The Lost Prince (2002)

Average rating

(75%)

Starring:	Daniel Williams \| Matthew Thomas
Director:	Stephen Poliakoff
Studio:	2 ENTERTAIN VIDEO
Run time:	90 mins
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Released:	(unknown)
Also available on:

Stephen Poliakoff's THE LOST PRINCE is the story of Prince John, the youngest son of George V, who was born epileptic, with a form of autism. Largely shunned by his parents, the child can only find the semblance of a truly understanding parent figure in the form of his caring nanny. Meanwhile, Europe is on the verge of World War I, and the tumultuous events of that time are seen through Prince John's eyes.

Highest rated reviews

2 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Lost prince

Professor Cornelieus from London, 23rd November, 2004

This BBC drama was well received when it was aired as a two part special, and skirts comfortable territory for BBC costume drama afficionados - England's Royal Family around the time of the second World War. it is the kind of thing British televsion does particularly well.

Unfolding the quiet story of the epileptic Prince John takes skill, and
a superb cast handles the job with low-keyed professionalism. Especially memorable is Miranda Richardson as the prince's mother Queen Mary, tied to a rigid sense of duty but concerned, too, for her son.

A mini series that encompasses the Great War, the Russian revolution,
and the suffragette movement is well worth the effort to see. And kids
will like this, too.

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Customer Review

A Customer from UK, 23rd June, 2008

Nobody who watches 'The Lost Prince' will fail to be moved by the story of Prince John. However a strong theme that the story conveys is that Prince John's life was brief yet happy. Living in his own environment he was lovingly cared for by Charlotte Bill (Lalla) and the rest of his household. His home and particularly his garden brought him much pleasure. By being seperated from the rest of the Royal Family he was in effect spared the formality and rigidness that characterised the Royal Family's life during the reign of George V. The experiences of his older brother Prince George justify this. The intelligent and artistic George is forced by the King to attend Naval College regardless of his natural abilities and is in effect sentenced to a life of misery. Prince John in his isolation escaped such a fate and was allowed to become his own person.

Looking back on the life of Prince John it is easy and understandable why one should feel sorrow. Yet as 'The Lost Prince' suggests John himself by and large was happy and content by his circumstances and we should not look on him as a tragic episode in British Royal history.

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