The Lost King

The Lost King is a 2022 British biographical film directed by Stephen Frears. Written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, it is based on the 2013 book The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones. It is a dramatisation of the story of Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins), the woman who initiated the search to find King Richard III's remains under a car park in Leicester, and her treatment by the University of Leicester in the claiming of credit for the discovery. Coogan and Harry Lloyd also feature in the cast.

The Lost King was produced by Pathé, Baby Cow, BBC Film and Ingenious Media, and distributed by Pathé in France and Switzerland as a standalone distributor, and in the UK via Warner Bros. Pictures. The film premiered at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2022 and was released in the United Kingdom on 7 October. The Lost King received generally positive reviews from critics, although part of the film was later ruled to be defamatory in its depiction of Richard Taylor, with a settlement being reached and set out in a Tomlin order on 24 October 2025, and there have been critiques of its framing or veracity.

Plot

Living in Edinburgh, Philippa Langley loses a work promotion to a less experienced and younger co-worker. She unsuccessfully confronts her male boss about being passed over and also appeals that her myalgic encephalomyelitis (or "ME") has never affected her work. Distraught, her ex-husband John, who helps with their two teenage boys, tells her to keep her job as they need the money.