in our own country
Only Parliament can protect England
from the yoke of tyranny!
A warrant from Parliament
for the arrest of Lord Stafford.
- On what charge?
- Treason.
- Father!
- This is some error
or false accusation
You are mistaken!
Please!
Please help me! No!
No! No!
Please!
Please!
Please!
No! No!
God in heaven have mercy on me!
I am innocent
The queen is a Catholic
and yet is well known
for her loyalty and devotion.
This plot cannot be any of her doing.
She is mistress in her own household.
Nothing takes place there
without her consent.
I heard from her own lips that she would
no longer tolerate the king's lechery
and violation of the marriage bed.
She told the Jesuits
that she would have her revenge,
and promised them 5,000
pounds for the deed!
I accuse the queen
of conspiring to cause the king's death!
The man's a fraud.
I know you'd never do
anything to harm me.
You know it,
but does England?
Oates has the whole country terrified.
You understand
there is no truth in what he says?
- Do I look like a fool?
- Clever men hang on his every word.
Common sense counts for little
where religion is concerned.
- Are you not frightened of the Papists, then?
- I'm more frightened of the mob.
- Mobs have their uses in the right cause.
- Parliament's cause.
For 20 years, we have fought
to see who rules in England.
Now the time has come
to settle the matter once and for all.
This useless body of mine
is like some rotting piece of meat.
It decays inch by inch,
moment by moment.
I have little time left,
but I am determined that before I die,
this country will be freed for ever
from the unbridled power of kings.
Parliament will rule in England.
Attack the king himself,
and I can go no further with you.
Let the old goat frolic with his whores
in the time he has left to him,
but his heir will be
Parliament's choice.
The king loves you
above all others.
The bravest
and most brilliant of his court.
(MONMOUTH) Such virtues come naturally.
I must take no credit for them.
The king would show you greater favour if he could.
He would name you as his heir.
The Duke of York's claim
cannot be allowed to stand.
A Protestant king
for a Protestant country.
The king will never acknowledge me
as his true-born son.
The king must appear to
support his brother.
In private, he yearns for your success.
When the tide in your favour
becomes irresistible,
he will bow to an act of Parliament
declaring you legitimate.
He told you this?
Be bold,
and you shall have your reward.
God save the king!
I have never run away from a fight
and I will not start now.
It's to avoid a fight that
you must leave for a time.
With the introduction of the House of Commons
bill, your succession hangs in the balance.
Your presence here is a constant
reminder of their grievance.
Will I be allowed to return,
or will you betray me in favour of
your preening bastard Monmouth?
You're my brother
and my heir
and what is mine is mine.
I will not allow Parliament
to dictate the succession.
Now for pity's sake, will you help me?
Your Majesty, there is a further matter
of the gravest importance.
I have in my possession
letters from the king's chief minister
begging for aid from our oldest
and most implacable enemy!
Filthy French money
for the king to rule alone
in defiance of Parliament?!
What shall we call this
but treason pure and simple?
Danby must be impeached
before this house for his dealings!
It's that French bitch Carwell!
Drag her out and put the Papist whore
in the stocks where she belongs!
Good people! You are mistaken!
I am the Protestant whore!
I am called a prostitute,
and summoned before Middlesex jury!
My God!
To stand before the common herd, accused
of being no better than a street girl!
It is nothing more than a tactic
designed by Shaftesbury to provoke me!
I'll see that the Chief Justice
strikes down the warrant.
I am a lady of breeding
I have family and connection
- I am not a harlot!
- I know that.
They mean to destroy me, Fubs.
Shaftesbury has copies of my letters
referring to subsidies granted you
by the French king.
They talk of the secret treaties signed in
your name, but there is no proof, thank God.
He can be discredited as a liar.
The king's position
grows weaker every day.
He has done everything in his power, but
he can no longer defend your conduct.
I wrote to the French king
on your authority, Your Majesty.
- You must stand by me.
- You of all people know he cannot do that.
Parliament is attacking him through you.
His only hope is to cut you adrift.
Acknowledge the letters were written on your own initiative.
The king knew nothing of them.
Parliament already has the scent of blood.
I will be torn apart!
If you resign, the king may yet come to
some understanding with his enemies.
I'm guilty of nothing more
than obeying Your Majesty's command.
These treaties were your
creation in every detail!
I know nothing of any secret treaty.
I have put the king before everything,
and you see my reward?
Be careful loyalty does not
bring you to the same end!
Danby must pay the full price
for his treason.
(CHARLES) He has resigned.
That is penalty enough.
I have granted him a pardon
for any offence he might have committed.
You cannot do that.
You have dragged a loyal servant
down into the mud.
I will not permit you
to murder him into the bargain!
There are thousands of your loyal subjects in
the streets in protest at this Popish plot.
We can only guess at what chaos will
follow if you save the traitor Danby
and allow a Catholic
to succeed you on the throne.
The people have been greatly excited
by false rumours and accusations.
You know that better
than anyone, George.
The peace of the country demands the Duke
of York's removal from the succession.
The peace of the country has always
been my most pressing concern.
Then name Monmouth
as your heir.
You must sign the bill
excluding your brother from the throne.
- Parliament has yet to pass such a bill.
- It will. There can be no doubt of that.
Accept what must be, sir.
You have no choice
but to abandon the Duke of York.
He cannot defy the will
of Parliament for ever.
I will make him crawl to the House
begging for exclusion.
He is in a game he knows he cannot win.
It is a question of WHEN
he gives in, not if.
Perhaps we must remind him of that.
The mob yearns for blood.
Very well. The mob must have it.
Your Majesty
I come not as your king, Lord Stafford,
but as your friend.
And as your friend
I urge you to confess yourself guilty to
the verdict of treason found against you.
I'm innocent of any crime against Your
Majesty in thought, word or deed.
- I know that.
- Then how can I say otherwise?
Confess now and your life can be spared.
A few false words
and in a year or two,
a few months perhaps,
you can return home to your daughter.
I would be disgraced,
condemned as a traitor from my own lips.
All honest men would know the truth.
I've been a loyal servant to your martyred
father and to Your Majesty all my life
and that is how I shall die.
You must sign.
- It is the king's prerogative to grant mercy.
- Not in such a case.
What is a king, then
if he has no power?
It is in order to preserve your power
that you must sign.
The whole of England
is baying for Stafford's blood.
If you do not give them what they want,
they will turn their anger on you.
Lord Stafford has been found
guilty by the courts.
Oates's lies condemned him.
If you overturn the law, you give
Parliament an excuse to do the same.
That path leads to war and rebellion.
Is that what we have come to?
An innocent man must be sacrificed
to preserve the sanctity of the law?
Your father chose open defiance of Parliament,
and the outcome was his own destruction.
You must be more subtle than him.
May God forgive me.
God will understand.
You have more confidence in him than I.
My beloved daughter,
your father has this comfort.
I die totally innocent
of what I am accused,
and confident of God's mercy.
You must take solace in that, as I do.
You summoned me, sir?
I've had many accounts
of your progress about the country.
I'm told that wherever you go,
you are greeted as a king.
Is it my fault if the people wish
to express affection for me?
You little fool!
Can you not see how you are
dancing to Shaftesbury's tune?
- Do not treat me like a child!
