Tony Avery OBE is an academic GP from Nottingham.
In this historical novel, Mike Pringle, former Royal College of General Practitioners Chair of Council and President, has written a gripping tale of how professional and political rivalry led to the mismanagement of Queen Victoria’s son-in-law with devastating consequences.
The novel centres on the Queen’s personal physician, James Reid, a family doctor from Aberdeenshire. Reid gains the confidence of the Queen but soon becomes embroiled in a medical and political tragedy when he is asked to recommend a specialist to give a second opinion on Prince Frederick, husband of Victoria’s first child, Vicky. Frederick had developed a hoarse voice and was coughing up blood-flecked sputum. His German doctors had diagnosed throat cancer, but there was suspicion in the British establishment that this was just a ruse to prevent the Prince from becoming Kaiser: a laryngectomy would either kill him or leave him with no voice.
“… it is a lesson to all of us about not letting extraneous factors get in the way of making the right diagnosis.”
Reid dispatches an ear, nose, and throat specialist, Morrell MacKenzie, who confidently dismisses the diagnosis of the German doctors, but Reid has his doubts and worries that he will be judged part responsible for any misdiagnosis, with major personal and political repercussions.
The novel, which is based on historical documents, charts the course of Frederick’s illness and the involvement of multiple doctors from Britain and Germany. It also brilliantly imagines the inner world of Reid as he tries to keep his monarch on side and avoid the loss of his reputation and livelihood. Despite obvious deterioration in Frederick’s condition, MacKenzie sticks to his guns until it is too late, while Reid tries to avoid getting caught in the crossfire that inevitably comes with Frederick’s untimely death (having been Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia for just 99 days).
This is a great book for anyone who likes a compelling story with a bit of political intrigue. It also highlights the skills of the family doctor in managing complex medical and social challenges; it is a lesson to all of us about not letting extraneous factors get in the way of making the right diagnosis.
Featured book: Mike Pringle, Kaiser Frederick’s Throat, self-published, 2025, PB, 176pp, £5.50, 979-8286135592
Featured photo: ‘Post-mortem portrait of Emperor Friedrich III, 1888’ by Reichard and Lindner. Public domain.
