Documentary · Mystery

Iron Mask: The Sun King's Secret Prisoner

The Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned for 34 years! Who was 'The Man in the Iron Mask'? It is undoubtedly the oldest French state secret. A secret so well kept that it remains an unsolved enigma of history to this day. 350 years after the events, the Man in the Iron Mask continues to be the subject of the wildest speculations. Who was he? Why would anyone want to hide his identity at all costs? What was his secret? Louvois, minister of Louis XIV, sends him in July 1669 to the Prison of Pignerol, a small French locality in Northern Italy. The masked man joins two infamous courtiers: Nicolas Fouquet and the Comte de Lauzun. But what crime could this subject of Louis XIV have committed to remain alive yet imprisoned until 1703? To this day, our questions outnumber our answers… Twin brother to the Sun King? Cromwell’s son? The queen’s lover? Eustache Danger? No less than 50 suggestions exist concerning the identity of the prisoner hidden behind this notorious mask.