King George’s Madness: Lucy Worsley investigates
elephant hospital
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In 1788, King III. George’s doctors tried to cure his insane delusions and hallucinations by attaching leeches to his temples “to suck the madness out of his brain.”
Investigating King George’s insanity (BBC2) in her latest detective series, Lucy Worsley crafted a plastic jar of leeches.
They were labeled “Little Wrigglers: Not For Medical Use” and bought them online. “They’re like little monsters,” he said, taking off his hoodie enthusiastically.
However, he tried not to glue them to his skin. This goes too far for academic enthusiasm.
It’s tempting to laugh at the harshness of 18th-century medicine, but our ancestors were not deliberately barbaric. They just applied the best knowledge they had.
Lucy Worsley explores the notorious King George spree in her latest episode
Future generations can also laugh at our historical obsession with labeling people with undertones of mental illness. Most of this program tried to classify the king’s condition.
For decades, it was believed to be caused by porphyria, a condition that affects the liver. Lucy dismissed it as a pseudoscience spread by archaeologists who wanted to free the monarch from the stigma of mental illness. Instead, he turned to Sir Simon Wessely of King’s College London, who entered all of George’s known symptoms into a computer to diagnose bipolar disorder. Sir Simon acknowledged that a common symptom of bipolarity is “greatness,” a common side-effect of being king as well.
George III’s frustrations include rocking mattresses and cushions in his belief that his dead children will come back to life. And he tried to climb the 50-foot pagoda at Kew Palace. As one of his inspectors noted in a diary, “His Majesty was completely insane.”
Since we can’t prescribe 21st century medicine to a man who died 200 years ago, it seems pointless to entrust the poor man with a modern diagnosis.
The accounts uncovered in ancient records of insanity treatments were disturbing. The king was bathed in ice baths and bound in a cotton straitjacket, possibly a gentler treatment for the insane (or “Bedlam”) at London’s Bishopsgate than the chains given to inmates at Bethlem Royal Hospital. Lucy also followed the fate of the tailor Margaret Nicholson, who tried to stab the king. “The poor creature is crazy, don’t hurt him,” cried George.
His tolerance saved him from the gallows, but it probably condemned him to something worse: 42 years in Bedlam. Hospital records describe how he was locked up long after his sanity returned: old, resigned, and deaf. “You know,” said Lucy, her voice muffled, “I have a tear in my eye.”
Another elderly woman, 80-year-old Boon Nim, had a hard time keeping an eye on her while she showered every day at a shrine at Elephant Hospital (C5) in Thailand.
It was difficult to stay dry during the Elephant Hospital in a temple in Thailand (file image)
Narrator Jill Halfpenny said vets knew Boon Nim was over 80 because of the pink pigments on his torso and oil rolls above his ears.
And she has to wear a plastic bucket on one foot in the shower to protect a wound from infection. You should sympathize with the sweet old lady. This is not worthy.
Other elephants, including a cheeky baby, splashed into the river while they were bathing. It was a fascinating scene and it’s a pity that Elephant Hospital didn’t show more. Instead, the show has an endless obsession with fertilizer. Who wants to see it over the age of four?
Source: Daily Mail
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
