European Royalty
Biographical and fictionalized films and TV productions about Royals, their lovers and their courts.
Related lists:
Kings and Queens and Royal Affairs British Royalty French Royalty German and Austrian Royalty Russian Tsars and the Romanov Family
Other Biographical Films
Related lists:
Kings and Queens and Royal Affairs British Royalty French Royalty German and Austrian Royalty Russian Tsars and the Romanov Family
Other Biographical Films
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- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsHelmut BergerRomy SchneiderTrevor HowardThe reign of the tormented Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from 1864 to 1886.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJason SchwartzmanRip TornThe retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsNicole KidmanTim RothAndré PenvernThe story of former Hollywood star Grace Kelly's crisis of marriage and identity, during a political dispute between Monaco's Prince Rainier III and France's Charles De Gaulle, and a looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s.
- DirectorPatrice ChéreauStarsIsabelle AdjaniDaniel AuteuilJean-Hugues AngladeYoung Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
- DirectorErnst MarischkaStarsRomy SchneiderKarlheinz BöhmMagda SchneiderIn the first of a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the vibrant young princess catches the eye of her sister's fiancé, Emperor Franz Josef.
- DirectorErnst MarischkaStarsRomy SchneiderKarlheinz BöhmMagda SchneiderThe second in a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the film chronicles the married life of the young empress as she tries to adjust to formal and strict life in the palace and an overbearing mother-in-law.
- DirectorErnst MarischkaStarsRomy SchneiderKarlheinz BöhmMagda SchneiderThe final film in a highly romanticized trilogy about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria finds the young empress traveling throughout Europe.
- CreatorNatalie AltmannStarsJacob TierneyTerri HawkesTerrence ScammellThe smart and beautiful Sissi does everything to be with her beloved charming Prince Franz, but many people try to stop the couple from living happily ever after...
- StarsMax von ThunVittoria PucciniOmar SharifA retelling of the tragic love affair between Austrian Archduke Rudolf and Baroness Mary Vetsera.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsOmar SharifCatherine DeneuveJames MasonBased on real life events that led to tragic deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsCharles BoyerDanielle DarrieuxMarthe RégnierRudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, is fettered on all sides. He's bored; his father, the emperor, is domineering; his politics are more liberal than his father's, but he knows his views carry no weight. He agrees to marry a princess to sire an heir, then spends his nights as a playboy. In 1888, he meets Marie Vetsera, 17, a baroness's daughter. She is resolute, smitten, and wants nothing in return for her love. The Prime Minister is alarmed; he contrives to have her sent away. Rudolf sinks into dissipation. When she returns, how will the lovers handle the opposition of society and their families? Can Rudolf find a way for them to be together?
- DirectorRudolf JugertStarsRudolf PrackChristiane HörbigerWinnie MarkusThe tragic 1889 Mayerling Incident in which Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and his lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera, committed suicide.
- DirectorAxel CortiStarsValeria GolinoRobin RenucciPaul CrauchetSet in the seventeenth century, an Italian nobleman weds an impoverished countess, who is wooed by the King of Piedmont and faces pressure from his entire court to succumb to his wishes.
- DirectorRandall WallaceStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJeremy IronsJohn MalkovichThe cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother whom he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?
- DirectorMike NewellStarsRichard ChamberlainPatrick McGoohanLouis JourdanD'Artagnan and his fellow Musketeers plot to replace the ineffectual Louis XIV of France with his secretly imprisoned twin brother Phillipe, who is the firstborn and rightful King.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsLouis HaywardJoan BennettWarren WilliamDespotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan.
- DirectorMarie NoëllePeter SehrStarsSabin TambreaSebastian SchipperHannah HerzsprungA dramatic retelling of the life of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, one of the most fascinating monarchs of modern times. From his accession to the throne at age 18 to his passionate support of Richard Wagner and his music; from his ingenuous political commitment to his obsessive construction of extravagant palaces and his gradual withdrawal into a lonely dream world. An epic narrative of breathtaking grandeur.
- DirectorHelmut KäutnerStarsO.W. FischerMarianne KochPaul BildtKing Ludwig II of Bavaria is frustrated, having to accept parliament's will to join Bismarck, rather he his cultured Habsburg friends, in wars. His love-life being as fruitless, he seeks comfort in art. But building fairytale castles and an even grander opera for his musical idol Wagner proves so expensive, his cabinet ends up resorting to formally challenging his mental health, plausible as his beloved brother Otto contracted schizophrenia earlier. Tragedy now lurks in Ludwig's prison-castle.
