The Rose of Versailles
I am Boehmer, a jeweler from Paris.
Lady Marie Antoinette, I have requested this audience to seek your help.
This item I have here, was ordered by the late King Louis XV to give to Madame du Barry.
However, as you are aware, the King suddenly passed away,
so this item was left without a buyer.
Due to its outrageous price,
no other royal family in Europe can afford it, even though they would like to.
Your Most Fashionable Majesty, Lady Marie Antoinette, Queen of France!
This necklace cannot be bought by anyone, but you!
How much... is it?
1,600,000 livres.
It would be the equivalent of roughly 19.2 billion yen in today's money.
Due to its outrageous price,
Antoinette gently conveyed to the jeweler, that she had no intention of purchasing it.
However, this necklace would later plunge Antoinette into an unforeseen crisis.
The Rose of Versailles
kusamurani namo shirezu
The flowers blooming in the wilderness...
kusamurani namo shirezu
The flowers blooming in the wilderness...
saiteiru hana naraba
...they are without names.
saiteiru hana naraba
...they are without names.
tada kaze o ukenagara
If they do nothing but sway...
tada kaze o ukenagara
If they do nothing but sway...
soyoide ireba ii keredo
...in the gentle breeze, that's fine, but...
soyoide ireba ii keredo
...in the gentle breeze, that's fine, but...
watashi wa bara no sadame ni umareta
I was born with the destiny of a rose.
watashi wa bara no sadame ni umareta
I was born with the destiny of a rose.
hanayakani hageshiku ikiro to umareta
Born to live in glory and passion.
hanayakani hageshiku ikiro to umareta
Born to live in glory and passion.
bara wa bara wa... kedakaku saite
Roses, oh roses, blooming with dignity.
bara wa bara wa... kedakaku saite
Roses, oh roses, blooming with dignity.
bara wa bara wa... utsukushiku chiru
Roses, oh roses, withering with regret.
bara wa bara wa... utsukushiku chiru
Roses, oh roses, withering with regret.
bara wa bara wa... kedakaku saite
Roses, oh roses, blooming with dignity.
bara wa bara wa... kedakaku saite
Roses, oh roses, blooming with dignity.
bara wa bara wa... utsukushiku chiru
Roses, oh roses, withering with regret.
bara wa bara wa... utsukushiku chiru
Roses, oh roses, withering with regret.
Your Majesty, the Queen is here to see you.
Oh? I wonder what brings her here?
Why the sudden formalities? It's very unusual of you.
Your Majesty.
Yes?
I have come here today,
to complain to Your Majesty, about a vassal who has audaciously kicked my stomach.
Kicked your stomach?!
How odd that you are so cheerful about it...
My Queen!
Could... Could...Could you be...?!
The Queen is pregnant!
Her Majesty is with child!
episode
"The Necklace
Shines Ominously"
It's a boy, André!
An heir is finally born!
With her affair and separation with Fersen now behind her,
Queen Marie Antoinette gave birth to the First Princess,
followed by the birth of the Dauphin, Prince Joseph in 1781 .
Now, Her Majesty has truly become the Mother of France, in name and reality.
André, let's celebrate and drink!
Anywhere is fine! Take me some place where we can drink merrily.
As you wish, Colonel!
The city of Paris was joyous.
Everyone was celebrating Queen Antoinette.
That is how Oscar thought and felt.
She savored the joy that welled from the bottom of her heart.
However, Oscar had yet to realize,
that the people were only merry for the moment.
She had yet to realize their actual feelings,
and their true nature...
Drink, everyone, while we still can.
Soon, we'll have to carry guns instead of beer.
Drink, everyone, while we still can.
Bland soup, crushing taxes, all of it... Drink it all away.
Come find me as soon as Joseph wakes up.
Yes, certainly.
Well then, Marie Thérèse, it's your turn now.
Let's go out to the gardens.
Come, we'll visit the southern flowerbed today.
Here.
How much longer until the Queen's appearance?
Please forgive me.
It's time for your audience.
Please proceed to the audience chamber.
Lord Beaufort, the Queen will see you now!
I am a landowner who possesses property in the Monpazier area, in Périgord province.
Due to heavy rain, the quality of the grape harvest has been rather mediocre this year,
so collecting taxes from the farmers has been quite difficult...
Next please.
Yes. Here.
Lord Merobel, the Queen will see you now!
Baroness Beauvilliers!
You wish to leave the palace and move to the villa?
Yes.
If I stay here, I'll be pressed by my duties and won't have time to play with the children.
That's rather troubling...
You're the only one who can hold the audiences with the nobles.
Please, Your Majesty.
Marie Antoinette moved from the palace to a small villa on the grounds of Versailles.
Her duties and palace formalities were nothing but a bothersome burden to her.
Petit Trianon is a small cozy château built amid the vast gardens of Versailles.
It was the best environment for the Queen to blissfully spend time with her children.
Furthermore, access to Trianon was limited to a few people from her close inner circle.
As a result, official audiences with Queen Marie Antoinette were no longer held.
Lately, more and more nobles are speaking ill about Her Majesty.
