(The words "Buckingham House: January 12, 1765" appear. A YOUNG KING GEORGE III, age 26, awakes in the middle of the night in a feverish sweat. Sleeping next to him is YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE, age 20 and two months pregnant. He coughs profusely and clutches his stomach, which is giving him acute pain. Hearing whispered voices outside his door, he suddenly sits up. He can see the shadows of people's feet under the door. He listens carefully as the indistinguishable voices seem to be plotting his murder.)
VOICE #1
We shall carry the murders out tonight.
VOICE #2
The King first. We'll slit his throat.
VOICE #3
Then the Queen, and the wee princes last.
VOICE #1
Right. God damn all royals. These are the last England will ever have.
(As they are whispering, YOUNG KING GEORGE III quickly lights a candle at his bedside, then runs to the door in his nightshift and yanks it open. No one is there; the hallway is completely empty and dark. In a fit of adrenaline, he runs to the bedchamber of his two children: the YOUNG PRINCE OF WALES and YOUNG PRINCE FREDERICK, who are two years and 18 months old, respectively. He bursts into their room to check on them, pulling back the bedcurtains to make sure they are unharmed.)
YOUNG KING GEORGE III
George! George, my boy, are you murdered yet?
(The YOUNG PRINCE OF WALES begins to stir in confusion and opens his eyes slightly to see his father. Seeing he is alright, YOUNG KING GEORGE III runs to the other side of the bed to wake YOUNG PRINCE FREDERICK.)
YOUNG KING GEORGE III (cont.)
Oh, Frederick! Do you live still? Frederick!
(Both toddlers cry upon being woken up. Suddenly, the YOUNG KING GEORGE III hears the voices again. Thinking of his wife, he runs out of the room and sees several cloaked figures entering his bedchamber with daggers in their gloved hands. He runs down the hall, yelling for help.)
YOUNG KING GEORGE III (cont.)
(Hysterically and incoherently)
Help! Oh, help! Murder, murder! Oh, the Queen!
(He runs into his bedchamber, startling the YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE. She screams upon being woken up, as she does not understand what is happening. She turns to the side to wake her husband, only to realize to her horror that he is the man running around the room and shouting incoherently. He begins looking under the bed, behind the curtains, and in the closet for intruders, but no one is there. He had been hallucinating the voices and figures.)
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
(Terrified)
Your Majesty?
YOUNG KING GEORGE III
The murderers—throats slit soon—the children, danger—in the closet—no, under the bed! Daggers in hand!
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
(Crying in confusion)
Sir, what is the matter?
YOUNG KING GEORGE III
The murderers, they—I heard—I saw them—in here—daggers, murder, murder...
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
There is no one here but us, Your Majesty!
(Suddenly, YOUNG KING GEORGE III clutches his stomach in pain and collapses in a fit of sobs. YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE comforts him as attendants rush in to help them.)
YOUNG KING GEORGE III
Ahh! They have stabbed me; they have surely stabbed me. This is the end, my Charlotte! The children, they shall murder the children also! I saw them with my own eyes! Oh, what shall become of me? I shall be murdered, or else I am going mad!
(YOUNG KING GEORGE III screams and cries in pain as attendants help him to his bed. YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE cries for him as her ladies in waiting take her out of the room. An hour later, SIR WILLIAM DUNCAN, the royal physician, leaves the King's chamber and speaks privately to YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE, who has covered her nightshift with a modest robe and slippers.)
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
Will His Majesty live or die, Sir William?
SIR WILLIAM
The King will surely live, Your Majesty; needn't you fear. His Majesty suffers primarily from an acute pain in the stomach and a severe cold, for which I have given him a dose of laudanum. This should calm his temperament for the remainder of the night... However, I must express great concern for His Majesty's mental affliction. He is experiencing hallucinations and delusions, as well as a general confusion, a nervous and depressed mood, disorderly speech, and a very quick pulse.
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
Is his condition permanent? Will a Regent be necessary?
SIR WILLIAM
For the latter, that is up to the House of Lords to decide, and such a motion would only be necessary were the King's condition permanent, and that I very much doubt. His distress may only be an ill effect of his physical condition... but it could also be attributed to evil humors in the brain, which can be extracted by way of bloodletting and blistering.
(Pause, hesitant)
If that is the case, I haveoften found that these periods of confusion come and go in cycles. Therefore, Your Majesty must prepare yourself for this malady to return in future... perhaps more than once... and far more severe than it is at present.
YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE
How long must we await this illness' return?
SIR WILLIAM
It could be a year, or ten, or twenty. Only God knows, madam... Only God knows.
(YOUNG QUEEN CHARLOTTE gazes anxiously back into YOUNG KING GEORGE III's bedchamber, where he is sleeping. Cut to Title Sequence.)
YOU ARE READING
The Drunken Feathers
Historical FictionIn this biographical series that begins in 1784, twenty-one-year-old George, Prince of Wales-- the eldest son of King George III and heir to the British throne-- spends his youth idly by keeping countless mistresses, drinking profusely, and making f...
