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Porphyria

Foreword

The idea to write started a research project. The investigation followed two TV programs concerning "Georges III madness" (shown on Channel 4) and "Kings and Queens of England" (shown on UK TV history channel). The first one showed the link between Georges III and the porphyry illness. It also showed how far the illness could be traced. The second TV programme explained that since Henry VI, madness has always been connected in some sort to the English crown. From these two programmes, I wondered if the madness of Georges III could be connected to the one of Henry VI.

The investigation has not been enjoyable. Most of the information was missing or hidden in a few books. Most of the contemporary biographies were written in view of flattering current monarch. For example, Henry VIII biography was written when James I had just been crown. As he was a heavy sponsor of the arts, most artists did not intend to disappoint him. The other source of misinformation was the misdiagnosed of the illness. For example, the illness could be either diagnosed as madness as for Georges III or as evidence of poisoning. It is until recently that porphyry has been diagnosed for Georges III.

The research went on for a while with mixing with a day job. The idea to turn the research into a book came from a mate. He suggested it when trying to write his on Signal Processing. However, as life is too short, I have decided to put only a brief summary on line and see what happens next.

This page subject is a bit controversial as it has never been developed. The origin of porphyry could also have impact on the current English royal family. If the origin is up to Henry VI, his mother, who married the Tudor dynasty founder, could have been the carrier. However, if the origin is somewhere else or earlier, the importance could even be greater. The longer the illness has been rooted in the family, bigger the risk is.

The conclusions could be debated for a while. Many of you may disagree with them. However, I invited you to read my research update and draw your own conclusions from the finding. This page is primarily (but not exclusively) intended for future researcher as if its conclusions are correct, the illness origin can be traced up to the Medieval.