(dramatic music)
For the King of the Francs and for God!
The wars of religion shaped
the Europe we live in today.
(tense music)
I have the heart and stomach of a king.
In the 16th century, religion and power
were inextricably linked.
Can't you see the Catholics will rebel?
I will never marry that heretic, you hear me, never.
What have you done to the kingdom, what have you done?
Promise me it will stay Catholic.
At the time of the Renaissance,
the rulers of Europe's most important nations
fought each other violently in the name of God.
Kill them!
(woman screaming)
Kill them all. (baby crying)
May God punish the heretics. (screaming)
There has to be another solution.
The English throne must be hers.
Plots.
Your prince offers me the Dutch crown against an army.
Betrayals.
It can't be true.
Jealousy and passions,
rock the most influential families.
They can't get away with it.
I admire your audacity.
A merciless game of power and faith.
Have faith in me.
(screams)
This is the true history of Europe.
(dramatic music)
At the height of the Renaissance,
the young queen of Scotland was forced to flee her homeland.
(tense music)
The king of France had Europe on tender hooks,
and kicked the English out of his kingdom.
(cries)
Meanwhile, the largest empire
in the west was breaking apart.
Europe was on the verge of 30 years of bloody warfare.
(tense music)
In Scotland after the death of the Catholic
King James V, everything rested on a nine-month-old child.
On September 9th, 1543, the infant Mary Stuart was crowned
Queen of Scotland at Sterling Castle, north of Glasgow.
Her 23-year-old French mother, Mary of Guise,
would rule in her place as regent
until she was old enough to reign.
Her first political decision was to promise her daughter
in marriage to the son the Henry VIII, the king of England.
Such an alliance would allow the young queen
to remain in Scotland until her 10th birthday.
(tense music)
But four years later, King Henry died.
His son and heir, Edward VI immediately sent troops
to Scotland to seize his betrothed.
She was just four years old.
(dramatic music)
The new king of England wanted the child queen
in order to unite the two kingdoms as soon as possible.
Mary, Mary wake up.
(tense music) (rustling)
One night in 1547, in the utmost secrecy,
Mary of Guise decided to smuggle her daughter to safety.
(dramatic music)
To escape her kidnappers, young Mary was entrusted
to her most loyal servants.
What's happening?
Hurry, you need to escape.
(tense music)
God will protect you, Mary.
(tender music)
Under the cover of darkness,
Mary was taken to the austere Inchmahome Priory,
isolated on a small island
in a lake in the Scottish Highlands,
a hideaway only accessible by boat.
(tense music)
With her daughter safely hidden,
Mary of Guise did everything in her power to make sure
the young queen didn't fall into the hands of the English.
Her salvation came from France.
(dramatic music)
Mary of Guise's only hope of saving her daughter
was her brothers, Francis of Lorraine, Duke of Guise,
and Cardinal Charles of Lorraine.
Born into one of the most powerful families
in the kingdom of France, they were also trusted advisors
to the French king, Henry II.
(tense music)
Mary of Guise asked her brothers to send military aid
to help fight the English who had invaded Scotland
in order to kidnap her daughter.
The ultra Catholic Guise brothers
saw this as a unique opportunity to enlarge
the kingdom of France.
All that remained was to convince their king
to send troops to Scotland and offer protection
to the young Mary, Queen of Scots.
Your Majesty, the union of Mary Stuart and King Edward
means that sooner or later,
Scotland will be annexed by the English.
Our sister has given you a unique opportunity
to destroy that alliance
and to take control of Scotland.
Offer your support.
Henry II agreed to help the infant
queen of Scots, but in return, he requested that
she become betrothed to his son, the Dauphin of France.
On January 27th, 1548, he signed
an agreement with Mary of Guise
and dispatched a fleet of 140 ships
and 6,000 men to Scotland.
Barely eight months later, Mary Stuart,
now aged six, sets sail for France.
(tense music)
(girl laughing)
Slow down, Mary, come here.