- You could not be more of a rebel
if you took up arms and marched on Whitehall!
You will never be king!
Understand that, and you'll be happy.
Dispute it, and you will die a miserable traitor's death.
You lack experience and wisdom.
But now you must do as I say.
You will go to your cousin Mary in
Holland
and stay there till I call for you.
- I will do anything you
tell me, Father.
I would sooner die than insult you.
On no account return to the court
until I summon you, do you understand?
Of all my children,
you are the first and most beloved.
Obey me
and we'll both be content.
I never thought to see my oldest friend
in the ranks of my enemy.
It is a matter of politics.
My personal feelings are of no importance.
Personal feelings are everything to you.
Shaftesbury has only the people's good at heart.
He has no grievance against you.
He is sincere in his convictions,
but when did overturning kings
become a pastime of yours?
Perhaps when the king betrayed England
for 30 pieces of French silver.
- Your name was on the French treaty.
- I did what was required of a good servant,
and what did I receive in return?
Lies, deception, the elevation of others
above me in your government!
We two together could have ruled Europe,
let alone England!
But you never trusted me as I deserved.
Trust and good government
cannot live side by side.
You neglected me
in favour of worthless placemen.
I've forgiven your many betrayals
your schemes and your plots
because in my heart, I knew you loved
me.
But now I see you always
loved yourself more.
And I find I am a jealous king.
I must have unconditional
love or nothing.
You have a need for
sycophancy, not love.
And those who rely on
flatterers for their comfort
are condemned to live and die alone.
Tell your master Shaftesbury
to summon Parliament.
I will address the House.
Then you accept the exclusion of
your brother from the throne?
What must be must be.
Goodbye, George.
I received your message.
Is it time?
Be brave, Charles.
What if the king means to
fight as his father did?
He has too much intelligence
and too few principles for that.
And unlike his father,
he knows when a battle is lost!
Talk of the exclusion of the Duke of York
from the rightful succession is treason.
Any who speak of it set themselves
against legitimate authority,
and are the heirs in
spirit to those rebels
who so recently plunged our country
into rebellion and civil war.
Can anyone here
contemplate such evil without horror?
Let there be no confusion.
The Duke of York is my
heir and will remain so.
His right is ordained by God,
and no man may alter it.
Anyone who denies this truth makes themselves
an enemy of God, king and country.
Think on that before you take
another step towards chaos.
All the world may see what a point
we have come to.
Nothing that begins in such division
is likely to end well.
I declare Parliament dissolved.
Gentlemen, go home.
I will not trouble you any further.
What is happening?
What did the king say?
It is not what he said.
It is what he is.
England has chosen
to trust the superstition of kings
rather than the wisdom
of its own judgment.
He has dissolved Parliament
and will rule in his own right.
Exclusion and Parliament
are finished with.
Our time will come. Not today
but soon enough,
though I will not live to see it.
Wait here to be arrested
or make your peace with
the king if you can.
For my part, I am weary of Whitehall.
I have neglected my wife these last 20 years.
I think it is time I went home.
He is never too busy to see me.
The king gave you no authority to return
from exile. Such defiance is treason.
If you are still in England at dawn
tomorrow morning, you will be arrested.
How long?
How long before I can come back?
Never.
Father! Father!
I can explain everything!
Only let me talk to you!
If you have ever had any love for me,
you will find forgiveness in your heart.
Please, Father, I beg you, let me in!
Have you unpacked it all yet?
I cannot think what you mean, Nell.
All those beautiful things
you had ready for your escape
in case the Protestant
rabble stormed Whitehall.
Does the king know
I was preparing to abandon him?
Why not ask him?
I have seen little of him lately.
I thought he might be dining with you.
He mostly dines alone these days.
I will send him a note
saying I am ill or dying.
He will soon come back to my side.
You've tried that trick too many times.
Face it. He doesn't need you any more.
Retire to France and enjoy your money,
Mrs Carwell.
God knows you've earned it!
But
I love him.
You look tired. Are you ill?
I have never felt better.
We must consider what you will do
when I am gone, James.
No king can rule without
Parliament for long.
He can if he has French money.
Louis pays me for one reason only.
He wants a Catholic on the
throne after my death.
For the rest of my life I
will have absolute power,
and when I am gone, he will have you.
But when Louis has what he wants,
he will not be so generous.
If you want to be free of his influence,
you must have money of your own.
For that, you must recall Parliament.
Yes, well, when I am king, Parliament
will have no choice but to obey me.
Thank God
my task is only to give you the crown,
not to help you keep it!
No, no.
- I have news of Monmouth, Your Majesty.
- William.
He swears he's learned his lesson and
begs permission to return from exile.
My answer will not change.
I will never see him again.
Such harshness is not in your nature.
It is for his sake as much as mine.
If he comes back, he will embroil
himself in some treason or other.
I lost my father to the executioner.
I would rather not live
to see my son die the same way.
He will make his move when you die.
Many Protestants will support him
against the Duke of York.
Any rebellion will fail.
The country has no more stomach for revolution.
Perhaps a few years of my brother's rule
will change that.
And I do not think my son
is the only Protestant champion
with designs on the throne of England!
I have never thought of my own ambition.
I consider the Duke of York my friend.
Your wife is his daughter.
You have a legitimate claim through her.
Never mind.
By the time such affairs come to a head,
I shall be long dead,
and, I hope, quite oblivious!
Prepare yourself, William.
My brother will not rule
more than four years.
His own stubborn nature
will bring him down.
It's all been for nothing, Nell.
The cause that gave my life meaning
will die with me.
I fought to restore everything that
was lost when my father was murdered,
but James will destroy
it all, I know that.
- Then why did you fight so hard for him?
- Not for him. For the principle.
For the rights of kings.
But Parliament will have
its victory in the end.
You know what I think about politics.
It's all a lot of foolish men
scheming to ruin each other
for no reason anyone can remember
a few years later.
If it was up to me,
I'd give the throne to Monmouth
because, in my opinion,
a king should always be handsome!
Sweet Nell. How much better the world might
be if it was arranged to your liking!
Father! Watch us!
Mademoiselle de Keroualle,
you should know by now the king loves
his women bright, witty and diverting.
All this weeping and howling
is not the way to keep his affection.
It is making you quite ugly.
If you want him to love you again, be the
woman he yearns for and has never had.
What woman?
An affectionate mother.
Mother, come!
No, not now.
My dearest Fubs. How are you?
Sit down by me.
You look tired, dear.
Put your head in my lap.
You must rest more.
Leave the business of government to your
ministers, and let me look after you.
You know what, Fubs?
I think I would like to go to sleep.
Then sleep, darling.
Only children and old men
sleep in the middle of the day
but I suppose I am an old man now.
You are not so old.
Now sleep.
You see, Father?
I kept my promise.
Did I make you proud?
Well, did I?
Charles?
He doesn't answer me.
Why won't he answer me?
Ajuda!
James.
You must care for my children.
All save Monmouth.
There is nothing anyone
can do for him now.
Be kind to Louise
and let not poor Nelly starve.
Charles Stuart converted to the
Catholic faith on his deathbed
Buckingham,
Charles's old friend and rival,
died of a chill not
long after him.
Catharine,
Charles's faithful queen,
returned to Portugal
where she died in 1705,
20 years after her
husband's death.
