The King's Speech

Ok, I LOVE this movie! Yes, I know it has Colin Firth, but - while I do relish in being numbered among the millions who regard him as the "thinking woman's heartthrob" - that is not why I like it.

  

L-R: George V, Prince Edward, Prince Albert,
King Edward VII

I like it because it is a story about perseverance, strength, courage, hard work, trust, and friendship. It tells the story of King George VI (father to the present Queen Elizabeth II) and his struggle to overcome the debilitating stammer that plagued him his entire life. Born Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George (or 'Bertie' to his family), he was the second son of King George V and Mary of Teck. As a child he was teased mercilessly for his stutter. In fact once, he was asked to tell what you get when you divide a half by a half and he refused to answer because he knew he had trouble with the 'k' sound as in 'quarter'. This led to his classmates and others marking him as stupid. His father wasn't very helpful either. His best response to his son's struggle was "Get it out boy!" As he grew older and became Albert, Duke of York, he was required to make public appearances and sometimes...speeches. These he dreaded more than anything. In fact, Albert confessed in his journal that for him public speaking was 'hell'.

Queen Mary of Teck and her children, standin L-R: Henry, Mary, Edward, Albert; sitting in carriage, L-R: George and John



In 1925, his father asked Albert to give the opening speech at the Empire Exhibition at Wembley. As Albert approached the microphone his voice failed him in what proved to be a painful experience for both he and the audience. In the audience that day was Lionel Logue, an Australian man known for his abilities as an elocutionist and curer of those with speech difficulties. 



Albert, Duke of York and young Princess Elizabeth

A year after the disastrous Wembley speech Albert decided he had to overcome this difficulty. He became frustrated however when therapist after therapist failed to cure him. Finally, somehow, he got in touch with Lionel Logue. As was shown in the movie, Logue required absolute equality in their sessions and emphasized hard work, muscle relaxation, and constant practice. The Duke knew curing his stammer would require a lot of hard work on his part and he was ready and determined to do it. According to Logue, Albert worked harder than anyone else he ever treated.  

Royal Family, L-R: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Princess Margaret,
Albert, Duke of York (George VI), Princess Elizabeth

After about 1-2 years of working with Logue, Albert began to be confident in his speaking abilities and believed Logue had cured him enough to perform the taks he had as Duke of York, such as giving speeches to a few thousand or at private dinners, etc. They stopped seeing each other every day as they had at the beginning and only had contact about once a year. Then in 1936 George V died and Albert's older brother David, became King Edward VIII. However, David was in love with an American woman named Wallis Simpson who had been divorced twice. He was determined to marry her but, as head of the Church of England, Edward could not marry a twice-divorced woman and remain on the throne. So less than a year after being made king, Edward famously abdicated, thrusting Albert onto a throne that he never wanted or ever expected to have.

Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and King George VI on coronation day, 1937

Now, as King George VI, he would have to make more speeches, to larger crowds, and often in front of a microphone which would then be broadcast. This put his speeches - and perhaps his speech difficulties - on display for the entire world to hear. He contacted Logue and again they began working tirelessly to prepare for first the King's coronation, then a Christmas message, etc. Then just two short years after becoming king, WWII began and George VI needed more than ever to be the kind of leader - and speaker - that could inspire his nation in that time of great trial.  

  

Logue used to laugh when he would see pictures such as this in the newspapers because he was present for most of the king's major speeches and knew he always spoke staking up with his jacket off and the window open

I saw The King's Speech 3 times and read the book within a week and a half! I wondered what it was about the film that made me love it so much? I think I liked it because it was just plain well done, well acted, and clean. (I know there was the one scene where he drops like 8 f-bombs, but other than that it's the cleanest movie you'll ever see). It is so wonderfully inspiring and you walk away uplifted and ready to conquer any struggles you may have in your life. I loved it because it wasn't a story about wanting power, but about a man who would give anything not to have power.
  

Lionel Logue and wife Myrtle

The book was a great addition to the film because it added so many insights into George VI's personality, his friendship with Logue, relationship with his family and other tidbits that made the story really come alive. As I read I was a little jealous of Logue, an ordinary man who had a king call him his friend. I learned that The King's Speech was also a fascinating family history story. The movie producers found that Logue had a grandson and tracked him down to ask if he happened to have anything of Logue's. He went up in his attic and pulled down a box that hadn't been touched, let alone looked at, in over 50 years. Inside they found hundreds of pictures written to Logue from the King, photographs, gifts, and even George VI's patient card filled out by Logue the first time he met him! These findings provided many of the personal details of the movie and served as the main documents for the book. Amazing the treasures you can find!

However, even after seeing the film several times and reading the book, I still couldn't get enough of the story.  I looked up pictures and watched or listened to every speech of George VI's that is available. It's so heartbreaking to hear/watch him struggle, but then you cheer him on as he gets past it and gets another 3 or 4 words in. In his 1937 Christmas Broadcast you can hear him practically forcing the words out, but he gets through it. If George VI had been born just 10 years earlier, there would have been no broadcasting or microphones. His speeches would have been written and later distributed. Born 10 years later and his speeches could have been recorded and edited. But the poor guy was thrown into power right as the microphone and broadcasting was becoming popular. Or perhaps he was born at the right time? to be an inspiration to those who struggle?

In all my reading about this story, it seems like George VI was exactly the person Britain needed to be king at the time. The perfect man for the job, as much as he didn't want to believe it. While reading the book and watching the movie I thought of this quote from Harry Potter (And yes, I am going to quote HP right now :))

"It is a curious thing...but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who...have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.


George VI was a model of quiet strength, perseverance, and hard work. We could use more heroes like him nowadays. And that's why I like 'The King's Speech.'



    





Go see it! As Prof. Fluhman would say, "I dare you not to be inspired!"