After a long journey,
Mary finally arrived at the French court.
Come here, come here, come here.
There she could grow up in safety,
far from the political rivalries of her homeland.
Ah welcome to France, my child.
She is the crowned queen,
and will be honored and treated as such.
In keeping with her rank,
the little queen, as she became affectionately known,
was raised with her betrothed,
the four-year-old Dauphin Francis,
the eldest son of Henry II.
This union would allow France to lay claim
to the Scottish throne, and by extension,
the throne of England.
Because Mary Stuart belonged to the junior branch
of the House of Tudor, the kings of England,
her great grandfather was none other than Henry VII,
the first Tudor king of England.
So the little queen had a legitimate claim to the throne.
The king of France was intent on helping her take it.
(tense music)
Henry II was 29 years old.
A year earlier, he succeeded his father,
Francis I, to the French throne.
Henry II was an ambitious, ruthless monarch
whose main obsession was to gain revenge
on his old arch enemy, Charles V,
the Holy Roman Emperor.
(tense music)
Henry II had never forgiven Charles V for imprisoning him
and his elder brother in Spain when they were children.
His mind was scarred by the terrible experiences
he suffered for five years in his cramped, dank cell.
(door squeaks)
And the exorbitant ransom of two million gold ecus
demanded from France for their release.
(tense music)
And now came an unexpected opportunity
for Henry to take his revenge.
(dramatic music)
Early in 1552, at the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire
Valley, the king of France received some curious visitors.
Three German princes converted to Protestantism.
Since the early 16th century,
Protestantism, known as the Reformed faith,
had been gaining ground in Europe.
In the heart of the Holy Roman Empire,
the Reformism advocated by Martin Luther
had been adopted by the German and Flemish nobility.
In Latin countries like France and Spain,
John Calvin was also converting more and more people.
Scotland remained Catholic, but England since Henry VIII
had turned away from Rome.
(tense music)
Protestants and notably the Calvinists,
refused to go between themselves and God.
They turned their back on the Pope,
the worship of saints, relics, and crucifixes.
Their faith had no place for symbols and iconography.
You want my permission to freely practice your religion.
I admire your audacity.
The German princes knew that like Charles V,
Henry II was persecuting French Protestants,
but they had a proposition for him.
If the king paid them to rise up against
the Holy Roman Emperor, they would allow him
to seize the Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun,
something that would allow the king
to push French borders further east.
On top of all that, they promised to overthrow Charles.
You're right.
Charles V is a vermin that needs to be exterminated.
Tell me your plan.
Despite his fervent Catholicism,
Henry II's hatred for Charles V
far outweighed his religious beliefs.
On January 15th, 1552, Henry signed a treaty
of alliance with the Lutherans here at Chambord,
and in late March, the French Royal Army
numbering 50,000 men were ready to advance.
(tense music)
On April 10th, Henry II's troops approached Metz and Toul.
Both surrendered without combat.
The king left 3,400 men to occupy the towns,
and 12 days later, his army captured Verdun.
A furious Charles V prepared to attack,
but he was up against the king's most loyal lieutenant,
Francis, Duke of Guise.
Francis was nicknamed Scarface
due to a large scar on his left cheek.
He was a fearsome soldier and a trusted servant to the king.
Charles V had tried to kill him on several occasions,
but in vain.
This time the emperor was on the point
of claiming a famous victory on the political battlefield.
(tense music)
Across the Channel in England on July 6th, 1553,
having thwarted a coup by the English nobility,
Mary Tudor ascends to the English throne.
She began beheading traitors because Mary was a Catholic.
(tense music)
Mary Tudor was the only daughter from Henry VIII's
first marriage to the Catholic Catherine of Aragon.
This made Mary the first cousin of the emperor Charles V.
(tense music)
(bell chimes) (crowd murmurs)
(relaxed music)
To strengthen the family bond in 1554,
Charles negotiated the marriage of the newly-crowned
Queen Mary to his eldest son, Philip.
