It is possible Willy suffered from ADHD. ADHD children are often very bright, as we know Wilie was. However, as adults they usually find ways of coping with th disorder and become less hyper and more focused, I don't think this was the case with Willy so I have to doubt he was truly ADHD. I really don't see the classic signs of bipolar disorder, at least not from what the author wrote.
Georgie cut a rather sad figure in his early years. Separated from his family in order to serve in the navy, his older brother stuck to him like glue. One shudders to think how things might have turned out had Eddy lived and become King, as he was apparently as dumb as a post. But the author doesn't really touch on Eddy's relationship with Willy and Nicky much so it might have turned out better, or might have made no difference whatsoever.
Nicky is the one you feel for the most. The climate in Russia was horrible and he was sheltered in ways the other two were not. I think all three sets of parents went out of their way to give these children too spartan an upbringing, thinking to protect them from the flatterers and sycophants they would eventually encounter, but in no way preparing them to deal with it.
Therein I think lies the bulk of the problem, more so with Willy and Nicky than with George, as George was never intended to be King.
Cat
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