The King's Speech

The King's Speech is a newly released film starring, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. It tells the true story of George VI (the Current Queen Elizabeth's father) who after his brother abdicated the throne (just as England was about to enter into World War II) became King. The story centers, however, not on the politics of the monarchy but on the personal struggle of King George to overcome his life long affliction - he was a severe stutterer. We come to see this heir to the throne, his royal highness, this very afraid man, as one of us - that his (and our) cure is not in the illusion of regal bearing but in the nobility of facing our ordinary fear(s). That healing comes from the hope, strength and experience that others who have battled their own demons can give us. That his (and our) true voice, the unhesitant, angry and profane scream of who we really are (not what we are expected to be) is our truly regal voice, a voice that cannot be found from on high. Everyman would be King but for his afflictions.