It was a master stroke for the Holy Roman Emperor.
The father's victory, however, wasn't celebrated by his son.
His new wife was 10 years his senior.
I do.
And she was not at all to his liking.
But Philip knew that according to English law,
the properties and titles of the queen
would become equally his.
I do.
Making him even stronger
in his fight against the French.
Before God, I pronounce you united
in the sanctity of marriage.
Mary was delighted with her marriage to Philip.
For a woman who had waited until she was 37 years old
to wed, it was a major event.
(tense music)
And with Philip at her side, Mary would be able to
reestablish Catholicism throughout her kingdom.
(crowd yelling)
Let me go!
In 1554, the persecution and executions
of English Protestants increased.
(tense music) (fire crackles)
(screaming)
May God punish the heretics.
(screaming)
In all, 300 men and women
were burned at the stake,
earning the queen the nickname Bloody Mary.
The alliance between England and Spain
was a disaster for English Protestants.
In the face of such horrors,
Thomas Wyatt decided to rebel.
This 33-year-old noble wanted to overthrow Mary
and to replace her with her younger half-sister,
21-year-old Elizabeth Tudor.
(dramatic music)
Elizabeth was the daughter of the deceased King of England,
Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
So a bastard in the eyes of Queen Mary.
(tense music)
And to make matters worse,
Elizabeth Tudor was raised as a Protestant.
Rumors began to spread at the Protestant rebel Thomas Wyatt
wanted to place Elizabeth on the throne of England.
He apparently dispatched a messenger to obtain her approval.
Tell your master that the time has arrived
where I'll do what God has decided for me.
(dramatic music)
Elizabeth refused to help
overthrow her half sister.
She would be risking her neck if Queen Mary and her husband
Philip of Spain were to find out about the plot.
(tense music)
Meanwhile, Philip was about to become
the most powerful Catholic monarch in Europe.
His father, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor,
was an old man riddled with arthritis and gout.
At this moment, the emperor took a decision
that would rock all of Europe.
Since 1519, Charles V had reigned over a vast empire,
including the Netherlands, greater Germany,
a major part of Italy, Spain, and parts of the Americas.
(dramatic music)
But on October 25th, 1555, the emperor abdicated
and split his empire in two.
He bequeathed to his brother, Ferdinand of Hapsburg,
the Holy Roman Empire itself,
and named his son Philip as King of Spain, Flanders,
portions of Italy, and the lands in the new world.
(tense music)
Philip's inheritance added to his title of King of England
by his marriage to Queen Mary Tudor,
made him one of the most powerful men in the world.
(dramatic music)
He would use that power and influence
to defend the Catholic faith in Europe.
(relaxed music)
(door opens)
You look splendid, madam.
It's been too long since I was at your side.
You have been missed, my friend.
What good fortune brings you here?
The future of England and the hope of your support.
You have my ear.
In March 1556, Philip of Spain asked his wife,
Queen Mary, to help him in a war with France.
Mary's advisors begged her to refuse.
Wars were expensive and dangerous.
Leave us.
(tense music)
Three months later, on June 7th,
Spain and England jointly declared war on France.
Philip wanted to finish the conquest of France
started by his father.
Firstly, he would annex strongholds on the northern borders
before advancing on Paris.
On August 2nd, 1557, his army of 56,000
Spanish and English soldiers reached Saint-Quentin
in northern France.
The town had only 300 men to defend it.
(tense music) (knocking)
Admiral, Saint-Quentin is under siege.
Gather the men.
At around one in the morning,
the governor of Picardy, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny
was alerted, he immediately set out for Saint-Quentin
with reinforcements numbering 2,000 men.
For a whole week, they resisted
the 56,000 soldiers besieging them.
To avoid a massacre, night after night,
Admiral de Coligny secretly smuggled
small groups of women and children from the town.
In the end, he managed to save 800 lives.
Follow me closely always, you ready?
