Who is The Lost Prince?

This TV movie is just sad... and tragic, to a certain point. Not much is known of Prince John, the youngest child of King George V, who died at the age of 13 from a severe epileptic seizure. He was largely hidden from the public eye due to concerns on how society would accept his condition when at that time, it was taboo to be different.

 

It broke my heart to see how the royal family could actually stand to send off one of their own into the countryside instead of accepting his disability and helping him integrate into society like a normal human being. One couldn't help but wonder, were they really that heartless? The King, I can understand. He was busy with stately affairs after all. But the Queen? How could she stand to be so emotionally distant from her youngest son? Was a hug too much to ask? No wonder Queen Elizabeth II suffers from the same kind of public image. These were her grandparents. They had doted on her and played a large influence on her formative years.

 

I cried. You'd be heartless enough not to. The actors who portrayed "Johnnie" in the movie were so convincing that you can't help but feel for their innocence. I cried for Johnnie who had mainted a positive attitude despite being abandoned by his family. I cried for Lalla, the nanny who treated Johnnie as if he were her own kid. She was there for him when his parents simply refused to be saddled with an additional obligation on top of their royal duties. I cried for Georgie, who lost a brother and a bestfriend. Johnnie was his only refuge from a life restricted to what their father had dictated. How ironic that the two brothers closest to each were the first ones to die among George V's children?

 

One interesting note in The Lost Prince is its background on the fate of the Romanovs. The tragic story of the last Russian royal family will have you feeling sympathetic towards the Tsar Nicholas and his children but utter indignation towards the Tsarina Alexandra. Royal families are always a dysfunctional bunch, huh? This series is a definite must-see if you’re interested in the British monarchy. Looks like the cold and calculating image of the current queen has some history after all.