In this case, the King's doctor essentially gave him a very large speedball without the consent or knowledge of either the King or his family. The doctor decide

In this case, the King's doctor essentially gave him a very large speedball without the consent or knowledge of either the King or his family. The doctor decided to do this unilaterally to ensure the King's death was announced in the "right" newspaper. That's quite different from giving someone a morphine drip (usually with the family's knowledge/consent) to speed up their demise.