An emotional tale based on historical fact imagining the impact of King George III's madness on the lives of his wife and daughters London 1788: the calm order of Queen Charlotte's court is shattered by screams. The King of England is going mad. Left alone with 13 children and with the country at war, Charlotte has to fight to hold her husband's throne. It is a time of unrest and revolutions but most of all Charlotte fears the King himself, someone she can no longer love or trust. She has lost her marriage to madness and there is nothing she can do except continue to do her royal duty. Her six daughters are desperate to escape their palace asylum. Their only chance lies in a good marriage, but no prince wants the daughter of a madman. They are forced to take love wherever they can find it, with devastating consequences.
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Bittersweet and heartbreaking in places. We know the tales of Mad King George but I loved how Laura Purcell humanises King George 3rd as well as highlights the struggles and hopes of those blinded in his orbit. Queen Charlotte is a fascinating character, both very fragile and strong as steel. A seeming oxymoron but she straddles the lines of both gracefully.
I felt that Laura's approach to mental health was one of love and understanding. One of the phrases that really stuck out to me was from one of the daughters after their Father had his last breakdown, along the lines of “the day finally came that we had all dreaded. Yet life continued” Which I found to be very humbling. There's scary dreadful things in the world we fear, and believe we won't cope if and when they do happen. But life continues and we do cope, someone, and things can be right again. That was the lasting message I got from this poignant story.
