Royal Kill List - Episode 3 - Absolute Power (History Documentary)
Royal Kill List is a three-part history docudrama which tells the epic story of bloody revenge during a pivotal period of English history. This is a story about espionage, revenge, power, loyalty, and the moment that changed the landscape of British politics and society forever. This series follows King Charles II’s hunt for his father’s (King Charles I) killers – the Regicides - as a window into a remarkable and often overlooked historical period to explore how we became the nation we are today.
Episode 3 - Absolute Power
Having lost the support of both the public and parliament, Charles needs to gain financial independence. His greed spawns a trade network that lays the foundations for the British Empire and marks the beginning of the English slave trade.
Episode 3 - Absolute Power
Having lost the support of both the public and parliament, Charles needs to gain financial independence. His greed spawns a trade network that lays the foundations for the British Empire and marks the beginning of the English slave trade.
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TVTranscript
00:00On the 21st of May, 1662, King Charles II marries a very rich and a very Catholic princess,
00:16Catherine of Raganza.
00:17Welcome to our English court.
00:25Catherine comes with an impressive dowry, equivalent to 74 million pounds today.
00:33Now Charles plans to become Europe's most powerful king.
00:39He'll hunt down the men who killed his father, start a devastating war, and become an even
00:45bigger tyrant.
00:46But you know what they say, power corrupts, and absolute power is even nicer.
01:16So, Charles is a married man, who saw that coming?
01:45Finally, he'll have the money to be free from Parliament, to rule without restraint,
01:51like his cousin, Louis XIV of France.
01:56Free to hunt down anyone left on his kill list, with impunity.
02:03And top of his kill list, foremost of the men who signed Charles I's death warrant,
02:11Edmund Ludlow.
02:15Ludlow is gathering allies on the continent, plotting to overthrow the king, and evading
02:20Charles' network of royalist spies, until now.
02:26Because finally, finally, there's news.
02:29Edmund Ludlow's been spotted in Vevey, in Switzerland.
02:33A spot of hunting is in order.
02:36Regicides are in season.
02:39Ludlow and his allies have been granted protection by the Protestant Swiss.
02:46Ludlow is joined by English Republican Algernon Sidney.
02:50Together, they represent the greatest threat to Charles' rule.
03:02Remember George Downing, the former Republican now paid by the king to hunt down regicides
03:07in Europe?
03:09Well, with his newfound independence from Parliament, Charles has now let him off the
03:14leash to employ more direct methods.
03:17He's hired Captain John Riordan, an Irish assassin with a reputation for extreme violence.
03:23Downing's a big fan of yours, Riordan.
03:29She must be a terrible bastard.
03:32This is a new departure, even for Charles.
03:36Kings don't hire hitmen.
03:38Well, kings shouldn't be seen to hire hitmen.
03:44A hitman?
03:45Look, Charles isn't a gangster.
03:48Riordan's a freelancer.
03:54He's not particularly fond of Protestants.
03:59Cromwell was not kind to Catholics.
04:01Normally.
04:02I won't allow mention of that murdering bastard.
04:06Under Cromwell, it's estimated that up to 40% of Irish people were massacred.
04:12Good man.
04:14I wonder, how would you feel about murdering the head of his army?
04:23Not only is Riordan a stone-cold killer, he has personal beef with Ludlow, who butchered
04:28his friends in Ireland.
04:31Couldn't be more perfect.
04:33Why?
04:35That'd be my absolute fucking pleasure.
04:40Good man.
04:52Now Charles turns his attention to politics, and consolidating his power on the world stage.
05:01The Dutch duly handed over Charles' enemies for execution, in return for a lucrative trade
05:08deal.
05:09But Charles failed to keep his side of the bargain.
05:14Now the conflict threatens to escalate.
05:21It's the witless one, isn't it?
05:22To discuss the trade concessions you promised last year.
05:25Can they talk of nothing but trade?
05:28It's incredibly dull.
05:31Charles is thinking about the future.
05:33He wants to be remembered as a pioneering monarch.
05:36And that means building an empire, expanding trade, and making England a commercial powerhouse.
05:44To do this, Charles plans to muscle in on the Dutch, Europe's richest and most successful
05:50trading nation.
05:52They dominate in everything from sugar, iron, and copper, to the transportation of enslaved
05:58Africans.
