It stars Nigel Hawthorne as George III, Helen Mirren as Queen Charlotte, Ian Holm as Dr. Willis, Rupert Graves as Greville, Amanda Donohoe as Lady Pembroke, Rupert Everett as the Prince of Wales, Julian Rhind-Tutt as the Duke of York, Julian Wadham as George III's Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and Jim Carter as Whig MP Charles James Fox.

A picture show was directed by Nicholas Hytner, and adapted by Alan Bennett from his play The Madness of George III. Bennett refused to sanction the film version unless Hawthorne lean number one refusal for the name part fallowing with the extremely acclaimed performance in the theatre.

An urban legend circulates to this day that the Roman numerals were removed from either a title of the film because U.S. test audiences misinterpreted them to mean it was a sequel. This, notwithstanding, is untrue.

It won a Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nigel Hawthorne), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Helen Mirren) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.