Review: Prince Regent
DVD: Prince Regent (1979)
Prince Regent from 1979 tells the story of George IV of Britain.
In brief; George was the eldest son of George III and Queen Charlotte. The Hanoverian kings were notorious for having bad relations with their heirs, and George III and his son were no exception. George’s extravagant, and dissolute lifestyle caused his father to regard him with complete contempt (he preferred his brother Frederick). George was, like the rest of the Royal family, seemingly unloved but spoilt, more of a child than a man, he spent way beyond his means and shagged anything that moved, leaving behind him a trail of illegitimate kids and ruined ladies.
As regular readers know, I am quite voracious when it comes to History films and TV, and with the popularity of The BBC’s Poldark and ITVs Victoria on television in the UK at the moment, Simply Media have managed to re-release this complete gem of a programme.
Peter Egan plays Prince George beautifully, from age around 20 to death and portraying him as a spoilt shit, hopeless romantic and manipulative cad. I can’t imagine more perfect casting. Seeing the great Nigel Davenport as George III (his dad) in the early stages of Porphyria (as in The Madness of King George) the illness which led to George IV becoming regent is a masterclass in understated yet powerful acting. A king fearing for his own sanity….
The whole cast are fabulous and include some of the most famous and best loved British actors of the 70s and 80s. The story is spot on too, all truthful (which is unusual in history TV) from him being so pissed on his wedding night he falls asleep in the fire and has no recollection of getting his wife pregnant to his illegal marriage.
If you like History TV, I’d put this alongside ‘I, Claudius‘ and ‘Elizabeth R‘, which is VERY high praise from me. A complete delight from beginning to end.
Prince Regent will be available to buy from 16th October, 2016.
Review by Tina (co-host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Aim Publicity.