The King Speaks

Issued as an unofficial companion piece to The King's Speech, this documentary tells the real-life story of British monarch George VI (1895-1952). As the brother of King Edward VIII, George was terribly shy as a young man and suffered from a crippling stutter, which made him an unlikely monarch, but upon Edward's abdication, he automatically ascended to the British throne - and found it necessary to overcome a debilitating fear of speaking in public, especially as mass media grew prevalent throughout the world. Fortunately, the unconventional Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue stepped in to assist George and save the day. Laurence Fox narrates this program, which draws heavily on archival footage of George's speeches and interviews with some of Logue's other patients.