The Lost Prince 2003 (TV Movie)

The Lost Prince 2003 (TV Movie)


"He was the only one of us who was able to be himself." -Prince George

Lalla and Johnnie.

The Lost Prince is about Prince John (Johnnie), the youngest son of King George V (Tom Hollander) and Queen Mary (Miranda Richardson).  He was diagnosed as epileptic and had learning and social disabilities as well as seizures.  His parents sent him from a young age to live with his caretaker, Lalla (Gina McKee, who did a great job), and other servants in the country, away from the eyes of the public, until his death at age 13.

The movie also focuses on the important events occurring around Johnnie, particularly the death of his Grandfather King Edward VII (Michael Gambon), World War I, and the deaths of his Romanov cousins.

Michael Gambon as Edward VII.

Johnnie's grandmother, Queen
Alexandra, admires Johnnie's art.

Photos of the real Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII.

The story follows Johnny, Lalla, Johnnie's brother (the second youngest son) Prince George, and Johnny's parents.  George and his brother are very close, and Johnny is always happy when George can visit.  George is portrayed as a caring brother with more common sense than most around him.  Bill Nighy plays one of the king's advisers, Arthur Bigge, and George enjoys learning from him as he watches the war unfold.

George and Johnnie.

Their parents, the King and Queen, clearly do not know how to cope with Johnnie's problems.  They don't spend much time with him, and mostly leave him in Lalla's care.  To be fair to them, they had six children to care for, didn't really understand what was going on with Johnnie, and had very difficult roles as monarchs.

Queen Mary seems uncomfortable when she visits.

In many ways, Johnnie was much luckier than most children at that time with similar medical conditions.  Instead of being sent to an asylum, he was raised in a nice house with a woman who not only cared for him, but served as his champion.  It wasn't just a job for Lalla.  She truly loved Johnnie and worked hard to make sure that everyone around him treated him well.

The real Lalla and Johnnie.

A visit from George.

When his tutor throws up his hands and gives up on educating Johnnie, she takes on educating him herself, passionately believing that he is capable of more than the doctors claim he can accomplish.  Always remaining respectful, she pushes his parents to spend time with him.  When his mother, in a misguided attempt to help the war effort by collecting scrap metal, tries to take Johnny's beloved gramophone (a gift from his brother George), she risks the Queen's displeasure by speaking up and convincing her to let him keep it:

Lalla: Ma’am…Ma’am!  I implore you not to take Johnnie’s gramophone.  It will, with respect, make no difference to the war at all.   Not one bit.  But for Johnnie it is of such importance.  Please listen, Ma’am.  He gets such joy from it.
Queen Mary: Of course, Lalla, if it means that much to the child.  You may have it, Johnnie.  I shouldn’t have taken it.  Clearly, I shouldn’t have.

When he performs well at an exam, she is bursting with pride.  When he suffers his seizures, she holds him and soothes him.  I can't even imagine what life would have been like for him without her there to fight for him, or if he'd been stuck in an institution as the doctors suggested he should be early on.



One really touching moment is when he marches to the "big house" where his parents stay, with his servants all marching behind him, to perform a recital for his family.  The Queen has made a mistake, and the war council will be meeting, but they agree to sit for a few minutes and listen.  The King and Queen are antsy to leave and meet with the council, and I wanted to tell them to shut the hell up and sit their asses down and listen to their son, because though there's a war on and they're important people, their son needs them for half an hour.  Johnnie basically does just that when his father tries to leave (though with more tact):

George: We will have to stop.
Mary: Lalla, you will take Johnny through the back corridors to the kitchen, where I’m sure they will find you-
Johnny: No!  Certainly not.  I have not finished.  Everybody must wait.  Nobody can leave early.

So everyone listens while he plays the trumpet, and he amazes them with how well he does, and the family ends up listening to several songs with tears in their eyes.  It inspires George to stand up to his father about his own future.

King George and Queen Mary watch the recital.

The real King George V
and Queen Mary.

They all experience privations and emotional turmoil during the war.  Queen Mary suffers the ire of those who condemn her for her German origins, though she works tirelessly for the British cause.  After being verbally assaulted at a hospital she is visiting, she reclines and recites to herself, "I am English. From top to toe, from toe to top.  I am English, from top to toe, from toe to top."  It is nice when King George, in a rare moment (as he is usually very emotionally stilted), expresses his gratitude and appreciation for her:

King George: Today’s news, when it comes, will be extremely vital.  You must go down to the country as we planned.  And I will wire as soon as I hear.
Queen Mary: I will stay here.  Surely that would be best?  I should be here with you.
King George: No.  Please, you must proceed as planned.  We must carry on as normal as much as possible.  Otherwise, waiting for the news…I find it very difficult.  The wire will be waiting for you by the time you get there.  I know I don’t often say this.  I find certain things so difficult to say out loud.  But you mean so much to me.

The Romanov cousins on a visit.

Tsar Nicholas checks in with
Empress Alexandra duting a visit.

Tsar Nicholas II posing with his cousin, King George V.


Real photo of Nicholas II and George V.

Photo of Empress Alexandra and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

King George, to his shame, helps convince the government to withdraw their offer to let the Romanovs receive sanctuary in England.  He thinks their presence will cause the people to become angry with him, and comes up with excuses such as that Balmoral is his only available house and it's not suitable this time of year -pitiful, considering the Romanovs were staying in a farmhouse.  Johnnie is sweet and proposes they could stay with them, and imagines them at his house, playing with the animals.  When the Romanovs are killed, a very graphic and disturbing scene, the King is haunted by his decision.  He couldn't have known what would happen, but he has blood on his hands nonetheless, and he knows it:

King George: Tell me, do you really think we had a choice about letting them in?
Arthur Bigge: We could not know how things would develop.
King George: Did we have a choice?
Arthur Bigge: For the stability of the country, I don’t think we had a choice.  Ultimately we must remember it was the government’s decision.
King George: Maybe that’s what the public will be told.  But we know.  Hm?

Johnnie and Georgie then imagine Kaiser Wilhelm II of and the Emperor Franz Joseph I staying at the farmhouse (note: Emperor Franz Joseph actually died in 1916, and his successor, Charles I, was the Emperor in exile).  It's innocent and idealistic:

Photo of the real Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany
and photo of the real Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.

Johnnie: So now the war has finished, will anybody be coming to stay with me?
Georgie: Well not the Russians, clearly.
Johnnie: Because they’re dead.
Georgie: Still, there are others that can come.  The Kaiser’s run away to exile.  So has the Austrian Emperor.  They could come and stay with you, Johnnie.

At the end of the movie, Johnnie passes away after one of his episodes, and Lalla is devastated.  Queen Mary is as well, though she doesn't know how to show it very well:

Lalla [crying]: I loved him.  I loved him so very much.  There was never a child like him, Ma’am.  I’m so sorry.
Queen Mary: No, Lalla, you mustn’t worry.
Lalla: Because he was different.  I don’t know how to say this.  He made you, he made me feel…
Queen Mary: Not confined.
Lalla: Yes.
Queen Mary: Is that how he made you feel?
Lalla: Yes, Ma’am.  Not that I felt confined –
Queen Mary: I know what you mean, Lalla.  I shall miss him so very much myself.  I do already.  Does that surprise you?
Lalla: No.  No.

It's a great movie.  The pace is slow, but never dull, even at 3 hours.  A moving and powerful story of love.