No, not the movie. The book written alonside the movie by Mark Logue, a grandson to Lionel Logue, the speech therapist to King George VI before, during and after WWII.

There are some lovely pictures in the book and the story is quite different, quite naturally, from what is shown in the movie. The public image of the King is partly due to the work Logue did with him and the story deserves to be told.

The book is quite good. It’s not a great biography or anything of the sort, but an interesting story and an interesting look into royal life before WWII. I was reminded how private life at Buckingham Palace seemed for the royal family then as compared to the lives its members seem to live in the present day. Back then, they guarded their privacy, unlike today when they appear to try to bank on publicity for the sake of the cult of their own personality. I’m not sure I want to know everything about William and Kate they’re printing. I probably didn’t want to know everything about Diana and Charles they printed either.

For some reason, I don’t see the sense of duty in the actions of modern royalty that I felt in reading The King’s Speech. The King WORKED at overcoming his stutter so that he would be seen by his people as being worthy of being king. I’m not sure what Charles works at, but he doesn’t seem to give a toss about what his people think. God only knows that these royals seem to the source of their own malcontent. The King was capable of gratitude, something that is quite totally missing from our current royals. I believe their sense of entitlement would astound the old King.