Secrets of History | Philip V - The Demons of the King of Spain

A 2023 France TV History Documentary hosted by Stéphane Bern. Audio in French with English subtitles.

He is the first sovereign of the Bourbon dynasty of Spain, of which the current King Felipe VI is a direct descendant. From Segovia, in the heart of the Sierra de Guadarrama, 80 kilometers north of Madrid, Stéphane Bern opens the doors of the Granja de San Ildefonso Palace, the "Spanish Versailles".

In this episode, you will discover a king with a dark personality, inhabited by violent bouts of melancholy, which force him to live as a recluse, on the verge of madness. A great patron of the arts and literature, especially music, Philip V the music lover maintains an intriguing and almost fraternal relationship with the castrato Farinelli. The singer is also the only one who can calm the sovereign's crises. Unfairly discredited by history, Philip V is a complex king, inhabited by a deep piety, but also a slave to his obsessions, such as sex or death.

A centaur king, valiant on the battlefield, but sometimes too excited, to the point that he frightens his generals. How does this enlightened spirit, who came from France, keep Spain among the great nations of the 18th century, while chronic neurasthenia plunges him daily into an abysmal melancholy and sadness?

Stéphane Bern invites you to discover the dual personality of Philip V, this young French prince who was not supposed to be king.