Mad Monarchs: Comparison of the Nature, Causes and Consequences of the Mental Ill-Health of Maria I of Portugal and George III of Great Britain

Abstract

Two contemporaneous late eighteenth-century European monarchs, George III of Great Britain and Maria I of Portugal, suffered recurrent mental illnesses and both received treatment by Dr Francis Willis, an English specialist‘mad doctor’ (psychiatrist). This article documents for both monarchs the principal events relevant to their illnesses, including family history and possible causal factors. Their symptomatology, combined with the use of computer diagnostics, offers diagnoses of major depressive disorder (Maria I) and recurrent acute mania (George III) as components of bipolar disorder. The treatment offered, medical outcome and contemporary implications are compared and contrasted.

A version of this article was presented at the July 2013 meeting of Kings & Queens 2, University of Winchester.