The Lost Prince

The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince DVD Cover
Created by	Stephen Poliakoff
Written by	Stephen Poliakoff
Starring	Matthew James Thomas Miranda Richardson Tom Hollander Bill Nighy
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
Editor(s)	Clare Douglas
Production company(s)	BBC TalkBack Productions WGBH
Distributor	BBC (2003) (USA, TV) PBS (2004, USA, TV)
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	2003

The Lost Prince is a 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 January 2003. It won an Emmy Award in September 2005.

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

Episode One

A spellbound young Prince John gazes as his family attend an elaborate birthday party for his pampered and indulged grandmother, Queen Alexandra, held at Sandringham in Norfolk during the winter.

When summer arrives there is much excitement again as Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their children, visit their relatives, the British royals at the Isle of Wight. The Russians entrance Prince John with their exotic splendour. It is clear, even at this stage, that Johnnie, a charming and attractive boy, has an eccentric view of the world and is uninhibited in a way that is alien to his parents. His ailing grandfather, King Edward VII, loves him for his frankness. It is clear also that his nanny, Lalla, is reluctant to reveal the seriousness of his medical condition.