Season 1 2017

TV-PG

Their iconic images are part of the very fabric of national culture, and are powerful symbols of bygone ages. But royalty are just human beings, with the same ticks and foibles, bad habits and weaknesses, wants and needs as the rest of humanity. Tracy Borman reveals the nitty-gritty details of the monarchs, to find out what really went on in their private lives. Queen Victoria gave her name to an age not readily associated with fun and laughter. Tracy explores two of the most important relationships in her private life - with her husband Prince Albert, with whom things may not have been quite as they seemed; and her eldest son Edward, who she came to utterly despise.

France's magnificent Palace of Versailles pays extraordinary testimony to the reign of Louis XIV, the self-styled Sun King, who ruled at the height of French power for an incredible 72 years. Discover the truth about the King's very open 'secret' second marriage to Francois D'Aubinge. It’s been claimed Louis bathed only three times in his entire life. How does that square with the luxurious Turkish bath at the Palace of Versailles or the stories of him disinfecting his skin with alcohol or the fact that he had literally hundreds of pairs of underwear which he changed many times during a day? Tracy will find that the King was very conscious of his height as he was only five feet four inches tall. In his wigs and heels however, he appeared to be almost seven feet tall and Tracy explain how this extraordinary effect was achieved.

Tracy explores the very colourful private life of the man who was said to be ‘too randy to rule’. Hampton Court and Whitehall Palace provide the backdrops for a man besotted by sensuality who presided over a court obsessed by sex. A 24-hour ‘pox doctor’ was constantly on call. Tracy finds out more about him and his works, as well as the whirlwind of royal mistresses who appeared on the scene, the King's penchant for the seedier side of London and his love of actresses and sex workers.

In Kew Palace near Richmond, Tracy reveals the story behind not one but two of royal history's most infamous private lives which are forever intertwined: the tragic 'mad' King George III and his son the Prince Regent. Tracy explores their fractious relationship, which was made worse by the King's madness, a condition that has attracted fascinating theories. Tracy explains how a handsome and popular young man with exquisite manners, a witty conversationalist, the first gentleman of England, indeed turned into a bloated, boorish and bullying monster, who abandoned his friends, not to mention all consideration and politeness

One of Tracy’s favourite subjects is the roller-coaster private life of England’s most famous King. The royal palace at Hampton Court and the Tower of London loom large in her exploration of a man who was a good deal more complex than his popular image suggests. For one thing, it turns out that Henry was a bit of a prude, who was pretty shocked by the worldliness of Anne Boleyn; he also had decent table manners, contrary to his roistering image. Tracy reveals the day to day life of the king and how it had to be adapted to accommodate his ever-increasing weight.