The King's Speech

“The bedroom he had occupied since becoming monarch five months earlier was normally a haven of peace and quiet in the heart of London, but on this particular morning his slumbers had been rudely interrupted by the crackle of loudspeakers being tested outside on Constitution Hill.” 

The story begins in media res, as King George VI prepares to deliver the speech at his coronation. There are clues, however, that his ascension to the throne is not as simple and as easy as might be expected. Even the choice of words in the biography hints at this issue. The King, for example, has not lived in the monarch’s bedroom, but he had “occupied” (16) it, implying that he is an unwelcome guest or somehow out of place. Similarly, the normally peaceful and calm bedroom has been turned into a hive of nervous energy and distraction, as though the room itself has recognized the illegitimacy of its occupant. From the opening words and the descriptions of the otherwise grand and spectacular Buckingham Palace, it becomes clear that the King is not at ease in his new surroundings and may not be ready for the task ahead, whether that is delivering a speech or ruling over a country.

“The King, in the words of America’s Time magazine, was the ‘most famed contemporary stammerer’ in the world.”

The reputation of the King’s defect is not limited to the Palace, nor is it limited to Great Britain. All around the world, the King is known for his stammering. That his problem should be printed in Time magazine demonstrates the scale of the problem.