BBC1's 'The Lost Prince' is one of the best television dramas that the channel has shown for a long time. The story of King George V's youngest son, Johnnie, the programme explores the boy's learning difficulties and his autism-related problems, as well as the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the Royal family.
Those are the facts, but the drama is so much more than a re-telling of a royal story. Moments of poignancy, such as Johnnie's frank but heartbreaking honesty with his parents, are touching without becoming schmaltzy or obvious, and the harsh burden of the First World War on the British keeps the drama well within reality.
Good performances all around, particularly from Miranda Richardson as Queen Mary and Tom Hollander as King George, who invoke sympathy from their seemingly impassive facades. Bill Nighy is excellent as the King's adviser, Stamfordham, and the children - especially Rollo Weeks -are more than capable of carrying such a difficult and weighty subject.
