The Lost Prince

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For the novel by British-American author Frances Hodgson Burnett, see The Lost Prince (novel).
The Lost Prince

The Lost Prince DVD Cover
Creator Stephen Poliakoff
Written by Stephen Poliakoff
Starring Matthew James Thomas
Miranda Richardson
Tom Hollander
Bill Nighy
Editing by Clare Douglas
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Original channel BBC One
Release date 2003

The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama about the life of Prince John – youngest child of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary – who died at the age of 13 in 1919.

A Talkback Thames production written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, it was originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003, and won an Emmy Award in September 2005.

Contents

[edit] Plot

John suffered from epileptic seizures and an autism-like developmental disorder, and the Royal Family tried to shelter him from public view as much as possible; the script shied away from presenting the Royal Family as unsympathetic to the Prince, and instead showed how much this cost them emotionally (particularly John's mother, Queen Mary). Poliakoff explores the story of John, his relationship with his family, John's brother, Prince George, the political events going on at the time (like the fall of the House of Romanov in 1917) and the love and devotion shown to him by his nanny, Charlotte Bill (known as Lalla), played by Gina McKee.

[edit] Reception & awards

The serial won a high viewing figure and much praise, was released on VHS and DVD and was repeated on BBC One in January 2004, almost one year after its original showing with the South Bank Show Drama Award. A further repeat showing followed on BBC Two in January 2006. It is now occasionally shown in two parts on the BBC cable channel UK History. Both Miranda Richardson and Gina McKee received Best Actress nominations at the British Academy Television Awards in April 2004. The miniseries was also nominated for BAFTA TV awards for editing (Clare Douglas), music (Adrian Johnston), and photography (Barry Ackroyd).

When the production was transmitted in the United States in October 2004, it won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries in 2005. Miranda Richardson was nominated for a Golden Globe.

It was also repeated on BBC Two on 14 & 21 November 2009

[edit] Historical Innacuracies

The portrayal of Queen Mary's mother, Princess Mary Adelaide, talking to her daughter during preparations for George V's coronation, is an anachronism; she had died in 1897, fourteen years before the event and also eight years before John's birth. Lord Stamfordham, the king's secretary is portrayed as clean shaven with a full head of hair, whereas in fact, as photographs bore out, he was moustached and became increasingly bald over the years of the film's setting.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Further reading

  • Cardwell, Sarah (2006). "Patterns, Layers and Values: Poliakoff's The Lost Prince". Journal of British Cinema and Television (Edinburgh University Press) 3 (1): 134–141. doi:10.3366/JBCTV.2006.3.1.134. 

[edit] External links
Films and TV series directed by Stephen Poliakoff
1980s
1990s
2000s
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