Right, let's go. (dramatic music)
After 17 days of resistance,
on August 27th, the town was finally captured
by the Anglo-Spanish army.
(yelling) (swords clashing)
Philip II, King of Spain, was so scared of losing the battle
he oversaw it in person.
His men mutilated and massacred the French defenders,
but they also suffered important losses.
(yelling) (swords clashing)
(dramatic music)
A few hours after the start of the assault,
Admiral de Coligny is captured.
(somber music)
The battle of Saint-Quentin was
a terrible defeat for the French.
At least 3,000 died and thousands more were taken prisoner.
Despite losing a large number of men,
Philip II was proud of his victory.
(tense music)
But he had forgotten the main reason
for his invasion, Paris.
What's more, he had run out of money to continue his war.
(dramatic music)
The strategic error on the part of Philip
gave the king of France the necessary time
to prepare his response.
Keep a noble heart and take nothing for granted.
Send this immediately to the Duke of Guise.
Henry II immediately recalled
his trusty captain.
He offered him command of the entire
French army and royal fleet.
My friend.
Back from the Italian front,
Scarface presented himself before the king
on October 20th, 1557.
The war kept you away too long.
It's an honor to serve Your Majesty.
Henry asked the Duke of Guise
to attack England's possessions in France.
The English supported Philip II of Spain
at Saint-Quentin and now they would pay for it.
(dramatic music)
On the last day of the year 1557,
the 30,000 men under the command of the Duke of Guise
surrounded the last remaining
English stronghold in France, Calais.
After a swift and deadly attack,
the town which had been in English hands
for over 200 years was finally French again.
(dramatic music)
On January 8th, 1558, Queen Mary of England
heard the Calais had fallen into French hands.
This cannot be true, the traitors.
How could this have happened?
She was totally devastated.
These are the words she is believed to have uttered.
At my death when you open up my corpse,
you will find Philip and Calais engraved upon my heart.
But it wasn't all bad news for England.
(relaxed music)
Queen Mary was pregnant.
She was convinced she was expecting a son,
an heir who would one day unite the Catholics of England,
Ireland, Spain, and Flanders under one single crown.
But Mary's happiness was short-lived.
(tense music)
Six months later, she discovered
she wasn't, in fact, with child.
She was the victim of what is now called
a phantom pregnancy.
(yelling)
(tense music)
(crying)
At 41 years old, Mary now realized
she would never bear a child.
This fact fanned the fire of hatred
she felt towards her half sister, Elizabeth.
Mary had her sister locked up in the Tower of London.
Intent on forcing her to confess to being the ringleader
of a Protestant plot to overthrow her.
May God protect you, my sister,
when you finally reveal your intentions against me.
Your Majesty, I cannot confess what I have not done.
If you have intentions to ascend to the throne,
promise me it will remain Catholic.
I only promise
to govern according to my convictions.
(tense music)
Leave now.
I never want to see you again.
(tense music)
The open war between Mary and Elizabeth
was good news for the King of France.
Henry II was convinced that 16-year-old Mary Stuart,
Queen of Scots, was the rightful heir to the English throne.
Especially when on the morning of Sunday,
April 24th, 1558, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,
the young Mary Stuart became Henry II's daughter-in-law.
During a sumptuous wedding ceremony,
Mary finally married the young man
to whom she had been betrothed since childhood,
Francis of Anjou, Dauphin of France.
Mary wore a magnificent white embroidered dress.
One guest described her as
100 times more beautiful than a goddess.
Her person alone was worth an entire kingdom.
(relaxed music)
Mary Stuart was now the Dauphine of France,
and Francis the king consort of Scotland.
But in secret, Henry II had added an extra clause
to the marriage contract.
It stipulated that should Mary Stuart die first,
and without any heirs, all of Mary's rights
to the thrones of Scotland and England
would transfer to France without additional consideration.
The king and queen of France now had the promise
that one day, they may be able to claim the English throne,
especially since in England,
the future of the crown was far from certain.
