Is there any truth to the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).?

I consider this to be a History question not a Movies questions.





Plot: Paris is starving, but the King of France (Louis XIV) is more interested in money and bedding women. When a young soldier dies for the sake of a shag, Aramis, Athos and Porthos band together with a plan to replace the king. Unknown to many, there is a 2nd king, a twin, hidden at birth, then imprisoned for 6 years behind an iron mask. All that remains now is D'Artagnan, will he stand against his long time friends, or do what is best for his country?





http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120744/Is there any truth to the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).?
There WAS a man in the iron mask. He was kept locked securely away, and died in prison. That's all we know for sure.





It's an intriguing mystery. Louis XIV needed to have this man locked away out of sight. Fair enough - but what more permanent way of keeping a man out of sight is there than the grave? And yet Louis didn't have him killed. Whatever his reason for this, it wasn't because he was squeamish - there had to be some other cause





The rest is pure speculation - but the only motivation for Louis' actions that seems to hold water is that he was indeed a blood relation. Of course, we'll never know for sure.








Edit - More details. There aren't many, and that's the point. Hence the wide range of rumours that have grown about him.





He was first heard of as a new prisoner in 1669, and kept in various prisons (including the Bastille and the Chateau D'If) until he died in 1703. A special cell was constructed for him in each of these places, with multiple doors so that he could be kept out of contact with fellow prisoners as much as possible. The iron mask itself is a myth; he actually wore a mask of black velvet - and then probably only during transportation or when he might have been seen by warders or other prisoners. One document names him as Eustache Dauger - though this was probably an alias he was given.





And that's about it. If there was a conspiracy, it's one of the best-covered-up ones in history. But the central point is that unless we was of great importance or significance, why on earth go to such elaborate lengths to keep him alive but hidden?Is there any truth to the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).?
No this is a story by Alexandre Dumas, it's complete fiction, Louis the XIV did exist (he was called the sun king), he was the clasic example of what an absolute monarchy was in europe. During his reign, he increased the power and influence of France in Europe, engaging in three major wars鈥攖he Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession鈥攁nd two minor conflicts鈥攖he War of Devolution, and the War of the Reunions.





The political and military scene in France during his reign was filled with such illustrious names as Mazarin, Fouquet, Colbert, Michel Le Tellier, Le Tellier's son Louvois, le Grand Cond茅, Turenne, Vauban, Villars and Tourville. Under his reign, France achieved not only political and military pre-eminence, but also cultural dominance with various cultural figures such as Moli猫re, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Le Brun, Rigaud, Louis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin Mansart, Claude Perrault and Le N么tre. The cultural achievements accomplished by these figures contributed to the prestige of France, its people, its language and its king.





Louis XIV worked successfully to create a centralized state governed from the capital in order to sweep away the fragmented feudalism which hitherto persisted in France, thus giving rise to the modern state. As a result of his efforts, which seemed absolutist, Louis XIV became the archetypal absolute monarch. The phrase ';L'脡tat, c'est moi'; (';I am the State';) is frequently attributed to him, though considered an inaccuracy by historians





My point is Louis was never replaed by a man in an iron mask. There were several of those fellows roaming around (well locked up actually), but my paint again is that there was no one mysterious ';man in the iron mask';. This was a case of pure fiction and a little artistic liscense on the part of Dumas (historical based fiction was a forte of his).