If Prince Frederick had succeeded his father in 1760 instead of the young, inexperienced, and dysfunctional George III, would the American revolution in the 1770s have taken place? 

Would the French revolution in the 1780s have taken place? Would the rebellions of the 1790s and 1803 occurred in Ireland?

Through the prism of a medical academic, this book reveals evidence that the premature demise of Prince Frederick, heir to the British and Irish monarchies, may have occurred at the behest of his father George II possibly as the result of poisoning. It examines how George III’s long serving prime minister Lord Frederick North may have been his half-brother, and together they were responsible for Britain losing its thirteen American colonies. It discusses how George III’s chronic psychiatric illness was due to a bipolar affective disorder, which probably preceded his ascent to the throne, and impacted on his cognitive functioning as king for the next sixty years.

Michael Turner is UCD Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The Coombe Hospital. He trained in Dublin and London, and from 1992 to 1998 served as Master of the hospital under a 1867 Royal Charter. He is a member of professional organisations in Ireland, Britain and the United States. He has had a lifelong interest in Irish history.