Who would have thought a movie about helping a king get over his stuttering could be so riveting? The King’s Speech is set just before World War II, and the stammering, as the Brits call it, is done by the Duke of York, second in line to the throne, behind his father, King George V, and his brother, the Prince of Wales, who was King Edward VIII just briefly (leaving to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson).
The world is struggling against Hitler and Stalin, England is struggling with its empire, Chamberlin and Churchill are struggling for leadership of the government. Bertie, who will become George VI, is struggling against his demons, his brother, perhaps his father – and famously against his speech therapist, Lionel Logue.
Fascinating stuff, every square inch of it. The castles, the clothes, the uniforms, the princesses, including Elizabeth, now Queen. Heartbreaking when the girls curtsey to their father after he is king, hilarious when Logue’s wife comes home to find the Queen at her dining table. An excellent film.