Queen Charlotte – A Bridgerton Story delves right into the past and introduces a host of new characters, including the mysterious Doctor Monro, played by Guy Henry.
A major theme of the spin-off is King George’s illness and the rift it creates between him and Queen Charlotte. He is desperate to be normal and Doctor Monro is trusted with achieving this. The character is based on the real-life John Munro, who specialised in treating ‘mad’ patients.
The Doctor’s entrance
In Episode 4, he hypothesises that the King’s condition is nervous, not physical. Introducing himself as Doctor John Monro of the Bethlehem Hospital, he claims that he can cure the King.
He quickly reveals his method; simply talking to the patient and convincing them. He tells George that he has a whole kingdom he can command at a whim, and thus, can command himself as well.
Devious methods
When Queen Charlotte goes missing before the wedding, King George plans to escape as well but is caught by Doctor Monro, who, out of the blue, slaps him and convinces him to find the bride.
After King George does find Charlotte, he is immediately smitten by her. They do get married but he asks her to live separately as he believes she can never love someone like him, who isn’t normal. He does not intend on telling her the truth either.
This results in him asking Doctor Monro to use more drastic methods to ensure he is cured as quickly as possible. The Doctor agrees to this and states that he is too used to obedience and must learn to be caged.
He proceeds to torture him through radical methods. King George later realises that Queen Charlotte isn’t ‘normal’ in her own way and isn’t afraid to speak as she wants or do as she desires.
He calls her to Kew and stops the Doctor’s treatment. However, Charlotte later finds out about the illness when he experiences a fit at night.
King George overhears a conversation between his mother, Augusta, Princess Dowager of Wales, and Charlotte, where the latter is furious at not being told about his to-be husband’s condition.
He assumes that she does not love him because of his abnormality, and resumes the torturous treatment of Doctor Monroe.
The King begins to distance himself from Charlotte again. While she contemplates leaving for good, she ultimately decides to get her husband back.
Upon reaching Kew, she finds out about the Doctor’s despicable treatment of the King. She quickly takes him back to Buckingham House and shuts down all that Monro is doing.
Doctor Monro still keeps causing menace. He later tells Augusta that Charlotte stopped his treatment, causing her to turn even more against her.
Queen Charlotte and King George eventually decide that there is no cure, and while she may have only half of him forever, they will complete each other together.
Understanding Doctor Monro’s mindset
Initially, it feels as if his methods are unthreatening, this is revealed not to be the case. He is inherently violent, as shown when he has no qualms about slapping the King of England.
His atrocities later on also suggest a desperation for authority. He visibly procured satisfaction from all the torture that he put King George through.
There are strong hints of the latent desire to make the most powerful man submit to him, making him feel like the supreme dominion.
It is hard to tell whether he ever even had the intention to cure him and actually believed his methods would work or it was all carried out for outlandish personal satisfaction.
Also Read: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story review: A spin-off that greatly surpasses its predecessor