- DirectorOtto KreislerStarsOlaf FjordThea RosenquistEugen Preiß
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam DieterleTheodor LoosEugen BurgSecond of two German silents about the life of Bavarian king Ludwig II, a character who would much later also be the center of a film by Luchino Visconti.
- DirectorDonatello DubiniFosco DubiniStarsHelmut BergerMax TidofMichael SchillerIn 1881 Ludwig of Bavaria goes on a cruise on a Swiss lake. He takes with him a famous actor, Josef Kainz, to act out the scenes from a story which took place on the lake, at the actual locations.
- DirectorHans-Jürgen SyberbergStarsHarry BaerIngrid CavenHanna KöhlerThe story of the legendary King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), his opera interest and friendship with theatre personalities such as Richard Wagner and Joseph Kainz, and at the same time a reflection of the German 1800s.
- DirectorRolf RafféStarsOskar BayrerFerdinand BonnKarl GuttenbergerThe fateful last days in the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
- DirectorJeff TudorStarsMara GaleazziEdward Watson
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsEdwige FeuillèreJohn LodgeAimé ClariondIn the late 1800's, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, falls for Sophie Chotek, a Czech countess. He's already a problem to the Crown because of his political ideas; this love affair with someone not of royal blood breeches protocol. The Crown allows the union only after the couple agrees to a morganatic marriage. The emperor further neutralizes Franz by making him inspector general of the army, sending him afield for months at a time. In June of 1914, fearing for his safety, Sophie seeks permission to accompany Franz to Sarajevo; protocol dictates that no army troops attend Franz while she is present. An assassin strikes. Their deaths spark World War I.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsJean MaraisDominique BlancharClaude FarellOn the morning of January 30, 1889, the Archduke Rodolphe de Habsbourg and his mistress Marie Vetsera were found dead. The remains of Rodolphe are discreetly repatriated to Hofburg, while that of Mary is hastily thrown into the depths of a tomb.
- CreatorJohn ElliotStarsMichael HordernCharles KayBarry FosterThe collapse of three great European dynasties: the Romanovs, the Habsburgs, and the Hohenzollerns.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsVinciane MillereauSamuel TheisJérôme PoulyDocudrama about the life of Louis XIV nicknamed "the Sun King", the King of France who ran a glamorous court, expanded the borders of France, loved women and parties and built an incredible palace for himself - the Versailles.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsPhilippe NoiretJean RochefortJean-Pierre MarielleA look at 18th-century France, when the authorities depravity contributed to social oppression, and the uprisings flared up one after another.
- StarsClemens KienastCristiana CapotondiDavid RottAustrian Emperor Franz Joseph falls in love with young Elisabeth. It's love at first sight but Franz Joseph's mother Sophie doesn't approve of the relationship.
- DirectorJean-Daniel VerhaegheStarsArielle DombasleStéphane AudranDidier BezaceThe last three days in the life of Elizabeth of Austria before her assassination
- 2007–7.8 (7)TV EpisodeStarsStéphane BernJean des CarsHortense DufourAbout the life, love, glory and ultimately unhappiness of Sissi, the empress of Austria.
- DirectorDavid JankowskiDominique LeebStarsStéphane BernThe life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, plagued by mental illness, who spent the country's funds on the building of fairy tale castles and the commission of Wagner operas.
- StarsStéphane Bern
- StarsStéphane BernAbout Eugénie de Montijo, wife of emperor Napoleon III, who was the last Empress consort of the French.
- StarsStéphane BernPierre BeharMichèle Bimbenet-PrivatAbout Diane De Poitiers who, in the 16th century, was a favorite courtesan of King Henri II of France.
- 2007–TV Episode
- 2007–TV EpisodeStarsStéphane BernPhilippe AlexandreHugues AufrayAbout Anne of Austria, the mysterious mother of the Sun King Louis XIV of France.
- DirectorDavid JankowskiStarsStéphane BernGonzague Saint-Bris
- StarsStéphane BernAbout the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, and his passions.
- 2007–TV EpisodeStarsStéphane BernAbout King Louis XV of France, and his wife, Marie Leczinska.
- StarsStéphane BernAbout Christina, Queen of Sweden, a queen of scandals, at least in her time, for her unconventional behavior and choices in life.