At the age of 64,
Barbara Villiers,
Duchess of Cleveland,
married a notorious
rake half her age.
He was a bigamist who stole
what remained of her fortune.
She died four years later.
Louise de Keroualle died in
France at the great age of 85.
In the words of her confessor, "very
old, very poor and very penitent".
Nell Gwyn survived the king
by only two years,
dying of a stroke at the age
of 37.
Charles was uncannily accurate
in his fears and predictions.
Monmouth led an abortive rebellion in
the early days of James II's reign,
and was beheaded for
treason on Tower Hill.
It required eight blows of the axe
to remove his head
Almost four years to the day
after his succession
and following the birth
of his Catholic heir,
James II was deposed by
Parliament
in favour of
the Dutch Protestant William
and his wife Mary,
James's own daughter.
Catholics were barred from the throne
for ever, and remain so to this day
No monarch of England would ever again
attempt to rule without Parliament
The fire flew from street to street
like the devil himself!
Why are these houses still standing?
We must have a fire block.
If you pull down a man's house,
he is owed compensation. Who pays it?
How can you talk of money now?
Many houses will have to be sacrificed.
Better to destroy half the city ourselves
than lose all of it to the fire.
Can you feel the heat
of God's wrath, Charles Stuart?
His glorious day of judgement is come!
- Christ and his fiery angels
- Get him out of here.
A golden guinea for any man with the
courage to stay and fight the fire!
- I'll stay, sir!
- Good man!
How can I help?
Find the Duke of York. He'll tell
you where you can be most useful.
At the first count,
13,000 households have been destroyed,
four bridges and 90 churches.
St Paul's Cathedral has been scorched
from the face of the earth.
The old city has vanished.
It's as though it never existed.
- And the dead?
- A handful that we know of.
No one knows how many of the poor and
indigent have disappeared without a trace.
Who did this to us? Who burned my house?
The fire is an act of God.
No one is to blame.
London will be rebuilt
and better than before, I promise.
A Papist ran from Farrinor's bakery
in Pudding Lane holding a lighted torch.
It was the Catholics.
Them French and Spanish Jesuits!
It was them bloody Papists all right!
Do you really believe a
Catholic can rule here?
You must protect your loyal Catholic subjects
from the false accusations of the rabble.
Why not blame the Quakers instead?
One religious minority
is as good as another!
The fire was an accident.
We can only tell the truth.
We cannot make people believe it.
An accident is no use to a man
who has lost everything.
He must have someone to blame.
The last hope of toleration
lies buried in the ashes of London.
I am dying at last, thank God.
You will soon be well again.
He is foolish and wilful.
It is your duty to serve him.
Make him see
that Louis is his saviour.
He must die
in the Catholic faith.
Better all England be
burned to the ground
than he should lose
his immortal soul.
Now kiss me and go.
Iwant to go to my husband.
I have kept him waiting
too long.
Tell him I can make him a true king!
Forgive me, ladies, if excess of love
if excess of love
me beyond rules of modesty does move.
'Tis some excuse, that I my love declare
when there is no medicine
left to cure despair.
Oh, heaven! Can fair
Aurelia weep for me!
There is some comfort to my misery
The king's in again.
Third time this week.
Your verse speaking was shoddy tonight.
No one comes to Drury Lane
to hear me speak the verse.
You're jealous because I'm popular.
Jealous of a common slut who was selling
oranges to the pit a year or two ago?
I think not! I'm an artist.
Come on, Charlie, don't be sulky.
You know you love me.
What do whores know about love?
If you've got flowers, leave them
with the others at the stage door.
Might the divine Aurelia consent
to dining with her most fervent admirer?
You mean dine with a man
who hasn't introduced himself?
You might not be a gentleman.
Forgive me.
I am Charles.
Charles who?
Nell, I've never witnessed
a dramatic talent to match you.
I taught her everything she knows.
On stage and in bed.
You always said I was a natural
in both departments!
Nell has a certain art with vulgar comedy,
but she should aspire to higher things.
The tragedies of my great-uncle
William Shakespeare, for example.
She would make a moving Cordelia.
I hate tragedy. The theatre
should be about entertainment.
I agree. Comedy is the
spirit of the age.
That'll be two pounds and 15 shillings.
- You know I never carry money.
- Neither do I.
Good God, but this is
the poorest company I have ever been in!
- You're very beautiful, Nell.
- You don't have to pay me compliments.
I'm not one of your simpering court ladies
with a head full of romantic poetry.
I warn you
I want more than a quick pleasuring
and a few trinkets for my trouble.
How much more?
I don't mean money.
I want respect.
I know what I'm worth, and any man who
spends time with me better know it too,
and that includes kings!
But if you do want to give me a token
of affection, I won't be offended.
I'll make you rich, Nell.
Comfortable will do.
To start with.
He is a very handsome little fellow!
He has much of his father in him.
I hardly know the gentleman
well enough to say.
I mean his father the king, of course.
Henry Jermyn certainly is a gentleman.
Some might even call him a prince
among men, but is he a king now, too?
What's Jermyn to do with it?
This is his child, is it not?
It is yours and you know it is.
The child cannot be mine. I have not
visited your bed these many months passed.
I will not acknowledge him.
I demand
the tone of the evening be elevated!
Miss Nelly must give us a speech.
Something noble from Jonson or Dryden.
I'm a professional, Rochester.
I don't work unless I get paid!
I made more money than that
selling oranges in Drury Lane!
There is no a whore in London
who would not be glad of such a fee.
Then find a whore who needs the money.
This one's retired.
Steal what riches you can
while the sun still shines,
actress!
The king will soon grow bored of you
and toss you back on the dung heap
where you belong!
As you are intent on poetry, Rochester,
why not provide it yourself?
A short epigram in your honour, then,
Your Majesty.
We have a pretty, witty king
Whose word no man relies on
Who never said a foolish thing
Nor ever did a wise one.
Be just, Rochester.
The wise words are my own.
The deeds are my ministers'.
Your expenditure reaches beyond your resources.
Your creditors are insistent.
Parliament would sooner see my household
starve than grant me what is due.
The Commons is loyal in its way.
It means to bring the king to heel
before throwing him a few scraps.
- Is that what you want?
- I will not be Parliament's slave.
If I have to rule without them, I will.
- The people will not support you.
- My people are loyal.
It is Parliament that stokes
the fires of sedition.
The behaviour of some does not help.
Lady Castlemaine's extravagance
is matched only by her depravity.
Is this not true, Danby?
Alas, certain vile things are being
repeated on the streets, Your Majesty.
She brings your court into disrepute
Any man would give his right arm
to share her bed.
Lady Castlemaine may drag herself
through the gutter,
but she shall not take the king's
reputation with her. Enough is enough!
Bishop Braybrooke's tomb was
discovered during the rebuilding work.
The body is perfectly
preserved despite the fire.
- When did this good bishop die?
- 200 years ago and more.
Miraculous that a body of such
antiquity should defy age and decay.
The corpse is most delicate.
You must take care not to disturb it.
Perhaps Lord Coleraine,
we might be allowed a moment alone
to consider God's mercy?
Of course.
His skin is remarkably dry.
His face seems almost animated.
I could half believe some distant
spark of life yet lingered in him.
