Secrets are being revealed!
Sunday night's crazy and dramatic episode of The Royals finally exposes the true meaning behind Domino and its mysterious symbol and it is mind-blowing. And while we already know Lucius didn't murder King Simon, more clues are uncovered to decipher why the real killer decided to put him and Prince Robert six feet under. Is your head spinning yet?
On the flip side, Queen Helena discards her armor in a touching moment to have an honest conversation with Princess Eleanor and warn her not to repeat her past mistakes in love.
Recap the latest episode (and all the lies and shocks) with these 14 major moments!
1. King Cyrus tells Violet how he truly feels: Can it be? Is King Cyrus in love? It certainly seems so. The reigning monarch tells his lady he loves her during pillow talk in bed. The revelation takes her by surprise and she asks him to clarify. "Yes, I love you," he says. "I'm 45 years old. I know what my feelings are. This tyrant is in love you." Violet, unfortunately, doesn't reciprocate his sentiments and remains quiet. At least she didn't respond with the classic, "Thank you."
2. Prince Liam searches for the unknown cocktail waitress from his birthday party: After asking Jasper to comb over the security footage from the eventful night before, Liam finally recognizes the anonymous blonde who put the Domino necklace on him. They find Holden to get some answers from the cocktail waitress he hooked up with who also worked the party. She admits she can't remember the girl's name, but says she was really into tattoos. Jasper presses her for something more specific. "Only her ink," she responds. "I asked her where she got it done." She tells them the location of the parlor and Jasper and Liam set off to follow the lead.
3. Queen Helena takes Princess Eleanor out for a mother-daughter day: After her encounter with Captain Alistair Lacey, Helena has a change of heart and decides to focus on spending more time with her children. She wakes Eleanor up and takes her to the stables to ride for her birthday. "People are always telling me what an ungrateful, spoiled little brat you are," she tells her daughter. "You have been given all the material things in life. That's true. But perhaps I should have given you more of myself."
Helena reveals that her birthday gift this year is quality mother-daughter time. "So you got me nothing?" Eleanor asks. LOL! "Shut up, Princess," the Queen responds. "Let's ride!"
4. Ted Pryce receives a cryptic letter from Domino: When the Head of Palace Security receives a letter from Domino with an address, he finds himself at the house of the unidentified man who previously accused him of murdering King Simon at the museum. "How did I figure it out?" he goads Ted. "I'm a student of human nature," he says, answering his own question. "I saw the fear in your eyes when I said you killed the King." Ted doesn't confirm the accusations, but he doesn't deny them either. Is this an admission of guilt? Yikes!
5. The Grand Duchess of Oxford tells Cyrus to dump his commoner girlfriend: The Grand Duchess of Oxford Alexandra takes it upon herself to tell King Cyrus that his relationship with the former palace maid has upset the public. "Since when is a wolf concerned with the opinions of sheep?" he asks. Alexandra tells him the only way to win favor with the people once more is to get rid of the girl. "You need the support of the aristocracy," she advises. "They consider your silly, little floozy a joke. Do you want to be feared or a fool? Ditch the bitch!" Ouch!
But Cyrus isn't having any of it. "Violet, my Violet, you underestimate that delicate bloom," he says. "She has a remarkable intelligence." After her harsh words, Cyrus severs his close ties with The Grand Duchess and puts her on a strictly need-to-know basis. "Now if you'll excuse me," he says, before making his royal exit. "I've got some very real boobs to go fondle."
6. Prince Liam tracks down the girl from the party: After the tip from Holden's bed buddy, Liam and Jasper find the stealthy cocktail waitress from the birthday party at a tattoo parlor. He shows her the Domino symbol and demands answers. She writes down on a sheet of paper that it's not safe to talk, but Liam refuses to let her dodge his questions again. She then writes down the name "Dominique Stewart" and hands it to him. "Look this girl up," she tells him. "She might be able to help you."
7. The true meaning of Domino is revealed: Prince Liam's quest for answers leads him to the cottage of one of King Simon's oldest friends, Truman. "You're the only person I can truly trust who knew my father when he was young," Liam tells him. He asks Truman if the name Dominique Stewart means anything to him. Truman then drops the bombshell that she was King Simon's one true love when he was young.
At the same moment, the Domino leader tells Ted that Dominique was his older sister. "Everyone loved her, but no one more than Simon," he remembers. He admits that when he was a boy he couldn't pronounce her name correctly, so he called her Domino!
Back at his house, Truman gives Liam an old, torn photograph of his father and Dominique from a horse-jumping competition she had won. They are both laughing as he hands her the trophy. Truman says that during that time the palace had compiled a list of eligible girls who were appropriate to marry the new King. However, Simon didn't care about the list. He only wanted Dominique.