- 2007–TV EpisodeStarsStéphane BernAbout Maria Carolina of Austria, who, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, through her marriage to Ferdinand IV of Naples was the ruler of Naples and Sicily.
- StarsStéphane BernAbout the principality of Monaco and the princes of its ruling De Grimaldi family.
- DirectorGuillaume de LestrangeStarsStéphane BernCarlos Bastarreche SagüesIsabelle BenhadjAbout King Juan Carlos of Spain.
- DirectorAntoine De MeauxDavid JankowskiDominique LeebStarsStéphane BernAbout Princess Amélie of Orléans, through her marriage to Carlos I of Portugal queen consort of Portugal. She was the last queen consort of Portugal, and after monarchy was abolished in Portugal she spent her later life in exile in France.
- DirectorDominique LeebStarsStéphane BernElisabeth BadinterJean-Paul BledAbout Friedrich II, King of Prussia, at the height of the baroque period in the 18th century.
- DirectorDavid JankowskiStarsStéphane BernAbout Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 is generally seen as the event marking the outbreak of Word War One.
- DirectorDavid JankowskiVanessa PontetStarsStéphane BernAbout Charlotte, grand duchess of Luxembourg, who ruled her country after a form of constitutional monarchy was introduced in the early 20th century.
- 2007–TV EpisodeDirectorDavid JankowskiStarsStéphane BernSimone BertièreOlivier ChalineAbout Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, known for much of her life as Madame de Maintenon, the second wife of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France.
- DirectorDavid JankowskiVanessa PontetStarsStéphane BernJulia GratensAbout Anne of Brittany, the grand duchess and ruler of Brittany in the late 15th and early 16th century, who was instrumental in the unification of France and Brittany.
- 2007–TV EpisodeDirectorDavid JankowskiDominique LeebStarsStéphane BernEric AnceauMarie-Hélène BaylacAbout queen Hortense, the wife of Louis Bonaparte, the French king of Holland, and mother of Napoleon III who became the French emperor.
- DirectorGuillaume de LestrangeStarsStéphane BernRobert BadinterHélène BecquetAbout King Louis XVI of France.
- 2007–8.5 (7)TV EpisodeDirectorVanessa PontetStarsStéphane BernMartin AurellSteven BrindleAbout Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most powerful women in the middle ages, wife of King Louis VII of France, and later of King Henry II of England.
- DirectorMarie-Laurence RincéStarsStéphane BernPatricia Bouchenot-DéchinDavid ChanteranneAbout Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, the French born wife of the also French born King Charles XIV John of Sweden and Norway.
- DirectorGuillaume de LestrangeStarsStéphane BernVladimir PerrinDorothée LebardLouis XIV, the man and the king. About the Sun King, Louix XIV of France.
- DirectorAntoine De MeauxStarsStéphane BernOlivier ChalineJoël CornetteLouis XIV: the king is dead, long live the king. About the Sun King, Louis XIV of France.
- DirectorAntoine De MeauxStarsStéphane BernDominique AlibertGeneviève Bührer-ThierryAbout Charlemagne, the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in the 8th and early 9th century.
- DirectorJacques MalaterreStarsArnaud BedouëtChiara De LucaMarc SaezA reenactment of the last day of king Henri IV of France before his murder by the fanatical catholic Ravaillac.
- DirectorChristian-JaqueStarsMartine CarolDaniel IvernelGianna Maria CanaleThe daughter of a seamstress, Jeanne Bécu could hardly imagine she would later become one of the most influential women of the Kingdom of France. Nor could she anticipate her quick fall and tragic death. The teenage girl was still a mere milliner's assistant when her beauty attracted the attention of Count Jean du Barry, a degenerate noble man who, after making her his mistress, undertook to make her Paris's most successful courtesan. Later, he realized that he could even help her to become one of aging King Louis XV's mistresses. But to qualify as a royal mistress, Jeanne had to be a married noble woman. No problem: Jean, who was already married, provided another husband, his brother Guillaume. This is how Jeanne, who had become Countess du Barry with sleight of hand, could enjoy triumph at Versailles. Unfortunately for her, her reign, which had excited the jealousy of the other courtesans, lasted only while the King was alive. Following his death, she was immediately exiled from Versailles and two decades later was executed on the guillotine.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsDolores Del RíoReginald OwenVictor JoryMadame DuBarry is a 1934 American historical film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dolores del Rio, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory and Osgood Perkins. The film portrays the life of Madame Du Barry, the last mistress of King Louis XV of France.[1] While this film does not serve accuracy to Madame Du Barry, it does feature antiques and jewelry that came from the actual days when Madame Du Barry lived. This film was released just as the Hays Code was taking full swing, and faced many problems with censors of the time. Scenes of this film had to be removed before its release or else it would have not been approved for release.
