The Madness of King George: A New Suspect

Arsenic may have contributed to the British monarch's woes, study suggests

THURSDAY, July 21, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- The strange case of King George III's fragile psyche has taken a new twist, with research now suggesting that arsenic may have contributed to his "madness."

During his reign, which stretched from 1760 to 1820 and included the loss of "the colonies" during the American Revolution, George suffered five major bouts of prolonged mental derangement. The original diagnosis of mental illness was challenged several decades ago when two British researchers said they had uncovered evidence that the king was actually experiencing severe attacks of porphyria, a genetic defect in which toxic byproducts are created as the body manufactures a component of hemoglobin.

Symptoms of porphyria include muscle weakness, abdominal pain -- and psychiatric disorders. The belief that George III had the condition has gradually and grudgingly come to be accepted -- more or less -- in part because his urine had the vivid red tinge caused by the disorder. Also, historical documents suggest that members of the royal family had mild cases of porphyria.

Now a group led by Martin James Warren, a biochemist at the University of Kent, reports in this week's issue of The Lancet that an analysis of five strands of George's hair showed unusually high levels of arsenic, which could have made his attacks more severe.

The original hope was to obtain some royal DNA, but that was impossible because the strands did not include the roots, which contain the genetic material. The search then turned to heavy metals, Warren said.

"We were thinking more of mercury or lead," he said. What they found instead was unexpectedly high levels of arsenic.

"There are several possible sources of arsenic, such as powdered wigs and even facial cream," Warren said. "Another credible source was the medication he was given."

That medication was emetic tartar. It contains antimony, which can be contaminated with arsenic. The high levels of arsenic help explain why the king's mental attacks "were so severe and so prolonged," Warren said.

There is evidence that the genetic defect causing porphyria has been passed down to the present day, he said. One member of the royal family, Prince William of Gloucester, was diagnosed with porphyria in 1968, Warren said, and similar diagnoses have been made for other family members.

"Put it all together, and we feel there is evidence for porphyria in the royal family," Warren said.

But Dr. Karl E. Anderson, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and a member of the American Porphyria Foundation's board of medical advisors, said he was "skeptical" about the new research.

"I don't think this adds to the evidence that he had porphyria," Anderson said. "It may provide evidence that he had arsenic poisoning, and perhaps his trouble was due to arsenic poisoning rather than porphyria."

Even reports that members of the royal family have been diagnosed with porphyria do not sway Anderson. "I don't know if I've seen documentation about that," he said. "I don't think the numbers of the test results have actually been published. People's private medical records usually don't get published."

More information

The complete porphyria/King George story is available from the American Porphyria Foundation.

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