Man in the Iron Mask the queen to be left alone with her midwife to give birth to the second child. To make the context clearer, it should be remembered that there was a controversy at that time over which one of twins was the elder: the one born first or the one who, being born second, would have, as was then thought, been conceived first. In such a situation, the reigning twin would face a serious threat to his throne. Also supporting the theory of King Louis XIV's twin, a thorough examination of the French Kings' genealogy shows many twin births, in the Capetian
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film) reveals that he is Philippe, Louis's identical twin brother. Aramis reveals that the night Louis was born, his mother, Queen Anne, gave birth to twins. Louis XIII, hoping to avoid dynastic warfare between his sons, sent Philippe away to live in the countryside with no knowledge of his true identity. On his deathbed, Louis XIII revealed Philippe's existence to Anne and Louis. Anne, having been told by her priest that Philippe had died at birth, then wished to restore Philippe's birthright. But Louis, now king and too superstitious to have his brother killed, had Philippe imprisoned instead in the iron