For starters, nothing is “wrong” with him.
The latest season of Bridgerton is finally here, and it’s everything fans could have hoped for. Viewers finally see the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton blossom, and part two—which drops on June 13—promises to be epic. But many of Bridgerton fans have noticed that King George hasn’t made an appearance yet this season although his wife, Queen Charlotte, has been in the mix.
Of course, King George made brief appearances in the previous two seasons and was featured heavily in the prequel, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. That series dove into the fascinating and complicated life of spunky Queen Charlotte and her sweet love story with King George.
The spinoff took viewers on a journey into King George’s personal life, who, as everyone already knows from the original series, struggles with his mental health. George was portrayed as a charming, handsome, young king who works hard to win over his future wife, but just when they seemed to start connecting, he disappeared on their wedding night, leaving poor Charlotte alone—and seriously confused.
Naturally, Charlotte keeps asking what’s going on, and what she’s done to make him avoid her presence, but she doesn’t get a direct answer. At one point, Charlotte even discovered that George had been sleeping and eating in his stargazing observatory. In response to her questions, he told her that it was “better for her” if they lived in separate homes.
So…what’s really going on with King George? Here’s what to know about the real King George III, whom this character is based on, and his mental health struggles:
What is wrong with King George?
Let’s back up a second. First, there’s nothing “wrong” with George.
Historians know that George struggled with his mental health throughout his life, which is a nuanced and complicated topic. But it’s incredibly common for people to struggle with their mental health on several levels. In fact, the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than one in five adults in the U.S. has some sort of mental illness.
Of course, in 2023, mental health issues can be properly diagnosed and treated—but that wasn’t the case when Queen Charlotte and King George were coming along.
So once again, there’s nothing “wrong” with him. George is actually pretty great. He’s just unlucky enough to struggle with a mental health issue at a time when they weren’t properly recognized and treated, making it difficult for him to function the way people expected him to at times.
Buckingham Palace even has a section on its website about King George’s mental health. “After serious bouts of illness in 1788-89 and again in 1801, George became permanently deranged in 1810,” it reads. “He was mentally unfit to rule in the last decade of his reign; his eldest son—the later George IV—acted as Prince Regent from 1811.”
What was King George III’s illness?
It’s difficult to say for sure what doctors would have diagnosed King George with today. The real King George III, famously known for being “mad,” may have struggled with bipolar disorder, according to more recent research. For the study, researchers programmed a computer to “read” George’s letters throughout his reign, which spanned from 1760 to 1820. They found that the king suffered from “acute mania,” which could be a signal of the manic phase of bipolar disorder I.
Historians also know that King George starting showing depression and mania symptoms in 1765, at the age of 27, according to a medical journal article.
Other researchers have suggested that he struggled with dementia toward the end of his life. Vogue reported that by 1811, one of his physicians, Robert Willis, explained that the King was “sometimes in a state of delirium, sometimes strongly impressed by false images, neither of which states has characterized this day so much as a degree of irritability, which could only be met by coercion, and which was only varied by occasional exclamations and noises without meaning.”
What is porphyria?
Buckingham Palace says that some medical scientists think that George III’s mental health condition was caused by a hereditary physical disorder called porphyria, which is a rare disorder that affects the skin or nervous system. The disorder generates chemicals called porphyrins to build up in the body, and symptoms include things like pain in the stomach, back, arms or legs; anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and seizures; muscle weakness; and dark or reddish-brown urine, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
However, the theory that George III actually had bipolar disorder I has become more common over the past few years.