Although they spend 10 or 20 days traveling from distant provinces for an audience, their access to Trianon is strictly denied.
There are even some who boisterously complain, that the nobility's long-standing service to the royal household...
...has been forgotten by the Queen.
Stop, André.
I don't want to hear about such things.
Have you seen the way she plays with her children so innocently?
It's been so long since I've seen her smile so brightly.
Isn't her smile alone enough cause for rejoice?
Austria
Schönbrunn Palace
Such a fool you are... My daughter, Antoinette...
You have forgotten your responsibilities and abandoned your duties as Queen...
Not only that, you have withdrawn to a villa...!
Mother!
Mother, are you all right?!
Please hang on, Mother!
Joseph...
It's all right...
Help isn't necessary...
My daughter...
Love thy people and be loved as Queen!
The Great Mother, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria...
...while worrying about the future of her daughter, Antoinette...
... died at the age of 63.
Please write a letter of condolence to your brother, Emperor Joseph in Austria.
Count Mercy...
It's strange...
I can't see my writing clearly...
Mercy...
The river you could see from Schönbrunn Palace...
What was its name...?
I can't seem to remember...
Mother... Mother...!
Four years have already passed since I showed this necklace to Her Majesty.
Since then, I have traveled all over Europe...
...and even as far as Russia, but still have no buyer.
I, Boehmer, have pride as a jeweler.
No matter what it takes, I wish to see Queen Marie Antoinette of France purchase this piece.
Her elegance... Her beauty...
There is no one else better suited than her to wear this necklace.
However, now that she's withdrawn to the villa, people like myself can't even speak to her.
Therefore, since I hear you are very close with the Queen, I've come to ask for your help.
May I ask you to urge Her Majesty to make this purchase?
I understand, Monsieur Boehmer.
I'll see it to it.
If you would do that, my visit here was all the more worth it!
Please come again in a week.
I'll visit Trianon and convey your wish to Her Majesty tomorrow.
Yes, please do so.
Hey, Jeanne.
What are you cooking up this time?
You've never even spoken to the Queen, let alone have access to Trianon.
You should be drinking, too.
Cheers to 1,600,000 livres!
What is it, Jeanne?
You wanted to secretly meet in a place like this?
What is it?
Some good news?
Of course, it is.
Have I ever brought you any bad news before?
Here.
Come this way.
What?
A necklace Her Majesty greatly desires?
Shh!
You're speaking too loudly, Cardinal Rohan.
Her Majesty has asked me to keep it a strict secret,
especially from His Majesty.
The reason is, His Majesty is strongly opposed to it, due to its exorbitant price.
But Her Majesty has made up her mind.
She will pay the 1,600,000 livres in installments.
As expected of a person of royal birth. How decisive.
However, a problem has risen.
In order to pay in installments, a guarantor is required.
It needs to be someone of respectable character, who possesses rank and wealth.
Someone trustworthy that knows how to keep a secret.
Her Majesty has said her guarantor would be no one other than Cardinal Rohan.
R-Really?!
There are plenty of people who would be her guarantor and yet...
Th-This is such an unimaginable honor!
I'll do it! I'll do it, Jeanne!
I'll gladly be her guarantor!
Marie...
Antoinette...
de... France...
''I agree to pay the price of 1,600,000 livres, in 400,000 livres installments every 6 months for 2 years.''
Signed, ''Marie Antoinette de France.''
Perfect. Well then, Cardinal Rohan, if you would please sign it.
Yes, yes.
Guarantor Louis de Rohan... Will that do?
Yes, indeed. This is perfect.
The contract is sealed.
Well then, Lady Jeanne, please make sure the necklace is delivered to Her Majesty.
I most certainly will.
Please remind Her Majesty about the first payment.
Yes, of course.
Please excuse me then.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you.
Cardinal Rohan.
I should head over to Trianon now.
Right, right.
In that case, visit my manor tonight and tell me what happened.
Tell me how delighted Her Majesty was!
Yes, yes.
Come, Nicolas, head to England immediately and sell off the diamonds!
Sell them in pieces, so they can't track it back to us!
Rétaux, you flee to Switzerland.
If they discover the signature is forged, we'll be executed.
Jeanne, what about you?
I'll stay in Paris for a while.
If all three of us disappear, it will immediately raise people's suspicions.
What do you mean the Queen isn't in the palace?!
Please stop raising your voice.
You are in the Palace of Versailles.
What's wrong with raising my voice?!
A palace without a Queen is no longer a palace to us, nobles!
Please stop.
If you continue like this, we'll be forced to remove you from the palace.
I'd like to see you try! Throw me out, if you dare!
It took me 2 weeks to get here from Loire!
I need the royal household...
...to mediate a dispute with the neighboring Lord as soon as possible!
They say the Queen is busy with boat rides and recitals at her villa!
Yet, she won't have audiences with us?!
How much of a mockery does she intend to make of us?!
As I mentioned before, the Minister of the Interior will meet with you on this matter.
Forget the Minister!
I want to speak to the Queen directly!