06:24When Charles looks at the wit, he sees a small man with an even smaller country, but much
06:28greater wealth.
06:29The majority from trade, including the slave trade.
06:33It's very simple.
06:34Charles wants what the wit has.
06:36We put you here because we thought we could work with you.
06:40If not, we'll find someone who will.
06:44The more a shit's stirred, the more it stinks.
06:52I don't give a shit what you think.
06:55Your enemies are running round Europe.
06:58Everyone's laughing at you.
06:59No, really.
07:00Yeah, they do.
07:05No one fears you like Cromwell.
07:14You need to understand, the promise of Catherine's dowry has completely changed Charles's outlook.
07:20Does Charles want to make enemies?
07:22Yeah, actually he does.
07:25He's done apologising.
07:27Great men don't ask for permission.
07:29They take what they want, and they get it.
07:35News of Charles's rift with the wit reaches the exiled Republicans.
07:40For Edmund Ludlow, this is the opportunity he's been waiting for.
07:44He dispatches Algernon Sidney to do a deal with the Dutch.
07:50Think of Sidney like an ambassador for a country that doesn't exist yet.
07:54He wants the Dutch to join forces with the exiles to invade England and establish a new
07:59republic.
08:00Here's what Sidney proposes.
08:02If the Dutch help the regicides topple Charles, the new English regime will honour the trade
08:09deal that Charles has reneged on.
08:15Invade, and it will be another decade of civil war.
08:22And England must be sick of it.
08:25Civil war may be a disease of the state, but tyranny is its death.
08:32You're so quotable, Algernon.
08:35And you always bring the most delicious wine.
08:40I've brought you General Ludlow.
08:45He could not be more serious about overthrowing Charles.
08:48The promise that the Republican forces will be led by the legendary Edmund Ludlow is the
08:53reassurance that the Dutch need.
08:55But before a deal can be struck, Ludlow has just one tiny request.
09:02Not unreasonable.
09:04Apologise for betraying his regicide allies.
09:10You must first condemn handing over his fellow men.
09:14That is out of the question.
09:17Why?
09:19Because we didn't hand them over in the first place.
09:21Okay, maybe he didn't personally put them on the ship, but he knew what Downing was
09:26up to.
09:27He could have stopped it.
09:32It's an uneasy alliance, but the Dutch promised 10,000 soldiers, 20,000 sailors, and their
09:39entire fleet to overthrow Charles.
09:44Charles is the last thing Charles needs.
09:47The regicides and the Dutch.
09:50Republican bastards, they're as treacherous and as hypocritical as each other.
09:56Charles now adds Algernon Sidney to his ever-growing kill list.
10:00As for the Dutch...
10:02I won't have to fuck with cozying up to my enemies.
10:05I want to hit them where it hurts.
10:06We simply don't have enough ships for a battle.
10:09Their country is puny.
10:11Their navy is large.
10:12If we take them on, we risk losing our fleet.
10:14Well, we beat them last time.
10:16That was...
10:17That was what?
10:19A different time.
10:22Here's what you need to understand.
10:24England has been punching above its weight on the world stage.
10:28Under Cromwell, England had become a military superpower, winning spectacular victories
10:34against the Spanish and Dutch.
10:36But since Charles' return, its military power is on the wane.
10:41Wyatt worries that war will reveal that England is nowhere near as powerful as it once was.
10:50This really stings.
10:51You see, unlike Cromwell, Charles has never won a war.
10:55In fact, the only time he led an army, he ended up hiding in a tree.
10:59Is it any wonder he's so desperate to prove himself?
11:02If we can't fight them, stop them from trading.
11:07How?
11:09We bar their ships from our ports.
11:13It's a brilliant plan.
11:16Starving the Dutch of valuable trade and buying Charles time to build up his forces.
11:22English ports for English boats.
11:30Well, it has a ring to it.
11:33I like it, James.
11:34I fucking love it.
11:35But Charles doesn't only ban Dutch sailors from entering English ports.
11:50He gives English sailors the right to act like pirates, attacking and looting Dutch ships.
11:58English money and naval power pours into transatlantic slavery.
12:09Slave trade is already in existence at this point.
12:13But when Charles signs this document, he industrialises it to an unimaginable scale.