If it does
I'm the woman to find it!
The bishop is truly intact!
But not aroused by your attention, alas!
I'm not yet defeated.
Oh! No living soul could resist
such a courtesy!
His spirit is truly extinct.
Bored!
Do not move.
Bloody freezing in 'ere!
Why can't I be a goddess
who kept her clothes on?
Fine clothes, precious jewels,
and now a portrait by the
great Sir Peter Lely.
My lord.
- You've surpassed yourself.
- The king is very generous.
Your new house is the talk of the town,
but it's no more than you deserve.
- You are Venus to the life!
- Whoever she was!
The goddess of love.
A most fitting subject for you.
Well, the goddess of love
has had a bellyful of art for today.
Be careful, my lord.
That hand belongs to royalty now!
- I saw you before the king.
- First come, first served, is it?
- You weren't always so modest.
- I wasn't the king's mistress then.
He will not be faithful to you.
It makes no difference.
You cannot love him!
Aren't I capable of the finer feelings?
You've sold yourself at a good price.
Now you can have your fun.
If it's money you want,
you won't find me ungenerous.
I thought you were the king's friend.
- Does he object to a little sport?
- Perhaps not, but I do.
I belong to the king not because he
bought me but because I choose it.
And as long as he wants me,
I'll be his and his alone.
And you know what?
I do love him.
He's kind and decent,
and he'll look after me.
How's that for a transaction?
I've known many ladies of wealth and
position who played the whore to perfection,
but I've never seen a whore
make such a fine lady.
Do not presume too far, George!
You know my regard for Nell.
I intended a compliment!
Speaking of titled whores
your consideration for Nell
will make Castlemaine mad with jealousy.
Everywhere I go, all I hear about
is Castlemaine's dissipation!
She goes too far.
She always did,
but what you once loved now repels you.
You're her oldest friend.
Speak to her.
I defer to no man
in appreciation of my own talents,
but persuading Castlemaine to change her
behaviour is a task beyond even my skills.
No matter.
I'll deal with her myself.
Your Majesty!
Are you one of these excitable men,
Captain Churchill,
who fancies himself in love
with Lady Castlemaine?
In truth I have little feeling for her,
but she was insistent.
And a gentleman should not be impolite.
- She's also generous.
- Too generous!
I gave this ungrateful wretch 500 pounds!
He had feelings for me then!
What have you done with it?
Invested it in a
pension, Your Majesty.
It must be the first time Lady Castlemaine's
money's seen the inside of a bank!
I forgive you, then.
You do this for your bread and butter.
You needn't think you're coming back!
What are you doing here anyway?
Is this my thanks after all I've done?
To be thrown onto the
street like a whore?
No whore was ever rewarded
as handsomely as you have been,
but now my purse, like my
patience, is exhausted!
I will not be usurped by
that slut of an actress!
I forgave you when you corrupted Monmouth.
I forgave your greed,
but I am sick of your meddling!
The whole world is sick of it!
The mob hates you and for
once, the mob is right!
Have this lady's goods packed.
She is leaving.
Do that and I'll cut off your hands
and hang them round your neck!
All I ask is that you live quietly
and cause me no more grief.
Do that, and I care not who you love.
You've been a kind of queen.
Be proud of that
and accept your time is done.
They say she has not been well.
Well, she was always delicate.
But her last letter said
she has never felt stronger.
The king's devotion to his sister
is most touching.
And useful. I am told Louis
is no stranger to her bed.
In that case,
we may be confident she has his ear.
Among other things
This show of family affection will not blind
Parliament to the king's true purpose.
We may be certain it will not
stomach any treaty with France.
What Parliament does not know
need not trouble it.
There must be no concealment,
especially where France is concerned.
It is for the king to
decide foreign policy.
Parliament will not pay
to make common cause with Papists.
- Louis is too strong to keep as an enemy.
- He is too strong to be anything else!
When he has finished with the Protestant
Dutch, he could turn his attention to us.
You cannot seriously think he would
launch a crusade against England?
What I think is not important.
It is what the people fear that matters.
Little Minette! You
have grown beautiful.
I am an old married woman!
You are my baby sister
first and before everything.
- Who is that?
- Mademoiselle de Keroualle.
- My lady-in-waiting.
- A charming girl.
Very charming and very young!
I am responsible to
Mademoiselle's parents.
I would fail in my duty
if she returned to them dishonoured.
Besides, is it too much to ask that I should
have you to myself for these few days?
Only God knows
when we shall see each other again.
Please, Madame, let me fetch a doctor!
No.
The king must know
nothing of my illness.
France will provide a subsidy
of two million livres to His Majesty
in return for recognition of Louis' claim
to sovereignty over the Netherlands.
Oh, it's a bargain, Danby. Or are
there more items on the bill of sale?
England must also agree,
at a time to be decided by France,
that both our countries
will declare war on the Dutch.
- We've no justification for an attack on Holland!
- Justification will be found.
And when Parliament discovers you intend
to use French money to rule alone?
Parliament will know nothing of this
treaty because no one will tell them.
Such a business cannot
remain secret for long.
I will not be servant in my own house.
I mean to rule.
With Parliament if I can,
without them if I must.
Why was I not told of this, Danby?
Who the king chooses to trust
with his decisions is his affair.
There are those
who would call this treaty treason.
I think you are amongst them, my lord.
Am I alone?
No one will overhear us.
I fear for your life
if anyone should discover our purpose.
Does Louis accept my new proposal?
You have agreed one dangerous treaty.
Are you ready to contemplate
a second infinitely more daring?
- Do you trust me, Minette?
- With my last breath.
- Then put aside your fears.
- Very well.
If you convert to the Catholic faith,
Louis will provide you with the money
to govern in your own right.
You need never turn to Parliament again.
Everything is prepared.
The treaty wants only a signature.
For your own safety and for the
preservation of the monarchy,
do not give such an undertaking.
I am not going to.
You are.
What?
As my trusted ministers, it is only right
that it be your names on the treaty.
A treaty you could then disown.
We have already been party
to one reckless adventure.
This new one must surely end
with our heads on the block!
Your Majesty, in the name
of our long friendship,
I beg you to reconsider,
not for my sake, but for yours.
If you are truly my
friend, Lord Arlington,
you will do my bidding.
Why must it be us?
Why not Buckingham or Danby?
I think you know.
Because we are Catholics.
I protected you when the Test Act
would have seen you thrown from office.
Now it is time for you to
be loyal in your turn.
As a Catholic I applaud your intention,
but as your minister, I
deplore and fear it.
This will help you rest.
It's just a chill on the stomach.
I will be well again soon.
- Promise you'll write to me.
- Every day.
Come on, boys.
You have no intention of becoming
a Catholic, have you? The truth, now.
You cannot take Louis' money
and offer him nothing in return.
He will have his Dutch war.
But he expects you to convert,
and to carry England with you.
Only fools believe
that England will return to Rome.
The King of France
is not an easy man to deceive.
The time may yet come when I have to
fight Parliament as our father did.
I am determined I will not suffer the same fate.
Louis is my protection.
If you face rebellion
you will announce your conversion,
obliging Louis to come to the aid
of a Catholic king.
If I have to bring England to heel with a
French army, then by God I will do it!
No matter what may happen,
I will always be at your side.
