The Madness of King George

Alan Bennett’s Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes Film Festival award-winning film stars Nigel Hawthorne as King George Ill, a vibrant, robust leader, accompanied by Queen Charlotte and their children including the Prince of Wales and his younger brother the Duke of York. Almost 30 years into his reign, the King has begun to act in a bizarre fashion, spewing obscenities, attacking ladies-in-waiting and interrupting a royal concert to demonstrate his mastery of the keyboards. As medical men attempt to cure him, Parliament plots with the Prince of Wales to have him declared mad. Is George insane or can his condition be cured?, The late 18th century… England’s benevolent King George III suddenly takes ill, and shows signs of mental instability – opening the door for court intrigue and the usurping of the throne by his worthless son, the Prince of Wales., In this fascinating historical drama set in 1788, England’s King George III undergoes psychotherapeutic treatment after he begins to display signs of eccentric and disturbing behavior., This epic historical drama, based on screenwriter Alan Bennett’s play, looks behind the mythology to present a realist portrait of the life and politics of England’s mad King George III. The year is 1788 and King George III has been on the throne for almost 30 years. His personal life was considered an example to his subjects. His wife Queen Charlotte adored him. Together they had 15 children including the Duke of York and the Prince of Wales. But soon cracks began to appear in the royal facade as the King began to display disturbing idiosyncrasies such as his inexplicable bouts of cursing at his wife, and the time he stopped a royal concert to take over the piano and deliver a concert of his own. The royal physicians were baffled by their king’s behavior. George continued to worsen until he became the patient of Dr. Willis. Willis subjected the king to a rigorous regimen of psychotherapeutic techniques. In a more political vein the story also examines the king’s obsession with the American colonies which he had recently lost., “His Majesty was all powerful and all knowing. But he wasn’t quite all there”. Alan Bennett’s magnificent Oscar, Bafta and Cannes Film Festival award winning film stars Nigel Hawthorne as King George III, a vibrant, robust, if eccentric leader accompanied by Queen Charlotte, his wife and devoted partner (Helen Mirren) and their children – all fifteen of them, including the Prince of Wales and his younger brother the Duke of York (Rupert Everett and Julian Rhind-Tutt). Almost thirty years into his reign, the King has begun to act in a bizarre fashion, spewing obscenities, attacking his wife’s ladies-in-waiting and interrupting a royal concert to demonstrate his own mastery of the keyboards. As his condition worsens, learned medical men (including Ian Holm) attempt to cure him while a corrupt Parliament plots with the Prince of Wales to have him declared mad. Is George mad or can his condition be cured?, In 1788, England’s King George III begins to display signs of eccentric and disturbing behavior. While his royal physicians are unable to diagnose the problem, an innovative doctor tries to help him via groundbreaking psychotherapeutic techniques.