- DirectorPierre Granier-DeferreStarsUte LemperPatrick ChesnaisDaniel MesguichLast days of queen Marie Antoinette stunningly portrayed by a director who's clearly done a massive historical research. An accurate plot and a very moving rendering.
- DirectorMircea DraganStarsGheorghe CozoriciGheorghe DinicaVioleta AndreiIn 1475 when Stephen the Great ruler of Moldavia is facing an invading Ottoman army of 120 000 men the fate of Christian Europe largely depends on the battle's outcome.
- DirectorDumitru FernoagaDoru NastaseStarsStefan SileanuErnest MafteiEmanoil PetrutVlad Tepes, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler and Dracula, fights the Ottoman Turks on the battlefield and the Hungarian Boyars in his court.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsMartine CarolPeter UstinovAnton WalbrookWhen she is reduced to appearing in a circus, a notorious beauty thinks back on her past loves.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsGérard DepardieuUma ThurmanTim RothVatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favor. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty come into conflict.
- DirectorRoger PlanchonStarsCarmen MauraMaxime MansionPaolo GraziosiThe title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent period, when the Louvre (meaning 'wolves hunt castle', hunting was a major aristocratic pastime), then still the somewhat gloomy royal palace, was the battle field of palace intrigues while the regency was held by queen-mother Anne of Austria but the actual head of the royal government was the aging cardinal Giulio Mazirini ('Mazarin'), the less-known Italian successor of Richelieu, who also introduced to the court and the kingdom a host of his countrymen from whom Louis would learn the passion for Italian culture, especially music which would flourish under the direction of Lully (but that later story is another movie, "Le Roi danse"). The elaborate script sketches the story of French power politics, too complicate and devious to summarize in any detail, but mainly from the viewpoint of the immature king under maternal guardianship, who probably didn't comprehend half of the grave troubles focusing on the strife between the official Catholic church and those claiming freedom of religion, especially for the Huguenots, but in reality mainly driven by personal and family ambitions and the grip of nobles on the kingdom at the expense of the royal power, and climaxing in a full rebellion, known as the Fronde, which forces the royal family to flee for their lives, an experience that may have decided Louis to dedicate his reign to preventing a repeat by establishing absolutism as he did. Some narration is done by Louis's younger brother Philip, the duke of Anjou, who seems smarter but as the spare heir is condemned to life in a golden cage, overshadowed by Louis while any 'disrespect' for his crowned sibling is punishable on the spot by strap lashes administered on his bare behind by a servant.
- StarsChristian BrendelAnny DupereyLino CapolicchioYoung Charlemagns is placed on the Frankish throne in the middle of the 8th Century A.D. Despite having many powerful enemies he slowly unites the nations of Western Europe and rebuilds civilization on the ruins of the Roman Empire.
- DirectorVicente ArandaStarsPilar López de AyalaDaniele LiottiRosana PastorThe love story that transformed Juana, Queen of Spain, into Juana "the Mad". A story of passions, lies and jealousy with a political motive behind.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorSergiu NicolaescuStarsAmza PelleaIon BesoiuOlga TudoracheAt the end of the 16th century Wallachian ruler Prince Michael the Brave overcame the adversity of the Ottoman and Austrian Empires to unite Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania into one country.