12:21Charles' moral dissent reaches an appalling new level.
12:31Some of the very worst crimes against humanity all signed off by the king.
12:48As the king's nemesis, Edmund Ludlow, gathers Republican forces in Switzerland, his wife,
12:54Elizabeth, races across Europe.
12:58A single woman travelling across Europe is unheard of.
13:07But Elizabeth Ludlow is no ordinary woman.
13:10She's as dedicated to the Republican cause as her husband.
13:13With Irish assassin John Reardon closing in, some of the exiled regicides decide to run.
13:24Lyle!
13:27In the name of the king!
13:33The king of England has had a man illegally assassinated on foreign soil.
13:39John Lyle, a member of Cromwell's parliament who had sat in judgment on the late king.
13:45This is a gangland murder.
13:48Oh, please.
13:50It was self-defence.
13:51He was shot in the back!
13:54Whatever it is, it's another name Charles can strike from his kill list.
13:59But the king's assassins are only getting started.
14:04The main prize is Edmund Ludlow.
14:07It's been too long since I shot an Irishman!
14:36Bastard!
15:00Reardon might have killed one more regicide, but the main target, Ludlow, escaped.
15:05And he knows Charles is onto him.
15:08It's bad news for the king.
15:11And now he's facing a new battle much closer to home.
15:15His new queen must appoint the head of her household, the first lady of the bedchamber.
15:21It is an appointment which must be approved by the king.
15:26But unbeknownst to Charles, his mistress, Lady Barbara Villiers, has made a power grab.
15:34The queen is profoundly upset.
15:39If I had a conversation with you, I know it wouldn't be.
15:42You appointed Lady Villiers first lady of the bedchamber without telling me.
15:47What were you thinking?
15:50Lady of the queen's bedchamber is the highest position for a woman at court.
15:56So Barbara has been telling everyone that Charles has promised her the role.
16:01But it's a lie.
16:04As it happens, I did not.
16:07But you confronting me in this appalling way makes me think that I should have.
16:13The king's mistress is the last person that Queen Catherine wants as the head of her bedchamber.
16:24You have been better off putting a whore in the queen's bedchamber than Barbara Villiers.
16:37Now that we've done hide, you've upset her.
16:41Barbara knows Charles will not allow anyone to publicly challenge him, even if it's on a decision he didn't make.
16:49But bad news arrives that suddenly makes Charles' domestic crisis the least of his worries.
16:57Catherine's dowry never arrived on the ship.
17:00All those millions vanish before Charles' eyes.
17:04Like that.
17:06It turns out they never had the money in the first place.
17:10Where's the fucking money your father promised me?
17:14I don't understand.
17:17Charles has received the territories of Bombay and Tangier.
17:22But without the dowry, his plans for global expansion, his whole legacy are in jeopardy.
17:31If you don't understand English, then I'll give you a bloody lesson.
17:37And it's terrible news for Queen Catherine.
17:40Without the dowry, she is forced to accept Barbara as the head of her household.
17:46Although Barbara might have won, even she is unprepared for what he does next.
17:53Who is your master?
17:56My master is God.
17:58Your husband is your God?
18:00My husband is the devil!
18:03Charles places Catherine in solitary confinement, while priests psychologically torture her day and night for three months.
18:13Charles wants to send a warning to the Dutch, the Regicides, and anyone who's thinking of taking advantage.
18:19Mess with him, and he'll make you submit.
18:30The Republican Algernon Sydney reaches Edmund Ludlow with news of the Dutch offer.
18:3510,000 soldiers and 20,000 sailors for an invasion.
18:40There's twice as many sailors as soldiers.
18:43They don't care about an invasion, only trade.
18:4510,000 troops?
18:46It's not nearly enough for an invasion.
18:49Here's what Sydney doesn't get.
18:51The Dutch don't need to get rid of Charles.
18:54They just need to force him to the negotiating table.
19:01No wonder Ludlow is thinking twice about their offer.
19:05Once back in England, we'll rally more people.
19:11We need professional soldiers.
19:13I know how good his army is.
19:14I fucking trained it.
19:16We need twice as many men.
19:19There's only one man in Europe that can give you that.
19:22What?
19:23Fucking Louis?
19:25He's the one man in Europe you hate more than Charles Stewart?
