He Has a Voice in “The King’s Speech”

One of the most powerful moments in “The King’s Speech” is when Geoffrey Rush’s Lionel Logue is sitting on the King’s Throne. Enraged, Colin Firth’s King George VI tells him he can’t sit there.

Lionel Logue: Why not? It's a chair.

King George VI: No, that. It is not a chair. T-that... that is Saint Edward's chair.

Lionel Logue: People have carved their names on it.

King George VI: [Simultaneously] That... chair... is the seat on which every king and queen has... That is the Stone of Scone you ah-are trivializing everything. You trivialize...

Lionel Logue: [Simultaneously] It's held in place by a large rock. I don't care about how many royal arseholes have sat in this chair.

King George VI: Listen to me. Listen to me!

Lionel Logue: Listen to you? By what right?

King George VI: By divine right if you must, I am your king.

Lionel Logue: No you're not, you told me so yourself. You didn't want it. Why should I waste my time listening?

King George VI: Because I have a right to be heard. I have a voice!

Until that point, King George does not want to be King George. He wants no part in leading England through World War II when he can’t say two words without stuttering. OK, one word. He has to address the nation on radio, to encourage the men fighting and dying to project the country. That’s a tall order for a man who struggles with a severe speech impediment. After asserting that he has a voice (and speaking clearly and authoritatively when saying so), King George is crowned and history is made as he flawlessly delivers an address to England. Although he struggles with speaking, he faces this challenge with a courage not often seen. When others would have given up, he persists. He doesn’t rise to the occasion alone, though, as his speaking coach and wife give him the support he needs.

This voice that he has is much more than just words that are spoken. There is a message behind the words, a voice that wants to communicate something important. For King George, this important something is to rally his country in a time of war. He desperately wants everyone to hear his voice, to hear the message that he is committed to the protection of England and to stop Hitler’s advancement. His severe speech impediment hinders him from using his voice, but his voice is there all along. King George’s problem is not that he doesn’t have a voice; his problem is that he struggles to physically speak his voice.

King George steps up to the plate in the film, and proves what Lionel Logue says about him:

Lionel Logue: You have such perseverance Bertie, you're the bravest man I know.

Were we all as brave and had as much perseverance as King George when it comes time to speak our voice.