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsBenoît MagimelBoris TerralTchéky KaryoCorbiau repeats the Farinelli formula, artistic rivalry and social private drama expressed in dazzling, sometimes excessively lavish baroque scenery, music and costume, but this time in its ultimate setting: Versailles. There are two protagonists - first the title character, Louis XIV, the French sun-king who has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer (like Nero wrote and performed musical poetry), and starts asserting himself against the entourage of his Medici mother, the regent during his minority, by building his palace complex and launching a 'fitting' new, mainly musical display of baroque show. Secondly the musical genius Gianbattista Lulli ('Jean-Baptiste') Lully, a Florentine upstart of unbridled ambition, quickly gains the king's absolute trust, despite the nationalist and aristocratic opposition to a low-born Italian, and thus turns the normally socially humble post of court composer into a 'ministerial portfolio of culture' of Cabinet rank, complete with a monopoly which kills of his artistic rivals in operatic theater. The script also weaves a complex web of court scheming for individual power and social interests, and even a sadistic but accidental murder on a young valet, producing a sensuous and sumptuous drama too complex for this format, ending in a freakish but fatal accident. Louis XIV's mother was Ana de Austria (in French, Anne d' Autriche), the daughter of one of the Hapsburgh Kings of Spain. Maria di Medici (in French, Marie de Médicis) was his grandmother, his father's mother. She was dead before Louis XIV reached the throne. Please correct the reference to "his Medici mother"
- CreatorSimon MirrenDavid WolstencroftStarsGeorge BlagdenAlexander VlahosTygh RunyanIn 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.
- DirectorGilles GrangierSergiu NicolaescuStarsHervé BellonJohn TerryMircea AlbulescuWilliam's government blended elements of the English and Norman systems into a new one that laid the foundations of the later medieval English kingdom.[141] How abrupt and far-reaching the changes were is still a matter of debate among historians, with some such as Richard Southern claiming that the Conquest was the single most radical change in European history between the Fall of Rome and the 20th century.
- DirectorMarco BellocchioStarsMarcello MastroianniClaudia CardinaleLeopoldo TriesteDeranged after a fall from a horse, a man has lived for twenty years in a castle laboring under the delusion that he is Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. His psychiatrist concocts an elaborate scheme to shock him out of his medieval reverie.
- DirectorWolfgang LiebeneinerStarsRuth LeuwerikDieter BorscheBernhard WickiThe life of Luise de Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of Frederick Wilhelm II of Prussia, and her opposition to Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
- DirectorCarl FroelichStarsRenate MüllerEugen KlöpferMaria KrahnThe story of the German princess Liselotte and her arranged marriage to the French duke Philippe of Orleans.
- DirectorKurt HoffmannStarsHeidelinde WeisHarald LeipnitzKarin HübnerThe story of free-spirited German Princess Liselotte who, giving in to her father's wish, marries Philippe, the Duke of Orleans. Initially she is met with arrogance by her new husband and his court, and especially by his mistress Palatine, who flaunts her affair with Philippe in her face. Liselotte uses her charm and the weapons of womanhood and soon wins over the court and also the affections of her husband. But her enemies spin intrigues against her and skulduggery is afoot.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsBurt LancasterAlain DelonClaudia CardinaleThe Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.
- StarsMichelle JennerRamon MadaulaRodolfo SanchoThe life of Isabella I of Castile, also known as Isabella the Catholic.
- StarsHélène de FougerollesVincent PerezRosemarie La VaulléeJeanne Poisson, the headstrong, ambitious, witty and erudite, catches the eye and heart of French King Louis XV at a costumed ball. She masters the art of seduction well enough to become accepted even by the Queen, corpulent mother of ten. As a sensibly chosen Royal 'favorite' mistress she is soon ennobled Marquise of Pompadour to facilitate her introduction at court. The immature dauphin (crown prince) proves a bitter and unrelenting enemy, joined by his imposed Saxon bride, and his sister at her deathbed. Although friends at court help Pompadour return, her health gives way.
- StarsDominique BlancDidier SandreValentine VarelaDrama centering around the life at the court of Louis XIV and the role of the Marquise de Maintenon.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsVinciane MillereauStanley WeberFrançois BerlandHow Louis XV, a young king loved by his people, sensitive to the artistic and intellectual turmoil of his century (that of the Enlightenment), will end his reign in decay and hatred? Only fifteen years after his death, it's the Revolution.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsVinciane MillereauGabriel DufayRaphaëlle AgoguéThe dramatic events around the French king Louis XVI and the French crises in the late 1700's with no will to pay taxes, which led Louis XVI into an impossible situation as a king.
- StarsÁlvaro CervantesAlfonso BassaveMarina SalasThe Roman Catholic Church faces the new challenges of Protestanism in Northern Europe and Paganism in the Americas. Carlos V seeks to secure the power of the Church, in this continuation of Isabel (2011-2014) and La Corona Partida (2016).
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsStewart GrangerElizabeth TaylorPeter UstinovIn 1796, Captain George Bryan "Beau" Brummell of the 10th Royal Hussars Regiment offends the Prince of Wales with his straightforward outspokenness and gets fired from the Army but is chosen as the Prince's personal advisor.