(tense music)
For the past year, Mary I of England had been very ill.
She was suffering from excruciating headaches,
cardiac arrhythmia, and severe stomach cramps.
In the final years of her life, she was practically blind.
(groaning)
New now know that she was suffering with ovarian cancer.
On November 17th, 1558, after a five year reign,
Mary Tudor, Queen of England died, she was 42.
(door creaks open)
(dramatic music)
Even though Mary had opposed it,
her 25-year-old half sister Elizabeth was crowned queen.
And England became Protestant once again.
(tense music)
At Fontainebleau, the French king received the bad news.
He refused to recognize Elizabeth
as the rightful queen of England.
He felt she was a heretic.
He believed his daughter-in-law, Mary Queen of Scots,
was the legitimate heir to the throne of England.
To strengthen her claim and the new family ties,
Mary Stuart's coat of arms was changed.
To the arms of the royal family of Scotland
were added those of England and France.
An imperial crown was placed on top
to symbolize the Franco-British empire that Mary claimed.
This provocation, combined with the secret clause
added to the marriage contract
would poison relations between Mary, Queen of Scots,
and Elizabeth I for the rest of their lives.
Interference from the Guise brothers also didn't help.
Charles, my brother, we need to talk.
They too were convinced that only Mary Stuart
could legitimately wear the English crown.
So to oust Queen Elizabeth, the brothers turned to Rome.
Our niece is Catholic.
She is the true successor to the throne of England.
The Pope must lend her his support.
Their niece would soon be the queen of France,
but to further their own ambitions,
they also wanted her to take the crown of England.
(tense music)
King Philip II of Spain opposed the idea.
Although Mary Stuart was a Catholic like him,
he feared a Franco-English coalition,
and he was determined to maintain his own influence
on the English crown.
Philip didn't care if the new English queen
was a Protestant as long as they were united.
A widower for only a matter of days,
he asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage.
(tender music)
Ma'am, I propose,
our coupling is in the interest of both our countries.
Secretly, Elizabeth had no intention
of accepting his offer, but she allowed him
to believe it was a possibility
to help ease her relationship with the Pope.
The Pope despised Elizabeth,
but he knew he couldn't afford to upset
his most loyal ally, the Catholic king of Spain,
as he was helping him maintain his grip on Italy.
So His Holiness refused to support Mary Stuart
over Elizabeth, he tells the French as much.
(tense music)
(slaps)
(tense music)
It was a harsh blow for the Guise brothers,
but they refused to give in.
Henry, the king of France, was deeply upset.
He spoke of his unhappiness
to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
You seem preoccupied, my friend.
My apologies, my love.
I'm so tired of these battles for power.
These wars are ruining the kingdom.
Despite what your counselors tell you,
you have the power to stop these conflicts.
You are a great king,
and you always make the right decisions.
Follow your heart, my king.
My heart is telling its love for you, madam.
(tense music)
The king relied on the advice of his mistress
and regularly visited her at the Chateau d'Anet,
which she had built to her own glory and that of the king.
(tense music)
In this chamber, she took advantage of tender moments
together to try to persuade the king
not to listen to the Guise brothers' advice,
as it risked plunging France
into a war with England and Spain.
Diane de Poitiers's political influence bore fruit.
In 1559, France called on England
and Spain to end hostilities.
On April second, a representative of Henry II
signed the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis
along with the emissaries of Philip II of Spain
and Elizabeth I of England.
The peace brought an end to the war
between the three kingdoms.
Elizabeth had insisted on one condition to the peace,
that the French return the town of Calais.
In London, she waited impatiently for King Henry's response.
How dare you tell me
I have no rights to French territories?
Leave here.
Leave here!
(dramatic music)
Elizabeth was furious, but she didn't have
the means to fight another war against France.
Conflict would continue to trouble Europe
because very soon, nations would enter a new war
in the name of God.
(dramatic music)