The story of Prince John, the autistic and epileptic youngest son of Queen Mary and King George V, who spent his whole life hidden away from public view and died at the age of 13 in 1919.
British empire monarch George V (Tom Hollander) and his wife Queen Mary (Miranda Richardson) decided to hide their last-born son, Prince John, also known as Johnnie (Daniel Williams), from the public, to prevent being embarrassed by his epilepsy. While his protective elder brother is ruthlessly groomed for court life, Johnnie gets packed off to a country cottage on the royal estate of Sandringham. With his full-time governess Lalla (Gina McKee), a substitute mother, he's abandoned to playfulness and virtual social neglect. The Great War and the Russian Revolution changed life in Britain, the court, and Sandringham, where royal refugees were expected.—Nat178
1910. One dynasty holds sway over the world's most powerful nations; at its heart is the British Monarchy, and its youngest member, Prince John, also known as Johnnie (Daniel Williams). A loving, insightful, and humorous child, Johnnie is witness to some of the most momentous events in the history of our times. As a baby, he is surrounded by the extravagant court of Edward VII (Sir Michael Gambon) and Queen Alexandra (Bibi Anderson) at the height of British Imperial power. But as the Great War looms, his newly crowned father, George V (Tom Hollander) and his mother, Queen Mary (Miranda Richardson), become embroiled in the tumult of world affairs and do not have time to see their special child as he grows. He is prone to epileptic fits, and the medical profession considers him to be an imbecile and, as such, an embarrassment to the family. As the landscape of Europe changes forever, Johnnie is looked after in a remote farmhouse in the Sandringham estate by his devoted nurse Lalla (Gina McKee). Dedicating her life to the little boy, she determines to remind the monarchy that Johnnie is, at heart, a true Prince.—Nat Stannard
Based on the true story of Prince John, the youngest son of England's King George V (Tom Hollander) and his wife, Queen Mary (Miranda Richardson), who suffered from epilepsy. When he is diagnosed with the condition, along with learning difficulties, John's situation is so poorly understood by medical experts that the Royal Family heed their advice and send John to live on one of their countryside estates far from public view. From this unique position, the "lost prince" is able to watch the downfall of the Old Order as the First World War sweeps away his powerful cousins from their thrones in Germany, Austria and Russia. It is also a story of John's personal growth and the very different love offered to him by his repressed but honourable mother the queen and his impulsive, emotional nanny (Gina McKee.)