- 1999–TV Episode
- DirectorRosie SchellenbergStarsHelen CastorLucy WorsleyLucy Worsley untangles Louis XIV's complex world of court etiquette, fashion and feasting, while court politics expert Helen Castor delves into the archives and unpicks the Machiavellian world that Louis created.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeJulien DuvivierStarsNorma ShearerTyrone PowerJohn BarrymoreThe tragic life of Marie Antoinette, who became queen of France in her late teens.
- StarsArmand AssanteJacqueline BissetStephanie BeachamEpic story about the romance between the most powerful man in the world and the woman who conquered his heart.
- StarsIan HolmBillie WhitelawPeter BowlesA dramatized account of Napoleon's love life and his many women. From first love, marriage, and betrayal with Josephine, liaisons with actresses, his love for the beautiful patriotic Marie Walewska and his second marriage to Austrian Marie-Louise, all the time seeking an heir, and building an empire. There are nine fifty-minute episodes.
- DirectorLuis LuciaStarsAna MariscalRoberto ReyFernando ReyThe story of the Countess d'Orsini, French noblewoman and courtesan at the court of the Spanish king, who acted as an agent for the King of France and was one of the most powerful people at the Spanish court.
- StarsAmaia SalamancaFernando GilMarisa ParedesDramatisation of the romance between Spain's king Felipe and his wife Letizia.
- DirectorChristian TwenteRobert WiezorekStarsAndré KaczmarczykHans MittermüllerHans-Michael KörnerKing Ludwig II mounted the Bavarian throne at 19 at his father's death. His political ambition was to maintain Bavaria as truly sovereign member of the German League of 39 states established after the Vienna Congress. To resist the aggressive Prussian expansion of chancellor Bismarck, he had to side with Habsburg Austria, but was defeated on the battle field and reduced to a Prussian protectorate and forced to join the war against Napoleon III's France, which lead to the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty being declared German emperors. Ludwig withdrew in wild plans, as an absolutist island realm on Tenerife, and a crushingly expensive fantasy world of staged luxury, championed by castles such as Neuschwanstein and the Wagner theatre, soon running up a huge debt guaranteed by the treasury. The government ended up interning him as mentally incapacitated. His castle lake drowning, aged 40, with his psychiatrist, possibly a suicide related to his gay frustration, remains the stuff of legends.
- DirectorChristian TwenteCarsten GutschmidtMartin Carazo MendezStarsJens SchäferHans MittermüllerStefan WeinfurterCharlemagne, son of a new dynasty started as ministers of the former Merovingian kings of the Franks, turned his people's realm into a Germanic empire, a Catholic rebirth of western Rome's, politically rivaling Byzantium, in alliance with the papacy. The Carolingian renaissance, a cultural restoration, was a huge success, ultimately founding a capital in Aachen. A major 'internal' obstacle was the resistance of heathen tribes, the largest of which were the Saxons. Their greatest leader, Widukind, was ultimately pressed to baptism rather then continue bloody oppression to impose conversion. The German people was thus forged, although major tribal realms would persist as duchies/electorates.
- DirectorChristian FeyerabendDaniel SichStarsMichael PinkOlaf B. RaderStefan WeinfurterFrederick II Hohenstaufen was an enlightened, tolerant, yet absolute king in the Neopolitan realm of the two Sicilies where he studied nature and science from Moors in self-designed castles. Having succeed as German king, he embarked on election as Holy Roman emperor but tired of the quarrelsome electors' endless mistrusting meddling, basically retiring to Italy. Pope Innocent IV condemned the hedonistic falconer fiercely for consorting with infidels, even after he successfully led the Sixth crusade and negotiated without great bloodshed the return of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem with the sultan's emir (general).
- DirectorChristian TwenteRobert WiezorekStarsChristoph JacobiHans MittermüllerBernd SchneidmüllerFuture Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV lost his father in the Hundred Years War on the loosing French side at the battle of Crécy. The heir of the house of Luxemburg made Prague in his rich home kingdom of Bohemia his splendid capital after gaining the imperial election and surviving rival elector Louis the Bavarian's bid in a civil war. Even worse was the arrival in his reign of the Black Death, which killed one to two third of many city and regional populations in and around the empire, with grim side effects such as pogroms, which mainly wiped out debts to Jewish moneylenders. Charles established a negotiated method for the imperial election, enshrined in a Golden Bulla.