"Where was my mother during this time?" Liam asks. Truman responds, "One way or another, your gran got Helena onto the list of girls for Simon. Lord, knows how she did it. Helena certainly qualified as a great beauty. The young King would dance with her at all your grandmother's parties, infamously extravagant parties, expressly designed to match her daughter with royalty."
It was then revealed that Dominique was thrown from her horse and killed a few hours after that photograph was taken!
8. Queen Helena shares her side of the story: While Liam and Ted are learning the shocking secrets of the past, Queen Helena shares her side of the story with Eleanor. She tells her she was in love with a farmhand who worked for her family. "We were planning to elope," she says. "The boy that I loved couldn't afford a diamond, so I picked out a pebble from the shore near here and we were going to have it set into an engagement ring."
Eleanor can't believe what she's hearing. "You didn't know me then," Helena explains. "Maybe he would have bought me a diamond one day, but honestly Eleanor, I didn't care. I was in love and that meant much more to me. I thought my life was set."
But after Dominique's untimely death, her mother forced Helena to marry King Simon to help with the family's financial troubles. "I told my mother I was in love with someone else, but that was less of an option. The most eligible bachelor in the world was interested."
9. The Domino leader discloses his vicious plan for revenge: To Dominique's brother, her death was definitely no accident. "There was only one person standing between the current Queen Consort and that throne: Dominique," he tells Ted. He then appeals to him, "Our families deserve justice! They deserve to be punished! The damage that's been done. Your wife gone and your daughter raised as a motherless child."
"Stop!" Ted interrupts. "Just suppose for a moment that you're correct and that I killed Simon. If I'm the man you think I am, I'm doing your dirty work. Why not just let me carry on? Maybe the Queen was next." Mr. Domino threateningly responds, "Death is too easy for her. What I have in mind is so much more appropriate."
But Ted still isn't completely convinced. "Your sister died a long time ago," he says. "Why now?"
He responds, "Until Prince Robert was killed, also called an accident, I never knew I had an ally inside the palace. Isn't it a relief to finally meet someone who understands?" Uh oh…
10. Queen Helena encourages Jasper to try again with Eleanor: After her day of bonding with Eleanor, Queen Helena bumps into Jasper back at the palace and offers him some much-needed advice. "I don't what you've done that could possibly be worse than what I know, but you need to find a way to make it up to her," she says. "She cares deeply, I suspect. Rally back, bodyguard! Do something to make it right. I'm rooting for you."
11. The Grand Duchess informs Queen Helena that Cyrus is ready for marriage: While Queen Helena was busy spending time with Eleanor, she missed quite a lot at the palace, but her mother doesn't hesitate to get her up to speed. "While you were out horsing around, I went to visit my good friend the Crown Jeweler," she says. "He told me that Cyrus has picked out an engagement ring. If they are still married when he dies, she will be the sole reigning monarch," she adds, referring to Violet.
The Duchess leaves Helena to go have tea with the Cyrus' potential new bride. But before she does, she gives her daughter the harsh truth. "I'm not close to you, Helena, because you're my daughter," she says. "I'm close to you because you're the Queen." Brutal!
12. Prince Liam goes back to confront the anonymous girl: After learning the truth from Truman, Prince Liam goes back to confront the blonde from the tattoo parlor. She admits that Dominque Stewart was her aunt and she was named after her. "Tell me what this is all about!" Liam commands. She tells him that the emblem of tumbling dominos is symbolic of what is going to happen to his family.
"Domino was her nickname," she confirms. "The day she died she was competing in a show-jumping event. She rode home to give the horse a cool down. My father was waiting for her, but when the horse returned it was all jumped up and hyper." Dominique 2.0 continues, "She was an expert rider. She and that horse were totally in sync. Liam, your mother's family hosted the event. They planned the whole thing. They invited Dominique. She and your mother were rivals."
Liam responds, "That's one hell of an accusation. Is it justice your father wants or revenge?" he asks. "My father and my brother are dead."
"We had nothing to do with that," she says, before walking away. "Nothing!"
13. Violet goes missing before Cyrus' public address: Just as King Cyrus is about to address the people on television, he receives quite a shock: Violet is nowhere to be found! "I won't start until the Lady of the Privy Chamber is here," he states. "She said she'll be back by now." That's when Queen Helena walks in and announces, "She's the freaking maid!" Did she have something to do with this?!
14. Liam tells Eleanor their mom could be a murderer: After his action-packed day of uncovering secrets, Liam finds Eleanor looking at vintage photo albums of Queen Helena. In a fateful twist, he finds the missing piece of the picture with Simon and Dominique—and it depicts their mom looking sullen after losing the riding competition! Liam puts the two pieces together and ominously tells Len, "I think mom killed someone."
Watch an all-new episode of The Royals next Sunday at 10 p.m., only on E!