|
|
|
The acclaimed Oscar and BAFTA-winning drama based on Alan Bennett's international stage phenomenon. The year is 1788. George III (Nigel Hawthorne) has been regent for the past thirty years, a kind and benevolent ruler. However, a gradual change is becoming noticeable in his demeanour. Bothered by increasingly uncomfortable abdominal pains, he suddenly begins to act irrationally and belligerently. The court doctors, many of whom are quacks, can do nothing for him. The Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett), George's eldest son and heir, is eager to see his father declared mad so that he can take over as regent. Meanwhile, ministers, retainers and others at court begin to scheme how to get the most out of the king's indisposition. At last, when all seems lost, Prime Minister Pitt (Julian Wadham), aided by Queen Charlotte, Lady Pembroke (Amanda Donahoe), the Queen's Mistress of the Robes and Greville (Rupert Graves), one of the king's aides, sends for Dr. Willis (Ian Holm), a doctor with a reputation for curing dementia.
|