Always.
God have mercy on me.
I am in hell!
No!
Tell my brother
that I have loved him
more than life itself.
That my only regret in dying
is to be leaving him.
You cannot hide here for ever, meu amor.
Your ministers are waiting.
Everyone I've ever
loved has betrayed me.
Minette was never a traitor to you.
Only a fool ever allows himself to love.
I have lost my friends, Your Majesty.
Perhaps you have seen them?
No, I've seen no one.
Your Majesty has been most kind
since I came from Paris.
My sister always spoke very
fondly of you, Mademoiselle.
Poor Madame!
She was so good. I loved her very much.
Did she suffer terribly?
She was never afraid, Your Majesty,
even at the end.
She told me her only
sorrow was in leaving you.
Your life was dearer
to her than her own.
Thank you, Mademoiselle.
Sit down.
My sister took your good name
most seriously.
The protection of your honour
was her most pressing concern.
My honour is my own affair now.
And with your sister gone,
I must find another protector.
Hm.
But alas, sir, I have no money of my own.
I cannot remain in England.
Unless, of course,
Your Majesty wishes me to stay?
His Majesty can think of
nothing more charming.
You may kiss me now if you wish.
William! How was the
journey from Holland?
Why, you've grown handsome!
Mary would be proud.
I do not remember my mother well.
I was young when she died.
Both my sisters are gone now.
It grieves me to hear of your
country's recent hardship.
As England is the cause of much of it,
I am surprised to hear you say so!
It is a sad day when England
sides with Catholic France
against a fellow Protestant nation.
Louis has either bribed or tricked you.
England was sorely provoked,
and undertook war with a heavy heart,
but as you come to me to apologise
and make reparations, I bear no grudge.
- Blood is thicker than water, after all.
- I did not come here to surrender, Uncle.
Then why did you come here?
To tell you that Holland
will not be bullied.
- The war is lost! Do you not see that?
- We will defend Holland to the last ditch.
As long as one Dutchman remains alive,
we are not defeated.
- Such defiance will only bring misery.
- Better misery than disgrace.
However, if you wish to bring this war
to an honourable conclusion,
- I am willing to listen to your proposals.
- YOU are willing to listen?!
My Lord Buckingham only means
to convey his impartial concern
for your people's best
interests, Your Majesty.
Why should we abandon a war we are
winning, if not to our advantage?
You cannot afford to fight for ever.
Your supplies are exhausted and you
must turn to Parliament for more money.
And I do not think it will
give you what you want.
Parliament will act loyally, damn it!
When you are ready to
talk seriously, sir,
you will not find me unreasonable.
I never treated her well.
I pray for her forgiveness.
I have sworn before God
to be a better husband next time.
You know
my opinion of this new match.
It is undesirable for
you and for England.
- Mary of Modena is ideal.
- I will not be defied.
- I will not marry a Protestant.
- Then you will not marry at all.
You owe me this marriage.
A Protestant princess
would calm the fears of the people.
I am a Catholic and I will
have a Catholic wife.
If we have children, they will
be brought up in the true faith.
If there is a boy he
will be king one day.
And I pray he does his
duty to God and country.
You're my brother and my
blood and I love you
but God knows, you will
be the end of us all.
The mob's fury
against this dangerous marriage
will soon grow uncontrollable.
Your Majesty must calm
his people's fears.
This unrest is fanned by those in
Parliament who speak against the king.
Hear! Hear!
We in Parliament
seek only good Protestant government.
We will not keep silent
over treason in our midst.
Am I a traitor, then?
It is from loyalty that we challenge the Duke
of York's right to lead England to ruin.
It is often those who protest their
loyalty who prove the blackest rebels!
We are more loyal than those
whose deepest attachment is to the Pope!
If you have a son,
the Catholic monarchy will be restored!
It should never have been interrupted
by the bastard usurper Elizabeth!
The sooner England rejoins the path of
righteousness, the better for us all.
There will never be peace among
your subjects while they're afraid.
Remove the cause of their fear
and they will be content.
The Test Act carries your signature yet
Catholics remain close to the throne.
The Act makes an institution of bigotry
and the king a puppet of Parliament!
If the people are to trust in Your Majesty's
goodwill, the Act must be enforced.
It is the law of the land
which we must all obey, even the king!
You've made your choice, Shaftesbury.
So be it.
We must be enemies.
If I have made a choice,
it is one you forced on me.
The king should rule with Parliament.
You would destroy it.
It is the power of the king
that faces destruction.
True power lies not with king
or Parliament but the people.
I am content to be judged by them.
For Your Majesty's sake
and the good order of the country,
I must retire into private life.
I do not wish you to leave my service.
I need my old friends
about me at such a time!
To retain my position
I must deny my faith
and take Holy Communion
in the Church of England.
That I cannot do.
Damn it, man, it's only a form of words!
How we worship when no one
is at hand to see us is our own affair.
No man should be asked to
renounce his religion.
If our deeds are good
and our hearts true,
I am convinced God forgives
any transgression,
no matter what faith we call ourselves.
Tear up the Test Act
and tell Parliament to be damned.
- No, you must make this bargain.
- It's not YOUR position that's at stake!
Those who choose the Roman religion
should not be surprised
at the consequences.
- God bless and keep Your Majesty.
- Which God, Arlington?
Yours or Parliament's?
Now do you see the
cost of your marriage?
I fear the true cost will be much greater
than the loss of a few ministers.
This is a fine place you've
dragged me to, Shaftesbury.
I never saw such a nest
of traitors in my life!
There is no treason here, only a
desire to save England from tyranny.
If you are wise you will join us.
- I'm no rebel.
- Nor I.
But my loyalty is to a Protestant king
in a Protestant country.
When the Duke of York becomes king,
he will drag England back to Rome and destroy
the power of Parliament once and for all.
That cannot happen.
If the king will not defend
the true succession, we will.
An attack on the Duke of York
is an attack on the king.
Then so be it.
You forget I am the king's friend.
Suppose there was another French treaty
beyond the one we know?
One which bound King Charles
to take the Catholic faith
in return for French gold and a Papist
army to suppress his own people?
- There is no such treaty.
- I have proof.
The king does not love you as you think.
He loves only his own power.
He is truly his father's son.
He has played you for a fool.
If James is removed from the succession,
what then?
- The king is childless.
- By his Papist queen perhaps,
but his many bastards
prove the fault hardly lies with him.
He can divorce and marry again.
But if not, he already has a son who would
unite the whole country in loyalty.
A fine young man,
and a good Protestant.
- Who is to fire the fatal shot?
- I do not know his name.
Only that he is a Jesuit
sent from France for the purpose.
Where is he now?
Fled, or hidden by his fellow conspirators,
but the king's life is yet in grave danger.
What danger?
He will be poisoned.
So now it is poison?
And who will do the deed,
or do you not know that either?
I know his name well.
It is Sir George Wakeman.
The queen's personal physician?!
He is the most honest
and upright of men!
He's a Papist, is he not?
The queen's household is riddled with treason.
If you're lying, I promise you,
your torture will be cruel!
Who wrote these?
They were brought to me
at the Royal Society
by an honest Christian preacher
named Israel Tonge
Never mind the Royal Society!
Who wrote them?
One who knows the
conspirators intimately.
