56 pages • 1 hour read
Mark Logue , Peter ConradiThe King's Speech
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
King George VI was born on 14 December 1895 on the Sandringham estate; “guns boomed in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London” (53) in celebration. Queen Victoria, now 76, takes the birth as a “good omen” (53), though the date coincides with the death of her consort, Prince Albert. The baby will be christened Albert, will be known as Bertie, and will (one day) rule as George.
The family—George and Mary, as well as their sons, Edward and Albert—live in a modest house on the Sandringham estate, noted for its “smallness and ugliness” (54). It is “quite cramped” (54) due to all the servants and the growing family. For the most part, the boys are raised by “nurses and a governess” (54) and presented to their parents once a day. One of the nurses is “something of a sadist” (54), jealous of the time the children spend with their parents. She is cruel to Edward and “largely ignored Bertie” (55). This leads to a distant relationship between parents and children. George is “an unbending Victorian” (55) and thus a strict parent.
Everything changes when Queen Victoria dies. The boys’ grandfather becomes Edward VII and they move, their father becoming Prince of Wales. When their parents go on an eight-month tour of the Empire, the boys (Edward, Bertie, and the other sons) follow the King’s court and “their genial grandfather indulged their boisterousness” (56). They are privately tutored by a man named Henry Hansell. Their father believes they are stupid. Edward and Bertie become close, though this develops into an unequal sibling rivalry. Edward is “good looking, charming and fun” (57), and destined to become King one day. Bertie, however, suffers from poor digestion and knock-knees (which require him to wear splints for much of the day). He also has a terrible stammer. The stammer is not helped by Bertie’s strict father, who demands that he simply “get it out” (57). Family rituals and traditions are made difficult.
Edward and Bertie are “destined for the Royal Navy” (57). Unlike his brother, Bertie is expected to “make a career of it” (57) and enters the naval college at 13. Both Bertie and Edward are bullied mercilessly. Bertie’s problems are made worse by his “dismal academic performance” (58), his stammer “undoubtedly” (58) affecting his dreadful mathematics record. In 1910, he finishes bottom of his class. Around this time, his grandfather dies and his father is proclaimed King. Bertie advances through the naval academy and begins to improve. He takes a six-month training cruise to the West Indies and Canada and experiences “the adulation that being a member of the royal family inevitably brought” (60). He still struggles to give public speeches.
In 1913, Bertie becomes a commissioned officer on the HMS Collingwood, and for security reasons is known as Johnson. Bertie suffers from seasickness, however, and is “plagued by shyness” (60). At the outbreak of the First World War, Bertie travels with his ship, but comes down with a debilitating sickness. Sent back and forth between the Collingwood and home, Bertie becomes close to his father and learns “what it was to be a king in time of war” (61). Back aboard the Collingwood, he takes part in the Battle of Jutland, a strategic victory for the British. After eight years, he finally realizes that his medical issues will force him to retire from the navy. He spends a short time with the nascent air force before the war ends.
After the war, Bertie attends university. His speech impediment and his shyness continue “to weigh on him” (62), while his brother is roundly adored by the press and the public. Certain people around Edward fear that he is “enjoying the limelight rather too much” (62); Edward clashes frequently with his father. Bertie slowly becomes his father’s favorite and becomes Duke of York, developing an interest in industry and social conditions. Much to his father’s delight, Bertie marries Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, a “society beauty” (63), even though she is technically a commoner. Their courtship had not been easy; Bertie’s stutter held him back, as did his lofty position. They are married on 26 April 1923. Even though the press admires Elizabeth, many of the articles cannot help but mention Edward.
Marriage suits Bertie well; the King dotes upon Elizabeth. The speech impediment is still an issue. Elizabeth worries whenever her husband has to speak publicly or at a dinner party. His nervousness leads to “outbursts of temper” (66). Matters come to a head in 1925: Bertie is due to give a speech to the Empire Exhibition in Wembley. The speech ends “in humiliation” (66).
Coincidently, Logue is in the audience to hear Bertie’s stutter. He takes a “professional interest” (67) and he believes he would be able to help. Over the course of the next months, many experts are sought to help the Duke of York, but all fail. A fellow Australian recommends Logue to a royal equerry. The next day, the equerry arrives in Logue’s office in Harley Street. Logue agrees, but insists that the Duke come to his office as this “imposes an effort on him which is essential for success” (67). Another version of the story suggests a famous actress put the men in touch. Regardless, the meeting “almost didn’t come off” (68). Dismayed by previous cures, the Duke was unwilling to try again. Only when Elizabeth insisted did he relent and agree to visit Logue.
