Queen Charlotte on Netflix: What disease did King George suffer from?

Queen Charlotte recalls the sovereign’s first steps in power and her meeting with King George III. The latter has a very important place in the story, as his mental illness is explored throughout the story. And the fourth part of the series allows the viewer to rediscover the first episodes from his point of view.

If the world of Shonda Rhimes counts many deviations from reality, this aspect of King George’s life is definitely true. For many years, the cause of his madness was even the subject of many theories for specialists.

First, to re-contextualize the story of his reign, King George became the heir to the throne after his father’s death in 1751. He succeeded his grandfather, George II, in 1760. He was 22 years old then. He is the first of his line to be born in the UK and the first to use English as his first language.

A year later, he married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – this is when the series begins. Together they have 15 children. Only in 1788 did his health deteriorate. In the Netflix fiction, the king is already seriously ill.

Many explanations

A few days after his 50th birthday, he had a gall attack. After that, his problems pile up, but the king remains in power. In 1810, crises of dementia added to his daily life. The ruler also becomes blind and almost completely deaf.

To explain his condition, experts first talk about hypomania, a mood disorder that would have manifested itself after the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, a victim of tuberculosis. In the 1960s, researchers explained that a group of blood disorders, porphyria, was at the root of his health problems.

In 2005, experts revealed that arsenic poisoning had accelerated his insanity. Finally, King George III died in 1820 at the age of 82. Late death depending on the context of the time. He will remain in power until his last breath.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Chapter is available on Netflix.