His name is Titus Oates.
The final rites of their
black mass spoken,
Jesuit priests, crazed with bloodlust,
swept into the village
to seize two young virgins - children
of no more than eight years. Angels!
- Torn from their mothers' arms!
- Stop, Titus! I cannot listen!
No, go on. What did these foul monsters
do to their victims?
The screams of burning innocents
are a horrible thing, Israel!
God save us! The Catholic religion
is guilty of horrors beyond imagining!
Kirkby must have acted by now.
If not, England is lost.
Where is Titus Oates?
At your service, sir!
Scholar, philosopher and loyal
guardian of the flame of truth!
My Lord Danby wishes to speak to you.
As news of the king's death
became known,
6,000 Catholics were to rise as one
and slaughter us all in our beds.
Picture it, my lord!
London's streets running crimson
with honest Protestant blood!
How did you come by this information?
I overheard it in the queen's household.
Do you now claim intimacy
with the queen herself?
No, sir, but your lordship well knows
that the palace is open
He and the Pope are the
authors of the plot!
- Not the queen and the Duke of York?
- Papists all, shoulder to shoulder in villainy!
The French army are massing at Calais.
An invasion might be
launched at any moment.
My spies would have informed me
if there was a French army at Calais.
Maybe the Pope invoked dark magic
to make them invisible.
Gossip and mischief!
I will see you in the stocks in the morning.
- It is the truth!
- If you condemn us,
the king will die and you
will be held accountable.
Your Majesty!
Your loyalty and concern for my safety
do you credit, Mr Oates.
Where is your proof?
Safely hidden from prying
eyes, Your Majesty.
A wise precaution.
Who are the English Catholics behind
this terrible conspiracy? Give me names.
Beyond the queen and the Duke of York,
there are the Lords Stafford,
Arundell, Wardour, Powis,
Petre, Belasyse,
Wakeman, the queen's physician,
and Edward Coleman,
secretary to the Duchess of York.
This is nothing more than a list
of every eminent Catholic in the land!
I have letters proving their guilt.
Follow me, Mr Oates.
Bring your friends with you.
You never said anything about letters!
If I had, the Jesuits would have
cut your throat to find them.
Stand firm. We shall beat the devil yet.
What was your business at Whitehall?
Who invited you here?
I came to warn your ministers of the Catholic peril.
They never had time to see me.
My sympathy. Sometimes they hardly
have time for the king himself.
But still, after so many hours here, you
must have come to know my palace well.
Intimately, sir.
Then lead us to the place where you
heard this treason being plotted.
This is where I heard them
planning your death, Your Majesty.
Most convenient
for any traitor with a weak stomach!
Your Majesty, I remember it clearly.
It was a long room
with tall double doors
You do not know your way because you've
never been here in your life before!
Nothing this scoundrel
says can be believed!
I'm off to Newmarket in the morning.
Do not bother me with this again.
At your service, my lord.
(DANBY) Give your explanation again.
I know Lord Powis.
- This is not his hand.
- The writing is disguised.
- The Jesuits teach such skills to their disciples.
- They teach well.
Not one of these seditious letters
resembles its author's customary hand.
You say you know these
conspirators intimately.
- Who wrote this?
- Lord Stafford.
Of all these villains, he is the worst.
Stafford is a distinguished Fellow
of the Royal Society and nigh on 70.
He has a vicious spirit and is
closely allied to the Duke of York.
Examine the Duke's household, and you will
find all the evidence you need of treason.
Strike now, my lords!
Hesitate and all might be lost!
Stop!
There is no conspiracy, is there?
Hm? The truth now, or I'll
beat the life from you.
Every word is gospel.
Bring me a Bible and I will swear
I know baseless malice when I see it.
What is your purpose in all this?
- Is it money and preferment you seek?
- You insult me, sir.
Christ himself, he
came to me in a dream!
He charged me with the protection
of the Protestant faith in England.
I was a minister in a Catholic
school
and the boys laid false
and filthy charges against me,
and I lost my position.
I'm determined to have my revenge on
their whole stinking blasphemous faith!
You have chosen the moment
for your game well.
In such a desperate time, even your
ridiculous lies might be believed.
What will you do with me, sir?
I have reasons of my own
to let your poison circulate unhindered.
If others cannot tell a fake when they
see one, that is their misfortune.
What of the king?
He doesn't believe me.
The king has more pressing concerns,
schoolmaster.
5,000 pounds on a single
turn of the cards?!
If you shout at me, I shall faint.
Now you expect me to honour your debts.
Well, I cannot afford it!
You have stolen my honour!
Now you mean to make me a beggar!
If you need money,
why don't you ask your patron Louis?
- The King of France gives me nothing.
- Of course he does!
- He values his little spy.
- I am not a spy!
You have clandestine audiences
with the French ambassador!
Do you talk about the English weather?
I cannot live with
such wicked treatment!
You know how delicate I am.
If I fall ill and die,
it will be your fault!
You are not going to die
over a few cross words.
Of course I'll pay your creditors.
But you must be more careful in future.
5,000 is not very much.
Is it?
We won't talk about it any more.
There, now.
It's all better, isn't it?
The king still loves his little Fubs.
These letters were for Louis.
You say you will work
to destroy the Protestant heresy
and restore the Catholic
faith to England,
that you pray for the day
the Duke of York takes the king's place!
As God is my witness,
I meant no harm to anyone.
These are dreams, not plots.
Opinions of no significance.
You shared your ambitions with the Duke of York.
He encouraged you in this!
The Duke of York is innocent of any crime.
I swear I am no traitor.
(CHARLES) I asked you to end this matter.
Now it is infinitely worse.
What London believes
is more important than the evidence.
The mob will soon grow bored
of Oates' ridiculous accusations.
- Put the perjuring villain in prison.
- He's under the protection of Parliament.
Oates will give Parliament all the
excuse it needs to strike at Catholics.
God help any poor creature
that gets caught in his net.
Oates said Coleman's letters
would contain treason, and they did.
A lucky chance, nothing more.
Picture your own
wives and mothers,
sons and daughters, tied to
stakes in the midst of flames,
screaming out to God with hands
and eyes uplifted to heaven!
On the outside the Catholic looks like
us, eats, drinks and sleeps like us,
but inside he is not as we are.
He hates our liberty
and works every moment to destroy it
He would make slaves of
us in our own country
Only Parliament can protect England
from the yoke of tyranny!
A warrant from Parliament
for the arrest of Lord Stafford.
- On what charge?
- Treason.
- Father!
- This is some error
or false accusation
You are mistaken!
Please!
Please help me! No!
No! No!
Please!
Please!
Please!
No! No!
God in heaven have mercy on me!
I am innocent
The queen is a Catholic
and yet is well known
for her loyalty and devotion.
This plot cannot be any of her doing.
She is mistress in her own household.
Nothing takes place there
without her consent.
I heard from her own lips that she would
no longer tolerate the king's lechery
and violation of the marriage bed.
She told the Jesuits
that she would have her revenge,
and promised them 5,000
pounds for the deed!
I accuse the queen
of conspiring to cause the king's death!
The man's a fraud.
I know you'd never do
anything to harm me.
You know it,
but does England?
Oates has the whole country terrified.
You understand
there is no truth in what he says?