I am the Regiment Commander of the Royal Guards,
Colonel Oscar François de Jarjayes.
So what?!
I am asking you to leave for today.
Let me go! I can walk myself out!
Off of me!
Release him.
Move! Out of my way!
Colonel, if you're a noble, you should know this, as well.
The nobility can't exist without the royal family, nor can the royal family exist without the nobility!
If the royal household continues to do as it pleases, I no longer care anymore!
I'll never come to Versailles again!
Never!
Good work, everyone.
Return to your post.
Yes!
Slowly but surely, the course of history was beginning to change.
Not only among the commoners, but even among the nobility,
the people were beginning to harbor discontent towards the royal household.
England has finally acknowledged America's independence.
The Expeditionary Forces are beginning to return to Paris one after another.
I thought I'd let you know...
Well...
Good night, Oscar.
André.
I'll go to Trianon and offer my opinion to Her Majesty tomorrow.
I'll urge her to resume maybe half of the number of audiences she used to do before.
At this rate, the rift between the nobility and the royal household will grow even larger.
Good night.
My, Oscar!
What a welcome visit.
Why don't you visit me more often?
I would see you every day, if you'd only visit.
Yes, thank you.
I really mean it, Oscar.
Oh, Marie Thérèse!
Now, now...
Oh, right. Oscar, is there something you wished to speak of?
Ah, no, it's been a while since I've visited,
so I've come to see if Your Majesty was well.
In that case, please stay as long as you'd like.
Formalities aren't necessary here at Trianon.
Please make yourself at home.
Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.
Oscar...
Yes?
I hear the Expeditionary Forces are returning.
Yes.
I wonder if he'll come see me again when he returns...
4 years have passed since he left.
Perhaps the passing of time has helped...
I can think of him calmly now.
Since becoming a mother, Her Majesty has grown even more beautiful.
Most likely, this is the happiest she's ever been.
I'll give her a little more time...
Pardon me, Monsieur Rider.
Sorry to trouble you.
Could you tell me where Chevreuse is?
I hear it's near Versailles...?
I have to deliver my comrades' keepsake to his family.
Were you a member of the Expeditionary Force to America?
Yes.
Don't worry.
Chevreuse is nearby.
We'll take you there.
André, let's drink tonight!
Take me to Paris!
It's good to get drunk once in a while.
There's no need to worry, Oscar.
He'll definitely come back alive. Fersen, I mean...
I looked it up.
In the very least, he's not listed as a casualty.
What are you saying?
Where is this coming from... so suddenly...?
Hey, you there, Young Lad.
You sure know how to take it down, don't you?
What do you say? Another drink?
No thanks.
What? My beer isn't good enough for you?
Now, now, Monsieur.
I'll have it instead.
I wasn't talking to you!
But what do you know...
Just looking at you, I'm stunned.
Even Zeus would drool over such a beautiful soldier.
Come on, drink up, Pretty Fellow.
Don't, Oscar!
Ow...
To Hell with your ''Beautiful Soldier!''
Lay one finger on me again and you'll leave this bar unrecognizable!
Oh, you're feeling quite on edge tonight.
Wouldn't you say so, Beautiful Officer of the Royal Guards?
You're...!
Robespierre!
Indeed, I am.
It seems fate has crossed our paths once again.
The last time was in Arras.
That aside, I'm a lawyer in Paris now.
Serving the people.
Serving the people?
An officer of the Royal Guards?!
That means he's a noble.
What's a refined noble doing in our bar?
He's an eyesore.
Kick him out!
He's the Queen's dog!
Bernard.
If you want to become a true journalist, watch closely.
Watch how the mere uttering of the word ''noble,'' causes the people to explode in rage.
Oscar, consider yourself lucky they didn't find out you're a woman.
But you know what, Oscar... I can tell.
No matter what outfit you wear, you're unmistakably a woman to me.
Your Majesty, you have a letter from Boehmer, the jeweler.
Boehmer, the jeweler?
''Please make your first payment in accordance with the received contract.''
First payment?
Contract?
I wonder what he's talking about?
This is ridiculous.
That jeweler must have lost his mind from not being able to sell that necklace.
I'm sure. The poor man.
Um, the letter...?
There's no reason to keep it.
Yes.
The so-called "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" was soon about to unfold...
To be continued
ai ga kurushimi nara
If to love is to suffer,
ikura demo kurushimou
I shall suffer any amount,
sore ga kimi no kokoro ni
until someday
itsuka todoku made
it reaches your heart.
kimi wa hikari boku wa kage
You are the light, I am the shadow.
hanarenarenai futari no kizuna
We share a bond that can never be broken.
kurushimeba kurushimu hodo
As I suffer and suffer more,
ai wa ai wa fukamaru
my love, my love grows deeper.
Jeanne is arrested.
It was thought that her arrest would bring the Affair of the Diamond Necklace to an end.
However, due to Jeanne's cunning testimony, the trial takes an unexpected turn.
An already stunned Antoinette is further subjected to the people's condemnations.
Next episode on The Rose of Versailles,
Next episode
Cunningly
and
Resiliently!
See you next time