Chapter 5 Summary
Logue’s appointment card from the first meeting describes the Duke’s conditions as “mental: quite normal, has an acute nervous tension” (71) caused by the stammer, and “physical: well built, with good shoulders but waist line very flabby” (71). Logue details the physiognomy of the Duke’s speech patterns. Logue blames the Duke’s childhood as the Duke recalls difficulties he experienced as a child. Logue declares that “I can cure you” (71) but to do so will require a tremendous effort from the Duke. They agree on regular consultations and Logue prescribes breathing exercises. These meetings cannot be at any royal buildings; they must be at Logue’s office or flat so that they are meeting “on equal terms” (71).
Over the coming weeks, Logue notes an improvement. They hold 82 appointments between October 1926 and December 1927 in preparation for a royal trip to Australia of landmark importance. Everyone—Bertie, the King, and the Australian Prime Minister—doubts the Duke’s ability to deliver a rousing performance, or even a competent one. “Every spare moment” (74) the Duke has is spent practicing with Logue. Seven months of extreme effort begin to show positive results. Before the trip to Australia, the Duke warms up with a speech to the Pilgrims Society. The speech is well-received, surprising many people. The Duke views this success as a “turning point in his career” (75).
The Duke hopes to take Logue with him to Australia but Logue refuses, hoping to encourage “self-reliance” (75). Bertie and Elizabeth leave for Australia and their daughter stays behind in England. The Duke focuses on the importance of the events ahead of him. He delivers speeches successfully and practices constantly. Through Jamaica, Panama, and New Zealand the Duke “acquitted himself with distinction” (77). They spend two months touring Australia, delivering more successful speeches.
The opening of Australia’s parliament—the reason for the trip—arrives and the Duke is tired and nervous. Though a plane crashes during an aerial display, the Duke “won the battle with his nerves” (78). They depart from Australia with “the congratulations still ringing in their ears” (79). Big crowds and family greet them back in Britain. The Duke now has a “new confidence in his own abilities” (80) but soon returns to the lessons on Harley Street to continue his progress.
Chapter 6 Summary
On 12 June 1928, an expectant crowd gathers on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace. Lionel and Myrtle Logue are to be presented at court and their attire is “suitably grand” (83). Their entrance is much delayed, but they arrive in the Palace by the evening. Myrtle is told to curtsy before the King and Queen. Then it is over, and Logue and his wife retire to the “supper rooms for chicken and champagne” (84). They are invited to a garden party soon after and they purchase a small holiday bungalow on the Thames.
The press notes the Duke’s excellent progress. How he has achieved this, however, “remained a mystery” (93). They credit the Duke himself and various aids, but never Logue. One day, Logue receives a letter from an American news agency requesting a meeting about his role in the Duke’s improvement. Though Logue declines to answer any questions, the journalist—Kendall Foss—continues to press the matter. Eventually, Foss publishes the story. The piece effusively praises Logue’s work, though Logue and anyone from the Duke’s staff have declined to comment.
The British press picks up the story. Logue collects the many articles that appear and pastes them into a scrap book. He is also reached for comment on unrelated stories, asked to give his professional opinion on the theory that women stammer less than men. Details of Logue’s work appear in an authorized biography of the Duke; given the authorized nature of the work, Logue feels permitted to talk to the press about his work for the first time.
The Duke continues to improve, despite threats to his father’s health. The issue requires surgery and the Duke’s brother rushes home from East Africa. Though the matter interrupts the Duke’s practice, his stammer does not worsen. He begins a correspondence tradition with Logue that will last for the rest of his life.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
The above chapters emphasize the hardships imposed on the King by his speech impediment. The stammer has affected him on a deep psychological level and affects everything about his life. One attempt at public speaking leaves the future King humiliated, chastened, and haunted by the fact that he cannot express himself clearly when talking to other people. Given that his father is such a gifted public speaker, it seems impossible for Bertie to follow in his father’s footsteps. Even the smallest amount of expectation placed on him may be too much, and he is in danger of being defined by his stammer.
Despite this seemingly impossible problem, there are hints at the eventual cure. After going to visit Lionel Logue, the King has had enough treatment that he can begin to deliver speeches in public. While his efforts are still strewn with errors, his trip to Australia demonstrates that he is improving. Given his previous failures and his struggle to speak in any public forum, this improvement shocks the press. With such low expectations, even the most basically competent speech is treated as a huge success. It also functions as a validation of Logue’s methods and the amount of effort that Bertie is willing to apply to self-improvement, which validates both characters. Even Elizabeth’s future importance is shown as she begins to provide emotional support to her husband when he is struggling the most.
At the same time, the above chapters show the emergence of a real friendship between the speech therapist and his patient. This friendship is built on a complicated social foundation: they are doctor and patient and royalty and colonial subject at the same time. Logue demonstrates his commitment to the friendship when he refuses to divulge his role in his patient’s very public improvement. He does not want to somehow encroach on a private matter, even if it has the potential to make him a famous and wealthy man. He forgoes this adulation in the name of friendship. As Bertie begins to experience increasing difficulties in his life—notably his father’s ill-health—the two men begin to build the foundation of a strong friendship that will last for the rest of their lives.