- Do I look like a fool?
- Clever men hang on his every word.
Common sense counts for little
where religion is concerned.
- Are you not frightened of the Papists, then?
- I'm more frightened of the mob.
- Mobs have their uses in the right cause.
- Parliament's cause.
For 20 years, we have fought
to see who rules in England.
Now the time has come
to settle the matter once and for all.
This useless body of mine
is like some rotting piece of meat.
It decays inch by inch,
moment by moment.
I have little time left,
but I am determined that before I die,
this country will be freed for ever
from the unbridled power of kings.
Parliament will rule in England.
Attack the king himself,
and I can go no further with you.
Let the old goat frolic with his whores
in the time he has left to him,
but his heir will be
Parliament's choice.
The king loves you
above all others.
The bravest
and most brilliant of his court.
(MONMOUTH) Such virtues come naturally.
I must take no credit for them.
The king would show you greater favour if he could.
He would name you as his heir.
The Duke of York's claim
cannot be allowed to stand.
A Protestant king
for a Protestant country.
The king will never acknowledge me
as his true-born son.
The king must appear to
support his brother.
In private, he yearns for your success.
When the tide in your favour
becomes irresistible,
he will bow to an act of Parliament
declaring you legitimate.
He told you this?
Be bold,
and you shall have your reward.
God save the king!
I have never run away from a fight
and I will not start now.
It's to avoid a fight that
you must leave for a time.
With the introduction of the House of Commons
bill, your succession hangs in the balance.
Your presence here is a constant
reminder of their grievance.
Will I be allowed to return,
or will you betray me in favour of
your preening bastard Monmouth?
You're my brother
and my heir
and what is mine is mine.
I will not allow Parliament
to dictate the succession.
Now for pity's sake, will you help me?
Your Majesty, there is a further matter
of the gravest importance.
I have in my possession
letters from the king's chief minister
begging for aid from our oldest
and most implacable enemy!
Filthy French money
for the king to rule alone
in defiance of Parliament?!
What shall we call this
but treason pure and simple?
Danby must be impeached
before this house for his dealings!
It's that French bitch Carwell!
Drag her out and put the Papist whore
in the stocks where she belongs!
Good people! You are mistaken!
I am the Protestant whore!
I am called a prostitute,
and summoned before Middlesex jury!
My God!
To stand before the common herd, accused
of being no better than a street girl!
It is nothing more than a tactic
designed by Shaftesbury to provoke me!
I'll see that the Chief Justice
strikes down the warrant.
I am a lady of breeding
I have family and connection
- I am not a harlot!
- I know that.
They mean to destroy me, Fubs.
Shaftesbury has copies of my letters
referring to subsidies granted you
by the French king.
They talk of the secret treaties signed in
your name, but there is no proof, thank God.
He can be discredited as a liar.
The king's position
grows weaker every day.
He has done everything in his power, but
he can no longer defend your conduct.
I wrote to the French king
on your authority, Your Majesty.
- You must stand by me.
- You of all people know he cannot do that.
Parliament is attacking him through you.
His only hope is to cut you adrift.
Acknowledge the letters were written on your own initiative.
The king knew nothing of them.
Parliament already has the scent of blood.
I will be torn apart!
If you resign, the king may yet come to
some understanding with his enemies.
I'm guilty of nothing more
than obeying Your Majesty's command.
These treaties were your
creation in every detail!
I know nothing of any secret treaty.
I have put the king before everything,
and you see my reward?
Be careful loyalty does not
bring you to the same end!
Danby must pay the full price
for his treason.
(CHARLES) He has resigned.
That is penalty enough.
I have granted him a pardon
for any offence he might have committed.
You cannot do that.
You have dragged a loyal servant
down into the mud.
I will not permit you
to murder him into the bargain!
There are thousands of your loyal subjects in
the streets in protest at this Popish plot.
We can only guess at what chaos will
follow if you save the traitor Danby
and allow a Catholic
to succeed you on the throne.
The people have been greatly excited
by false rumours and accusations.
You know that better
than anyone, George.
The peace of the country demands the Duke
of York's removal from the succession.
The peace of the country has always
been my most pressing concern.
Then name Monmouth
as your heir.
You must sign the bill
excluding your brother from the throne.
- Parliament has yet to pass such a bill.
- It will. There can be no doubt of that.
Accept what must be, sir.
You have no choice
but to abandon the Duke of York.
He cannot defy the will
of Parliament for ever.
I will make him crawl to the House
begging for exclusion.
He is in a game he knows he cannot win.
It is a question of WHEN
he gives in, not if.
Perhaps we must remind him of that.
The mob yearns for blood.
Very well. The mob must have it.
Your Majesty
I come not as your king, Lord Stafford,
but as your friend.
And as your friend
I urge you to confess yourself guilty to
the verdict of treason found against you.
I'm innocent of any crime against Your
Majesty in thought, word or deed.
- I know that.
- Then how can I say otherwise?
Confess now and your life can be spared.
A few false words
and in a year or two,
a few months perhaps,
you can return home to your daughter.
I would be disgraced,
condemned as a traitor from my own lips.
All honest men would know the truth.
I've been a loyal servant to your martyred
father and to Your Majesty all my life
and that is how I shall die.
You must sign.
- It is the king's prerogative to grant mercy.
- Not in such a case.
What is a king, then
if he has no power?
It is in order to preserve your power
that you must sign.
The whole of England
is baying for Stafford's blood.
If you do not give them what they want,
they will turn their anger on you.
Lord Stafford has been found
guilty by the courts.
Oates's lies condemned him.
If you overturn the law, you give
Parliament an excuse to do the same.
That path leads to war and rebellion.
Is that what we have come to?
An innocent man must be sacrificed
to preserve the sanctity of the law?
Your father chose open defiance of Parliament,
and the outcome was his own destruction.
You must be more subtle than him.
May God forgive me.
God will understand.
You have more confidence in him than I.
My beloved daughter,
your father has this comfort.
I die totally innocent
of what I am accused,
and confident of God's mercy.
You must take solace in that, as I do.
You summoned me, sir?
I've had many accounts
of your progress about the country.
I'm told that wherever you go,
you are greeted as a king.
Is it my fault if the people wish
to express affection for me?
You little fool!
Can you not see how you are
dancing to Shaftesbury's tune?
- Do not treat me like a child!
- You could not be more of a rebel
if you took up arms and marched on Whitehall!
You will never be king!
Understand that, and you'll be happy.
Dispute it, and you will die a miserable traitor's death.
You lack experience and wisdom.
But now you must do as I say.
You will go to your cousin Mary in
Holland
and stay there till I call for you.
- I will do anything you
tell me, Father.
I would sooner die than insult you.
On no account return to the court
until I summon you, do you understand?
Of all my children,
you are the first and most beloved.
Obey me
and we'll both be content.
I never thought to see my oldest friend
in the ranks of my enemy.
It is a matter of politics.
My personal feelings are of no importance.
Personal feelings are everything to you.
Shaftesbury has only the people's good at heart.
He has no grievance against you.
He is sincere in his convictions,
but when did overturning kings
become a pastime of yours?
Perhaps when the king betrayed England
for 30 pieces of French silver.
- Your name was on the French treaty.
- I did what was required of a good servant,
and what did I receive in return?