19:29France is the most powerful country in Europe, with the biggest army.
19:34The problem is, it represents everything that Ludlow and the Republicans hate.
19:40It is an oppressive Catholic monarchy, infamous for massacring Protestants.
19:46It's the only country in the world where you can have as many people as you want.
19:51It's the only country in the world where you can have as many people as you want.
19:57Infamous for massacring Protestants.
20:00But Sidney believes the ends justify the means.
20:04He sets up a secret meeting with the most feared man in Europe.
20:21Meet Louis XIV, the Sun King himself.
20:26He's the ultimate puppet master,
20:28who loves nothing more than manipulating his enemies into war against each other.
20:34He actively destabilises his neighbours,
20:37knowing it will only make France stronger.
20:51My advisors tell me that you are the most confident young man in Europe.
20:55I'm older than you.
20:58But I'm not a man. I'm a god.
21:02Cousin to the king we seek to overthrow.
21:06But what's wrong with the way things have always been?
21:10Sidney wants Louis to help him overthrow his cousin, Charles.
21:14It's a big ask.
21:17But here's the thing about Sidney. He'll do whatever it takes to get it over the line.
21:21It's somewhat naive to think that your wholly untested idea would work better, don't you think?
21:29Sidney is banking on the fact Louis doesn't really care if England has a king or not.
21:34As long as the country is weakened.
21:37What's that expression? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
21:42Louis offers the regicides money and men for their invasion.
21:46They now have the backing of two powerful nations.
21:50Enough to launch an attack.
21:53But here's the gamble.
21:55Can Sidney really trust Louis to betray his own cousin, Charles?
22:00That's the million dollar question.
22:04And of course, Louis makes sure news of the offer gets back to Charles.
22:10He wants to create maximum chaos.
22:14Hats off to Louis. He knows how to play the game.
22:20This obsession with hunting these men is playing right into Louis' hands.
22:24He intends to become king of all Europe.
22:26Louis doesn't want to rule this shitty backwater. He has too much taste.
22:29I expect he'll keep you on the throne, but you'll be new to that.
22:32I won't have De Witt. Fuck me.
22:36Swallow your pride and sign De Witt's deal.
22:40Here's what Hyde knows.
22:42If Charles doesn't sign this deal, he's going to war with the Dutch, which will bankrupt the country.
22:49That's insulting.
22:50It's a good... compromise.
22:55Make no mistake. Charles' back is against a wall.
22:58But Charles has come too far to turn back now.
23:01He won't stop until he is taken seriously by De Witt, by Louis, by all of Europe.
23:09If you swallow someone's shit, then they'll keep serving it to you.
23:14And that, my dear Hyde, means war.
23:31On the 4th of March, 1665, England declares war on the Dutch.
23:37It's the opportunity the Republicans have been waiting for.
23:41It's now or never for Ludlow.
23:49Against the odds, Charles has early success in the war against the Dutch.
23:57At Lowestoft, the English destroy a Dutch fleet.
24:02Seventeen Dutch ships are sunk or captured.
24:06Their Admiral-Lieutenant is blown up.
24:09Aboard his flagship, only five survive out of a crew of 400.
24:19So, what do you know? Charles has won a battle.
24:23He was right not to listen to the naysayers.
24:27And more victories follow.
24:29And more victories follow.
24:31140 Dutch merchant ships destroyed in one raid.
24:36A Dutch town burned to the ground, killing over 2,000 people.
24:43Charles even turns a disaster at home to his own advantage.
24:47Shortly after midnight, on Sunday 2nd of September, 1666,
24:53London goes up in flames.
24:56The fire rages for days, taking with it 13,000 houses,
25:0093 churches and the mighty St. Paul's Cathedral.
25:06London is a smouldering wreck.
25:08100,000 people are laid to rest.
25:11But as Londoners watch their beloved city burn to the ground,
25:15Charles sees something else, an opportunity.
25:21He rolls up his sleeves, grabs a bucket
25:23and gets amongst the public to help put out the fire.
25:26We will rebuild London even better than it was!
25:29We will rebuild London even better than it was!
25:32We will rebuild London even better than it was!
25:35We will rebuild London even better than it was!
25:38We will rebuild London even better than it was!
25:42God save the King!
25:44God save the King!
