The King's Speech

THE KING'S SPEECH
by David Seidler

Duke Albert, the second son of the British King George V, is a stutterer. His first radio speech is a humiliating disaster for him. He visits various doctors in vain until his wife, Duchess Elizabeth, hears about the unusual speech therapist Lionel Logue, who comes from Australia. The rapprochement between the outspoken Logue and the reserved Duke, who is plagued by blockades, proves difficult. Both wives are also more than critical of the project. But then the king dies and the actual heir to the throne, Albert's older brother David, prefers to marry a twice-divorced American woman rather than become king. If Albert is to fulfill his duty as the next king of a country threatened by Hitler's Germany, he must learn to speak in public. The road was long and rocky until his most important radio address in 1939.