A room in Windsor castle. The PRINCE OF WALES and DUKE OF YORK watch with shock as KING GEORGE III, dressed in a disorderly fashion with bandaged legs, rambles incoherently. A small orchestra plays Handel's 'Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No 1, HWV 319: II. Allegro.'
KING GEORGE III: [Standing] Come now, play louder! I've become hard of hearing, I have. That is not fortissimo, gentlemen. Louder, I say, louder!
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: [Anxious and embarrassed] Your Majesty might better enjoy the concert in your seat.
KING GEORGE III: Perchance I might, were I able to hear the music. But they are not playing loud enough for me to hear it!
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: They are playing as loudly as they can. I beg Your Majesty to sit and relieve your legs of the ache, which must be owing to dropsy or gout.
KING GEORGE III: I have no dropsy or gout. I am only nervous... But I will sit. [He sits, then stands again] Do you know what I love most about Handel's music?
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: I would be delighted to know after the concert has concluded.
KING GEORGE III: I like his music better than that of Herr Mozart, [to the PRINCE OF WALES] though I daresay some in my company would disagree with me.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: The Prince of Wales adores Handel's compositions.
KING GEORGE III: Does he?
QUEEN CHARLOTTE nods at the PRINCE OF WALES, and he in turn cautiously nods at KING GEORGE III.
KING GEORGE III: Lying fiend! You have been poisoned with the sinful nature of Mozart's operas. I shall see to it that this devilish composer is hanged and that his compositions are burned in a massive fire that—
BAKER cautiously and quietly steps into the room. KING GEORGE III notices him and turns his attention toward him.
KING GEORGE III: [Shouting at BAKER] What reason have you to be here?
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: [Stands] I called him here.
KING GEORGE III: You have damned me, woman!
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: Sir Baker only wishes to observe Your Majesty.
KING GEORGE III: What? Observe me? What for?
QUEEN CHARLOTTE: He wants to make certain that you are well.
KING GEORGE III: The fact of the matter is I am not well. I am nervous. I am not ill, but I am nervous. If you would know what is that matter with me, I am nervous!
KING GEORGE III and QUEEN CHARLOTTE sit. KING GEORGE III kicks his ankles together. BAKER sees this and fears that his patient will hurt himself.
BAKER: [Leans forward and whispers] Might I advise Your Majesty not to employ your legs in that particular activity?
KING GEORGE III: [Turns his head around] What?
BAKER: Lest you should aggravate your gout—
KING GEORGE III: They would make me believe I have the gout. But if it was gout, how could I kick the part without any pain?
KING GEORGE III turns back around, while BAKER sits back and looks dismayed.
KING GEORGE III: If I cannot hear the music, I shall not listen to it at all!
KING GEORGE III stands and furiously exits, limping out the door. The Court stands to see him go. A moment later, he reenters.
KING GEORGE III: Frederick, come!
KING GEORGE III exits again. The DUKE OF YORK stands and hesitantly follows his father into an adjacent room as QUEEN CHARLOTTE tries to restore order in the concert room. In the adjacent room, KING GEORGE III paces back and forth as he rambles on about complete nonsense. The DUKE OF YORK approaches him with caution.
DUKE OF YORK: Your Majesty... Father?
KING GEORGE III: [Rapidly] I endeavored to pray this morning, but could I pray? Nay, I could not pray enough! I selected one prayer, but could not help repeating the Lord's Prayer instead: "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and" "amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!" "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relived!" "And when this flesh and heart shall fail—
DUKE OF YORK: [Worried] Your Majesty!
KING GEORGE III points to a portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales on the wall.
KING GEORGE III: Say, there is my father, the Prince of Wales! Bow to him, my boy. He was a fool, but he is your namesake and your grandfather. And again with the prayer, for I must, lest my heart should be cut out and fed to the dogs, as is done with all heretics. "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done," or else "The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart.
DUKE OF YORK: Oh, Father! What mist has covered your eyes?
KING GEORGE III: [Gradually beginning to cry] "And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them." Oh, Frederick, can you not see what is happening to your poor, old father? I pray to God I shall die, for I am going to be mad!
KING GEORGE III collapses into tears on his son's shoulder. The DUEK OF YORK sincerely consoles him, not knowing what else to do. Cut to ACT II, SCENE XVIII.
YOU ARE READING
The Drunken Feathers
Fiction HistoriqueIn 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...
