The Madness of George III
In late 1788, George III once again began showing signs of the mysterious mental illness that had first plagued him in the 1760s. Politicians, scenting the possibility of change, homed in for the kill. So, for that matter, did the king's much-disliked son and heir, the Prince of Wales. But in 1789, just as the Prince was on the verge of becoming Regent...the king made a miraculous (and mysterious) recovery.
A little over two centuries later, the playwright Alan Bennett turned this material into The Madness of George III (1991), which proved to be an international hit.
Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner adapted it to film as The Madness of King George (1994).
Tropes used in The Madness of George III include:
- The Alcoholic: Pitt, in the play (the film only mentions this in passing).
- Dysfunctional Family: The Prince of Wales vs. Ma and Pa.
- Historical Domain Character: Virtually the entire cast of characters, except for Captain Fitzroy.
- The Ishmael: Captain Greville.
- Truth in Television, as Bennett used Greville's memoirs as one of his sources.
- Royally Screwed-Up: By porphyria, as explained by a combination of Flash Forward and Breaking the Fourth Wall.