25:47The King wins over the crowd,
25:49playing on his image as a man of the people.
25:52He has never been more popular.
25:56Charles Stewart has the luck of the bloody devil.
25:59Just when you think he's down and out, he finds a way through.
26:04The Republicans are running out of options.
26:07It's now that Algernon Sidney arrives back in Vevey
26:11with the news of his deal with the French.
26:15The bloody French?
26:17They're blaming them for starting the fire
26:19and you're about to lead a French army into London.
26:22For the Ludlows, Sidney might as well be suggesting
26:25a deal with Lucifer himself.
26:27But look at it from Sidney's point of view.
26:31The French King is the only option left.
26:34This isn't a popular uprising.
26:36It's a fucking war bankrolled by Louise Cash.
26:39It'll make the last one look like a parlor game.
26:42I mean, how many more thousands are going to die?
26:45As many as it takes!
26:47That's what revolution looks like!
26:50Ludlow understands the reality of war.
26:53He lived through it.
26:55The English Civil War was by far the bloodiest conflict
26:58the country had ever seen.
27:00An estimated 5% of the population died during the conflict.
27:04That's almost twice as many as the First World War.
27:08OK, say you invade.
27:11Say by some bloody miracle
27:13you defeat the army you created in your own stubborn image.
27:18What's your plan?
27:20Anything is better than what's come before.
27:26What's Cromwell?
27:28Was Cromwell better than the king that came before him?
27:33For idealists like Ludlow,
27:35Cromwell was a military dictator
27:37a little better than the king he replaced.
27:40Without popular support,
27:42any invasion would just be replacing one dictator for another.
27:47I won't be your Cromwell, Sidney.
27:49You're a hothead.
27:52I know soldiers like you.
27:54I'd never put them in charge.
27:57It's easy to know what you're against.
28:01Much harder to know what you're for.
28:04Maybe if they'd understood that sooner,
28:06the Republic wouldn't have fallen in the first place.
28:17Without Ludlow, the Dutch and French support evaporates.
28:21The Dutch and French support evaporates.
28:31This is great news for Charles.
28:35His enemies are in disarray
28:37and now he can turn his attention to unfinished business at home.
28:51You've finally destroyed her.
28:54Catherine is strong, but she can only hold out so long.
29:01Oh, dear.
29:04You're stubborn.
29:07I am too.
29:11See?
29:13We have more in common than you think.
29:17We find her hard to trust.
29:19Can I tell you a little secret?
29:24I've never trusted anyone in my life.
29:27Have you?
29:29My father.
29:36Why don't you come in?
29:38Come on.
29:49I will protect you as he did.
29:54If you just give me the sign.
30:01I accept my king as my master.
30:06Come, my child.
30:10Eat.
30:14This is what Charles does to those closest to him.
30:17Is it any wonder many believe Charles is the devil incarnate?
30:24With his house in order and his enemies on the run,
30:28Charles now decides to divert money from the war effort
30:32to indulging his ever more decadent lifestyle.
30:36Charles should be feeling good.
30:39So why does he feel so empty?
30:41I've been asking myself
30:44since when did Barbara become so bad at cards?
30:51It's very perplexing.
30:54And then I realised
30:57she's doing it deliberately
31:01to make me pay her debts
31:04so that I don't forget about her.
31:06Well, this time
31:10I've had to sell a palace.
31:15I won't do it again.
31:18You will.
31:20No, I fucking won't!
31:26You destroy everyone.
31:31I will.
31:33I will fucking destroy
31:36everyone who comes close to you.
31:49Charles believes the Dutch threat is over.
31:53So, to save money, he orders the English fleet
31:57to return to port.
31:59It's a huge mistake.
32:02The Dutch launch a brutal attack.
32:05In London, people hear the thunder of cannons
32:09echoing through the streets.
32:12On the 10th of June, Dutch soldiers land on English soil
32:16less than 50 miles from London,
32:19which lies undefended.
32:22The English fleet is destroyed
32:25and the flagship, the Royal Charles, is captured.
32:28It's one of the greatest humiliations
32:31in English military history.
32:35It's total surrender.
32:38But just as Ludlow had suspected,
32:41the Dutch and De Witt have no intention
32:44of deposing King Charles.
32:47Much better to have a weak king
32:50than a strong republic.
