What is King George III's illness on 'Queen Charlotte'? A historian explains

Table Of Content

• King Charles' New Portrait Has a Close Connection to Kate Middleton and Prince William's Kids
• What Justin Bieber ‘Ghost’ Is Really About As Fans Think Lyrics Are About Ex Selena Gomez
• King George's Illness in Real Life
• Boy, 14, dead after man goes on sword rampage against random people
• What Is Wrong With King George From ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story'?
• Kate shares new photo of smiling Charlotte to celebrate her ninth birthday

Academic studies state that the monarch suffered from convulsions, frothing at the mouth, incoherent rambling, and would eventually go on to lose his hearing, vision, memory and ability to walk. Studies also state that the King was treated with horrific methods to "cure" his "madness" such as solitary confinement and arsenic powder as a skin treatment. Queen Charlotte on Netflix is arguably the most talked-about show right now and for good reason! The incredible cast and the brilliantly moving and heartwarming storyline has led fans to waste no time bingeing all eight episodes.

King Charles' New Portrait Has a Close Connection to Kate Middleton and Prince William's Kids

While some suggest he should be shunned or hidden away, Charlotte champions his dignity. Episodic manic behaviors characterized his mental illness, which steadily worsened over the years. In 1810, following physical health problems and the death of his favorite daughter Amelia (the daughter mentioned in a "Bridgerton" episode), George relapsed again.

What Justin Bieber ‘Ghost’ Is Really About As Fans Think Lyrics Are About Ex Selena Gomez

The family of five currently lives in Adelaide Cottage in Windsor after moving from Kensington Palace in London in the summer of 2022. The three siblings all attend Lambrook School in Winkfield Row, Berkshire. In the clip, the Princess of Wales admitted that "raising children today" is "tough." Prince William and Kate Middleton might be royalty, but they want their children to have as normal of an upbringing as possible.

King George's Illness in Real Life

At the end of Episode Three, for the first time, Queen Charlotte finds the monarch in what appears to be the throws of a manic episode. With a severe attack, a person’s pain can become so unbearable that their general cognition can deteriorate. This tracks the various symptoms that George III in the Netflix series appears to display. In his research, Warrens found George III’s bouts of “madness” appeared to be coupled with a number of physical symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, variegate porphyria is a rare genetic metabolic disorder.

Present-day historians think it’s likely that King George suffered from bipolar disorder, which can cause unusual changes in behavior, mood, and activity. The modern definition seems to align with King George's reported symptoms. Despite the king's clear need for assistance, the characters around him are ill-equipped to help—although to be fair, the series is set in the 1700s, long before mental health professionals were established. As such, George never receives a formal diagnosis; instead, he’s simply referred to as “mad,” and is subjected to inhumane remedies. Though many people in his orbit are concerned for his well-being, George’s mother, Dowager Princess Augusta, dismisses their fears to keep her son in power. The king is merely exhausted from holding the greatest nation in the world on his shoulders.” As the series unfolds, George and Charlotte depend on one another to navigate his mental health episodes.

What Is Wrong With King George From ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story'?

His work with the doctor and his questionable methods don’t make a difference and Charlotte deals with loneliness at a result. At the same time, Lady Danbury is now dealing with the death of her husband, Lord Danbury, and what will now happen to her, her family and other members of the ton as he leaves them almost penniless. By the time we get around to the era of the main "Bridgerton" series, George is unwell more often than he's lucid. Charlotte is very matter-of-fact about it, but in the rare instances when she lets her guard down, it's clear that the situation is heartbreaking for her.

Who was Dr Monro, who treated King George?

The story is loosely based on fact (which you can read more about in our explainer), and the real King George III did suffer from a mental illness. While George had always previously managed to recover from these spells, his final mental health episode, said to be brought on by the passing of his favourite daughter Princess Amelia, lasted a full decade until his death. The royal also suffered from rheumatism and lost his sight and hearing during his final years, which were spent in seclusion at Windsor Castle. He eventually died at the age of 81 in 1820 from pneumonia and was succeeded by sons George IV and William IV. In addition, "Queen Charlotte" — which takes place between two timelines, one in 1761, and the other in 1817 — follows history by portraying the king's deterioration in later life and introduces Charlotte and George's son as the prince regent in the scenes set in 1817. “Madness” matters more than anyone living with a mental illness cares for it to.

The pair meet on their wedding day (when she tries to climb over a wall to flee the wedding, no less) and the series sees their relationship go through highs and lows, as does the lives of their servants, Brimsley and Reynolds, Lady Danbury and the rest of the ton. Although the "Bridgerton" universe takes artistic license with plenty of historical events, there's also some truth to its depiction of this particular storyline. Corey Mylchreest says that King George was "so much more than a madman" and he wants people to know that. Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.

