The Lost Prince

Prince John, youngest son of George V and Queen Mary, was handicapped by learning difficulties and the epilepsy which eventually killed him at 14. He spent most of his life hidden away on the Sandringham estate, but he was well cared for and not entirely forgotten by his family (he appeared with his brothers and sisters on a Newfoundland stamp issue). Stephen Poliakof has taken this sad story and created a wonderful tale of growing up in a royal family who, far from ruling their roost, were hidebound by convention, slaves to 'appearances' and emotionally crippled. John, however, is virtually free from all of this – as his brother George remarks 'he is the happiest of us all' (or words to that effect).

John and George (later the Duke of Kent) are able to observe some notable historic personalities and moments. When their grandfather Edward VII (Michael Gambon) dies, most of Europe's royalty turn up to the funeral. George, on chatting terms with Lord Stamfordham (Bill Nighy), his father's private secretary, follows the diplomatic descent into World War I. And there is the fate of cousin Nicky, Tsar of Russia, and his family, at the hands of the Bolsheviks. We see these events from the child's viewpoint, or rather from the viewpoints of two rather different, though close, children. This gives a sort of dreamy immediacy to the story, unadorned with explanations.

While his mother Queen Mary (Miranda Richardson) is both physically and emotionally distant, John is given plenty of love and affection by his nurse Lalla (Gina McKee). Despite his disabilities he thrives under her care to an extent his parents find overwhelming.

It's hard to tell how much of the story is based on fact and how much on Poliakoff's imagination, but it scarcely matters. He has created a story which actually evokes sympathy for royalty, a major achievement in this republican age. Prince John, the royal refusenik, leading his band of retainers across the landscape, is an evocative sight.

The settings are gorgeous, though none of the real places (Sandringham, Buckingham palace) is used. The acting is all first-rate; Tom Hollander's earnest George V and Miranda Richardson's stern but not totally unfeeling Queen Mary stand out, along with the boys playing the two princes.

The Lost Prince is one of those wonderful pieces that you rarely see. Beautiful, touching, moving, and heartbreaking are only a few words to describe it. It was informative also because I had never before known of the epileptic Prince John. I fell in love with Johnny the first time I saw him.

The acting was fantastic. I loved Lalla. Gina Mckee did an excellent job in portraying her. Miranda Richardson(Queen Mary) also did a wonderful bit of acting as the seemingly heartless Queen. I was reduced to tears at the end.

If you've never heard of the wonderful little Prince, or you'd just like to watch a different perspective on the Royal family, see the The Lost Prince, you'll be glad you did.

This short drama focused on the epileptic Prince John, son of George V and Queen Mary, and brother to the present Queen Elizabeth's father, George VI.

We see the story of John from the perspectives of himself and of his nurse, Lalla (the emotionless Gina McKee). As he becomes more out of control and an embarrassment to his family, the little boy becomes more special to the viewer. Johnny is a crank but a lovable one.

Daniel Williams and Matthew Thomas both make an impact as Prince John at different ages, while Tom Hollander and Miranda Richardson are excellent as his repressed and bewildered parents. There's also key roles of interest for Bill Nighy (Stamfordham), Frank Finlay (the PM, Herbert Asquith), and David Barrass (Kaiser Bill).

Aside from the problems accorded by John's illness and confinement, we also see how events unfold in Russia for George V's cousins, the ill-fated Romanov family.

'The Lost Prince' is another winner for writer/director Stephen Poliakoff, and well worth your time. Enjoyable whether you know the story or the intricacies of the Royal family, or not.

BBC1's 'The Lost Prince' is one of the best television dramas that the channel has shown for a long time. The story of King George V's youngest son, Johnnie, the programme explores the boy's learning difficulties and his autism-related problems, as well as the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the Royal family.

Those are the facts, but the drama is so much more than a re-telling of a royal story. Moments of poignancy, such as Johnnie's frank but heartbreaking honesty with his parents, are touching without becoming schmaltzy or obvious, and the harsh burden of the First World War on the British keeps the drama well within reality.

Good performances all around, particularly from Miranda Richardson as Queen Mary and Tom Hollander as King George, who invoke sympathy from their seemingly impassive facades. Bill Nighy is excellent as the King's adviser, Stamfordham, and the children - especially Rollo Weeks -are more than capable of carrying such a difficult and weighty subject.

Stephen Poliakoff wrote and directed this which was shown over two weekends recently here in the UK. It was certainly a sumptuous production, I've rarely seen a costume drama more lavishly dressed.

It is broadly about the period 1908 to about 1920 seen through the eyes of the little known Prince John, youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary. Possibly autistic or with milder learning difficulties and known to be epileptic, this play shows his child's eye views of his grandfather the King (Edward VII) and the visit of the Tzar to the UK, following on to his own father's succession, through the Irish crisis and on to the the First World War. His father becomes King and he is packed off to the country, as his shortcomings emerge, with his faithful nurse Lala with only occasional visits from the aloof Queen Mary his mother, who just cannot understand him or his needs. His brother George, very bright and determined, is used as a foil to explain a lot of action as is the King's Secretary, Lord Stamfordham.

Miranda Richardson is superb as Queen Mary, catching her regality and vunerability in one, though Tom Hollander did less well as the King, he was a little young, the King being in his late forties/early fifties during this time, and Michael Gambon, a Poliakoff favourite (and the new Dumbledore apparently) does little more than a cameo as Edward VII. Gina McKee excels as Lala, determined to make Johnnie's parents just even notice him.

The King and Queen are here portrayed much younger than the geriatrics they are usually seen as in Abdication dramas. Great stuff!

And what became of them all, well you'll have to watch but Prince George became the Duke of Kent and was killed in an RAF aircrash in 1942, George V died in 1936 and Queen Mary died in 1953, the year Johnnie's niece, Elizabeth was crowned.