In December 2010, one of the winning films at the 2011 Academy Awards arrived in Spanish cinemas. In fact, it won four of the most relevant awards for a total of twelve nominations, winning in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Original Screenplay.
We are talking about The King’s Speech, a 15-year-old feature film starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter under the direction of Tom Hooper, in which the little-known story of the father of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was told.
The true story told by “The King’s Speech”
Despite her appearance as one of his characters, Queen Elizabeth II is not the heroine of the movie “The King’s Speech,” in which she appears as a child. Rather, the most important role is that of her father, King George VI, Duke of York, who ascended to the throne after his brother Edward VIII abdicated due to his scandals and his intention to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Although some events were changed in the film and were not narrated with historical accuracy to provide better drama, the main problem that arises is the accession to the throne of a man who did not plan for it, with a shy and reserved personality who does not seem destined to rule.
But this translated into a stutter which was not seen as typical for the king at the time and he could not be taken seriously because of it. Because of what this might mean for his crown, his wife, who would become known as the “Queen Mother”, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, sought professional help for her husband’s problem and found Lionel Logue.
Logue would be the one who would help George VI alleviate his stutter in public speeches, according to historians from 1926, almost ten years before his coronation as king in May 1937, while in the film he accepted an important speech after declaring war on Germany in 1939, an event that, in addition, serves as a main axis of the plot.
George VI and speech and language therapist Louis Logue would work together to improve the King’s style and confidence in speech until the King’s death in 1952 from lung cancer, playing a recognized key role in the Victorian monarchy, whose story gained popularity for his “King’s Speech”.
Seeing stuttering and the challenge faced by Colin Firth
In a turbulent time, it was more important than ever for the King to convey security, something that was not the case for society at that time if he stuttered, which is why before something like this happened, the treatment was given to the story told and narrated by The King’s Speech, a story that highlighted a problem that thousands of people were suffering from. “It was very eloquent about what you feel. He was referring to the feeling of suffocation when you’re faced with that terrible silence that you can’t escape. It’s something I’ve always thought about,” lead actor Colin Firth admitted about what screenwriter David Seidler, who had a stutter, recommended.
At the same time, Colin Firth also revealed in his day how the moment of searching for his character was complicated by the secrecy of the British Royal Family: “I had never read a biography of the Royal Family before until I made this film. Preparing for the role was not easy because the Royal Family does not allow you to get too close, so you rely on the written material.”