What was King George's illness, as seen in Netflix's Queen Charlotte? - Radio Times

What was King George's illness, as seen in Netflix's Queen Charlotte?.

Posted: Tue, 23 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In September 2022, George honored his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth at her state funeral. The prince joined his parents and sister Charlotte in the royal family procession, walking behind the Queen's coffin down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. George wore a navy suit and black tie with his blond hair neatly combed. The following spring, Kate echoed a similar sentiment when she announced that she is undergoing treatment for cancer.

From the earliest episodes of "Bridgerton" (and, depending on your high school history classes long before that) we've known that King George III has been affected for years by a serious illness. The prequel series "Queen Charlotte" dives more into George's illness from a young age, revealing more about what's going on and how it affects his relationships. In 1788, the King suffered his first major bout of mental illness when he was 50, and according to the Smithsonian, he had trouble sleeping for more than two hours at a time and would "speak out of turn," making inappropriate advances toward the Queen's attendants. Per the Georgian Papers, he reportedly assaulted their oldest son, George, Prince of Wales, as a result of his mania. Though the king recovered before his son could step in, Parliament would later have to pass Regency Acts at other periods in George III’s life.

Hit Netflix series Bridgerton depicted the queen as a mixed-race woman, and repeated the casting decision in the prequel, Queen Charlotte. The history trail with its own online audio guide was created for Royal Museums Greenwich by Christian Adore, a self-declared “homosexual historian” seeking to share “deliciously gay stories” from the past. Inaccurate claims about her race are made in an LGBT-themed history trail of the Queen’s House in Greenwich, one of four sites under the control of the taxpayer-supported group Royal Museums Greenwich.

According to the Mayo Clinic, variegate porphyria is a rare genetic metabolic disorder. Symptoms of the disorder include skin symptoms, abdominal pain, constipation, extremity pain, weakness, anxiety, restlessness and convulsions. In Queen Charlotte, the King's illness is depicted as a psychiatric condition, which modern study supports, clearly leaning toward a more sympathetic portrayal of the monarch.

A major thread across the season is the health of King George, who is seen suffering from a mixture of symptoms that will leave audiences at home guessing about what exactly is wrong with the King. These answers come into focus as the season progresses, but history itself offers up insights into the character’s aliment for those eager to know the background before getting too far into the show’s run. There have been extensive studies of his medical history, but there hasn’t been a definitive answer about his illness. While "Queen Charlotte" never explains what exactly is wrong with King George, it appears to be following the mental illness theory with the way the series presents the monarch, who only hallucinates when he is nervous and under a significant amount of pressure. Episode four of "Queen Charlotte" reveals that the king is suffering from some sort of mental health disorder, causing him to black out and hallucinate. Martin Warren is a professor of Biochemistry at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, who has researched and written about George III’s mental state for years.

Charlotte’s grandfather King Charles returned to work on Tuesday with a visit to a cancer unit in London accompanied by Queen Camilla. It comes days after Kate Middleton released an unedited picture of Prince Louis on his sixth birthday last week. Prince William and Kate Middleton released a new picture of Princess Charlotte to mark her ninth birthday. Not long after, Louis began talking, with one of his first words being inspired by Kate's cookbooks. At the time, Kate explained that the little boy could say "Mary" thanks to British chef Mary Berry's cookbook being right at his height in the kitchen. "Wishing Princess Charlotte a very happy birthday! 8 tomorrow 🎈🎂," they captioned the photo, which was taken by the Princess of Wales.

Fact Versus Fiction: Queen Charlotte and King George in 'Bridgerton' - Business Insider

Fact Versus Fiction: Queen Charlotte and King George in 'Bridgerton'.

Posted: Tue, 16 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

"Part of the reason why she's so angry is because she wants true love," Amarteifio tells T&C of her version of Charlotte. "She doesn't want her love to be a trade or anything to do with politics or power or money. She wants real love, the understanding of two people just bonding and finding each other." Mylchreest tells T&C he views as a version of the tragic Romeo and Juliet. "It was our challenge to make every moment of joy and pleasure between these two people as vibrant as possible. Because everyone knows, and I think in a way those characters know as well, where everything is heading."

In a video message shared in March 2024, she revealed that she waited to disclose the diagnosis while she communicated the news with her children. Elsewhere, Lady Danbury and Lord Ledger AKA Violet Bridgerton’s father end their relationship that started after the death of Lord Danbury. Whilst she courts Queen Charlotte’s brother, Adolphus, she ultimately rejects his marriage proposal and opts to stay single. But, Queen Charlotte makes sure Lady Danbury can still keep her titles and her husband’s estates, saving her future and that of other members of the ton. In the present-day, Violet learns about her father and Lady Danbury’s past relationship but seemingly forgives her. Throughout the series, we learn more about the health of King George as his sporadic fits can’t be contained any longer as Queen Charlotte finds out.