Lies, deception, the elevation of others
above me in your government!
We two together could have ruled Europe,
let alone England!
But you never trusted me as I deserved.
Trust and good government
cannot live side by side.
You neglected me
in favour of worthless placemen.
I've forgiven your many betrayals
your schemes and your plots
because in my heart, I knew you loved
me.
But now I see you always
loved yourself more.
And I find I am a jealous king.
I must have unconditional
love or nothing.
You have a need for
sycophancy, not love.
And those who rely on
flatterers for their comfort
are condemned to live and die alone.
Tell your master Shaftesbury
to summon Parliament.
I will address the House.
Then you accept the exclusion of
your brother from the throne?
What must be must be.
Goodbye, George.
I received your message.
Is it time?
Be brave, Charles.
What if the king means to
fight as his father did?
He has too much intelligence
and too few principles for that.
And unlike his father,
he knows when a battle is lost!
Talk of the exclusion of the Duke of York
from the rightful succession is treason.
Any who speak of it set themselves
against legitimate authority,
and are the heirs in
spirit to those rebels
who so recently plunged our country
into rebellion and civil war.
Can anyone here
contemplate such evil without horror?
Let there be no confusion.
The Duke of York is my
heir and will remain so.
His right is ordained by God,
and no man may alter it.
Anyone who denies this truth makes themselves
an enemy of God, king and country.
Think on that before you take
another step towards chaos.
All the world may see what a point
we have come to.
Nothing that begins in such division
is likely to end well.
I declare Parliament dissolved.
Gentlemen, go home.
I will not trouble you any further.
What is happening?
What did the king say?
It is not what he said.
It is what he is.
England has chosen
to trust the superstition of kings
rather than the wisdom
of its own judgment.
He has dissolved Parliament
and will rule in his own right.
Exclusion and Parliament
are finished with.
Our time will come. Not today
but soon enough,
though I will not live to see it.
Wait here to be arrested
or make your peace with
the king if you can.
For my part, I am weary of Whitehall.
I have neglected my wife these last 20 years.
I think it is time I went home.
He is never too busy to see me.
The king gave you no authority to return
from exile. Such defiance is treason.
If you are still in England at dawn
tomorrow morning, you will be arrested.
How long?
How long before I can come back?
Never.
Father! Father!
I can explain everything!
Only let me talk to you!
If you have ever had any love for me,
you will find forgiveness in your heart.
Please, Father, I beg you, let me in!
Have you unpacked it all yet?
I cannot think what you mean, Nell.
All those beautiful things
you had ready for your escape
in case the Protestant
rabble stormed Whitehall.
Does the king know
I was preparing to abandon him?
Why not ask him?
I have seen little of him lately.
I thought he might be dining with you.
He mostly dines alone these days.
I will send him a note
saying I am ill or dying.
He will soon come back to my side.
You've tried that trick too many times.
Face it. He doesn't need you any more.
Retire to France and enjoy your money,
Mrs Carwell.
God knows you've earned it!
But
I love him.
You look tired. Are you ill?
I have never felt better.
We must consider what you will do
when I am gone, James.
No king can rule without
Parliament for long.
He can if he has French money.
Louis pays me for one reason only.
He wants a Catholic on the
throne after my death.
For the rest of my life I
will have absolute power,
and when I am gone, he will have you.
But when Louis has what he wants,
he will not be so generous.
If you want to be free of his influence,
you must have money of your own.
For that, you must recall Parliament.
Yes, well, when I am king, Parliament
will have no choice but to obey me.
Thank God
my task is only to give you the crown,
not to help you keep it!
No, no.
- I have news of Monmouth, Your Majesty.
- William.
He swears he's learned his lesson and
begs permission to return from exile.
My answer will not change.
I will never see him again.
Such harshness is not in your nature.
It is for his sake as much as mine.
If he comes back, he will embroil
himself in some treason or other.
I lost my father to the executioner.
I would rather not live
to see my son die the same way.
He will make his move when you die.
Many Protestants will support him
against the Duke of York.
Any rebellion will fail.
The country has no more stomach for revolution.
Perhaps a few years of my brother's rule
will change that.
And I do not think my son
is the only Protestant champion
with designs on the throne of England!
I have never thought of my own ambition.
I consider the Duke of York my friend.
Your wife is his daughter.
You have a legitimate claim through her.
Never mind.
By the time such affairs come to a head,
I shall be long dead,
and, I hope, quite oblivious!
Prepare yourself, William.
My brother will not rule
more than four years.
His own stubborn nature
will bring him down.
It's all been for nothing, Nell.
The cause that gave my life meaning
will die with me.
I fought to restore everything that
was lost when my father was murdered,
but James will destroy
it all, I know that.
- Then why did you fight so hard for him?
- Not for him. For the principle.
For the rights of kings.
But Parliament will have
its victory in the end.
You know what I think about politics.
It's all a lot of foolish men
scheming to ruin each other
for no reason anyone can remember
a few years later.
If it was up to me,
I'd give the throne to Monmouth
because, in my opinion,
a king should always be handsome!
Sweet Nell. How much better the world might
be if it was arranged to your liking!
Father! Watch us!
Mademoiselle de Keroualle,
you should know by now the king loves
his women bright, witty and diverting.
All this weeping and howling
is not the way to keep his affection.
It is making you quite ugly.
If you want him to love you again, be the
woman he yearns for and has never had.
What woman?
An affectionate mother.
Mother, come!
No, not now.
My dearest Fubs. How are you?
Sit down by me.
You look tired, dear.
Put your head in my lap.
You must rest more.
Leave the business of government to your
ministers, and let me look after you.
You know what, Fubs?
I think I would like to go to sleep.
Then sleep, darling.
Only children and old men
sleep in the middle of the day
but I suppose I am an old man now.
You are not so old.
Now sleep.
You see, Father?
I kept my promise.
Did I make you proud?
Well, did I?
Charles?
He doesn't answer me.
Why won't he answer me?
Ajuda!
James.
You must care for my children.
All save Monmouth.
There is nothing anyone
can do for him now.
Be kind to Louise
and let not poor Nelly starve.
Charles Stuart converted to the
Catholic faith on his deathbed
Buckingham,
Charles's old friend and rival,
died of a chill not
long after him.
Catharine,
Charles's faithful queen,
returned to Portugal
where she died in 1705,
20 years after her
husband's death.
At the age of 64,
Barbara Villiers,
Duchess of Cleveland,
married a notorious
rake half her age.
He was a bigamist who stole
what remained of her fortune.
She died four years later.
Louise de Keroualle died in
France at the great age of 85.
In the words of her confessor, "very
old, very poor and very penitent".
Nell Gwyn survived the king
by only two years,
dying of a stroke at the age
of 37.
Charles was uncannily accurate
in his fears and predictions.
Monmouth led an abortive rebellion in
the early days of James II's reign,
and was beheaded for
treason on Tower Hill.
It required eight blows of the axe
to remove his head
Almost four years to the day
after his succession
and following the birth
of his Catholic heir,
James II was deposed by
Parliament
in favour of
the Dutch Protestant William
and his wife Mary,
James's own daughter.
Catholics were barred from the throne
for ever, and remain so to this day
No monarch of England would ever again
attempt to rule without Parliament