32:53Humiliating.
32:55There's no other word for it.
32:56All Charles's ambitions to be a global leader,
32:59all of it is...
33:01extinguished.
33:03Charles set out to match Louis.
33:06Now he finds himself bowing down to De Witt.
33:09Charles's finances are in a dire state.
33:12His only option is to ask Parliament
33:15for more cash
33:17in return for humiliating concessions.
33:20If he accepts,
33:22he would be a king in name only.
33:25But he's not a king.
33:27He's not a king.
33:29He's not a king.
33:31He's not a king.
33:33He's not a king.
33:35He's not a king.
33:37He's not a king.
33:39He's not a king.
33:41You've had another day of rioting in the streets.
33:46You've never been less popular with the people.
33:52Well, they've never been less popular with me.
33:56I fear
33:58they've had enough.
34:02Well, I certainly have.
34:05What have you done?
34:09Cousin Louis offering me money.
34:12How kind of him.
34:17If you take it, there's no turning back.
34:21If I do, I won't have to listen to Parliament ever again.
34:27Which means I'll never have to listen to you, Hyde.
34:33It's unthinkable that the King of England will be a paid agent,
34:38ruling at the behest of the King of France.
34:43But Charles doesn't care.
34:45He just wants to save his own skin.
34:50He publicly blames Hyde for the Dutch defeat and fires him.
34:55Flush with Louis' secret money, he decides to prorogue Parliament to prevent it from sitting.
35:10He remarks that the country is much better off now that it has one king, rather than five hundred.
35:17Parliament will never sit again in Charles' lifetime.
35:21He is absolute monarch of England, who rules at the indulgence of the French king.
35:27But there's one last piece of business for Charles.
35:30The few remaining names on his kill list.
35:52You've been trying to kill me.
35:54Oh, yeah.
36:00Show me your proof.
36:02Sydney has been writing a book on government, calling for revolution.
36:13This is your proof?
36:16This is your proof.
36:19My words.
36:22You urge the people to revolt against a tyrant.
36:27Is that how you see yourself?
36:32Charles wants Sydney dead, so he finds a loophole.
36:37In an unprecedented move, his book is used as evidence of treason.
36:44The judge justifies this by saying that in this country, to write is to act.
36:52We invent an idol and dance around it, though it is stained with the blood of innocent men.
37:05Do I take it that I'm the idol?
37:08And my comrade's blood shall stay in your soul for eternity.
37:15What would you have me do?
37:23Oh, it's far, far too late for you, Charles.
37:28It's always worth meeting a condemned man.
37:31I enjoy the execution so much more.
37:35I enjoy the execution so much more.
37:38My only regret is that I didn't have a chance to sign your father's death warrant.
38:05Does Sydney want to die? Not especially.
38:10But what he has always wanted is to be remembered by history.
38:17This age makes speaking the truth an act of treason.
38:25Makes speaking the truth an act of treason.
38:36Though everyone would rather shut their ears than hear it,
38:40my trial and condemnation is living proof of it.
38:56Algyon and Sydney is executed on the 7th of December, 1683.
39:08Charles suffers a series of convulsions.
39:12Doctors bleed him to death.
39:15He is taken to the hospital.
39:18Charles suffers a series of convulsions.
39:21Doctors bleed him and blister him.
39:24But he dies four days later, aged 54.
39:30When Charles dies, the hunt for the regicides dies with him.
39:35Of the 51 men on his kill list, 19 were condemned to life imprisonment.
39:4116 faced execution or the assassins' bullets.
39:44While the 16 who escaped lived out the remainder of their lives in constant fear.
39:50But his revenge did not come cheap.
39:53Charles' single-minded pursuit of his enemies unravels not only his reign,
39:59but the entire House of Stuart.
40:02Just three years after Charles' death, the Stuart kings are overthrown by Parliament
40:08and replaced by a constitutional monarch.
40:10Invited from Holland, of all places.
40:13So what is Charles' legacy?
40:17Some say his failure brings about the end of absolutist monarchy in England.
40:23He's replaced by the very thing he's always feared.
40:27A monarchy subordinate to Parliament.
40:30But look at it this way.
40:33There's still a King of England.
40:35And guess what he's called?
41:05To be continued...
41:35To be continued...
42:05To be continued...