WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.785 align:middle line:90%


00:00:03.785 --> 00:00:05.410 align:middle line:84%
ARTHUR BURNS: For
almost 200 years now,

00:00:05.410 --> 00:00:07.840 align:middle line:84%
there's been an ongoing
discussion among historians,

00:00:07.840 --> 00:00:13.330 align:middle line:84%
psychiatrists, medical doctors,
biographers, archivists

00:00:13.330 --> 00:00:16.030 align:middle line:84%
about what the evidence is and
how it should be interpreted.

00:00:16.030 --> 00:00:17.950 align:middle line:84%
And of course, because
George was king

00:00:17.950 --> 00:00:19.870 align:middle line:84%
and this illness
hit him at a time

00:00:19.870 --> 00:00:22.090 align:middle line:84%
when he was engaged
in really quite

00:00:22.090 --> 00:00:24.957 align:middle line:84%
significant and controversial
political activity,

00:00:24.957 --> 00:00:27.040 align:middle line:84%
not just with reference
to Britain but, of course,

00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:29.230 align:middle line:84%
more generally in
the world, this

00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:31.550 align:middle line:84%
was a very well
documented illness,

00:00:31.550 --> 00:00:34.420 align:middle line:84%
in which we have a quite
extraordinary set of case

00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:36.685 align:middle line:84%
notes, which can be the
basis for interpretation

00:00:36.685 --> 00:00:39.160 align:middle line:90%
and discussion going forward.

00:00:39.160 --> 00:00:42.880 align:middle line:84%
And it's these case notes that
constitute the medical papers

00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:44.890 align:middle line:90%
associated with George III.

00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:46.400 align:middle line:90%
It's not all of them.

00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:48.973 align:middle line:84%
There are many documents
elsewhere in other archives

00:00:48.973 --> 00:00:50.140 align:middle line:90%
which are equally important.

00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:52.540 align:middle line:84%
Thus, Lambeth Palace
Library in London

00:00:52.540 --> 00:00:54.910 align:middle line:84%
holds the records of the
Queen's Council, which

00:00:54.910 --> 00:00:57.430 align:middle line:84%
oversaw the King's treatment
in the latter stages

00:00:57.430 --> 00:00:58.810 align:middle line:90%
of his illness.

00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:02.140 align:middle line:84%
In the British Library, you can
consult the journals and notes

00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:04.620 align:middle line:84%
of some of the doctors kept
for their own purposes.

00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:08.050 align:middle line:84%
Sir Francis Willis and his
successors from his family

00:01:08.050 --> 00:01:10.480 align:middle line:84%
kept copious notes
that are there.

00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:14.140 align:middle line:84%
Other archives held the
records of other doctors.

00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.930 align:middle line:84%
So all in all, there's
a considerable body

00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:19.570 align:middle line:84%
of source material,
but the materials

00:01:19.570 --> 00:01:22.420 align:middle line:84%
held at the Royal Archives
are particularly important.

00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:25.810 align:middle line:84%
And although they have been
used by historians in the past,

00:01:25.810 --> 00:01:27.790 align:middle line:84%
this is the first time
that all these documents

00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:31.030 align:middle line:84%
are going to be made publicly
available without censorship,

00:01:31.030 --> 00:01:33.640 align:middle line:84%
because many, of course, deal
with very intimate details

00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.795 align:middle line:84%
of the King's disorder
and personal life.

00:01:35.795 --> 00:01:38.170 align:middle line:84%
And that's the most remarkable
thing about the collection

00:01:38.170 --> 00:01:39.220 align:middle line:90%
we're dealing with.

00:01:39.220 --> 00:01:43.450 align:middle line:84%
At its core lie the series
of daily reports issued

00:01:43.450 --> 00:01:47.260 align:middle line:84%
by the doctors who were treating
George, or at least overseeing

00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:51.070 align:middle line:84%
his illness, mainly
to the Prince Regent,

00:01:51.070 --> 00:01:54.300 align:middle line:84%
as the Prince Regent, but
earlier as the Prince of Wales,

00:01:54.300 --> 00:01:56.800 align:middle line:84%
reporting to him
the King's progress

00:01:56.800 --> 00:01:59.650 align:middle line:84%
and his prospects of
recovery and his activities

00:01:59.650 --> 00:02:01.330 align:middle line:90%
during each day.

00:02:01.330 --> 00:02:03.170 align:middle line:84%
At moments of
crisis, these reports

00:02:03.170 --> 00:02:07.560 align:middle line:84%
could be happening twice
daily, often more than one side

00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:09.630 align:middle line:84%
recounting the King's
sleep patterns,

00:02:09.630 --> 00:02:11.920 align:middle line:84%
his behavior, any
medicine that's

00:02:11.920 --> 00:02:15.070 align:middle line:84%
been administered to him,
and more general observations

00:02:15.070 --> 00:02:18.190 align:middle line:84%
about his interactions with
other members of the family.

00:02:18.190 --> 00:02:21.790 align:middle line:84%
Alongside these reports, which
constitute a vast array over

00:02:21.790 --> 00:02:24.460 align:middle line:84%
the various years in which
the King was affected,

00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:29.440 align:middle line:84%
we also have journals, both
one of Robert Fulke Greville,

00:02:29.440 --> 00:02:32.230 align:middle line:84%
who was an Equerry during the
King's most famous illness

00:02:32.230 --> 00:02:35.135 align:middle line:84%
in 1788 to 1789-- one of
the key sources for Alan

00:02:35.135 --> 00:02:36.430 align:middle line:90%
Bennett's play--

00:02:36.430 --> 00:02:39.640 align:middle line:84%
and then that of Henry
Halford, one of the physicians

00:02:39.640 --> 00:02:41.653 align:middle line:84%
who was treating the
King in his final moments

00:02:41.653 --> 00:02:43.570 align:middle line:84%
as well as treating other
members of the Royal

00:02:43.570 --> 00:02:44.950 align:middle line:90%
Family for their ailments.

00:02:44.950 --> 00:02:48.640 align:middle line:84%
So there's a lot of really
quite interesting material

00:02:48.640 --> 00:02:51.480 align:middle line:90%
available to look at here.

00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:55.000 align:middle line:90%