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 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary
The 1930s are “the most tumultuous decade of the twentieth century” (101), though they are a time of peace and calm for the Duke, who is becoming more involved in the functioning of the monarchy. His two daughters—Elizabeth and Margaret—are “rapidly turning into media stars” (101). Logue and his family move to a more expensive house in Sydenham. Their children are growing up; the family has several servants but takes in lodgers to cover the costs. The Duke requires Logue’s services less often but the two remain in touch. After March 1932, they go two years without an appointment.
As the Great Depression takes hold, the royal family must “be seen to make sacrifices (although largely symbolic ones)” (104). Logue’s business suffers. Though the Duke made a point of recommending Logue to friends, Logue remains “careful not to be seen to be trading on his royal connection” (105). Logue feels confident enough to begin a new practice in a larger clinic. They have a one-off meeting in 1934, at which the Duke re-affirms that he is improving.
Logue’s fame is growing during this period and he appears occasionally in newspaper and magazine articles. He sets up the British Society of Speech Therapists in 1935 to further the profession and introduces strict standards of practice. One scammer—Ramon H. Wings—sets up a pyramid scheme using speech therapy. On learning this, “the members of the executive were angered” (109) and they complain to the government, though “it is not clear whether any action was taken” (109).
As Logue approaches 55, with the Duke making such progress, it seems like their work together is finished. Then, however, the King dies on 15 January 1936 after an illness, his departure hastened by his doctor administering a “lethal injection of cocaine and morphine” (110). The knowledge of this only becomes public half a century later; it helped to euthanize a sick man and to “ensure the death could be announced in the morning edition of the Times” (111). The Duke is “grief stricken” (111). His life is about to change forever.
Chapter 8 Summary
Edward VIII ascends the throne with more “accumulated goodwill” (113) than any previous British sovereign, though his reign is set to end in an astonishing crisis. Edward had been a “shy youth [until] he was introduced by two of his equerries to an experienced prostitute in Amiens” (113) at the age of 22. From then on, he “adored London night life” (113) and “indulged in a series of affairs” (113). It is through one of these affairs that Edward meets Wallis Simpson, “a fairly attractive, stylishly dressed woman in her mid-thirties” (113) who was in the midst of her second divorce. Edward appreciates Wallis’s directness after being “surrounded by sycophants” (114). It was not unheard of for the Prince of Wales to have a mistress, though Edward seemed unwilling to make the distinction between mistress and potential queen.
After becoming King, Edward’s popularity grows. He declares that “something must be done” for the Welsh coal miners hit hard by the Depression; he cuts many of the royal household’s staff and expenses. All the while, however, he is buying expensive gifts for Wallis. Gradually, he becomes weary of the “grind” (115) of a King’s life: “the King is distracted—and the source of his distraction was not difficult to find” (115). A looming threat is becoming clear: Edward intends to be with Wallis, no matter what.
Members of the government feel Wallis Simpson is “totally unsuitable to be Queen” (115). Furthermore, Edward is technically head of the Church of England, which does not permit divorced people to remarry while their former partners are still alive. Wallis would be twice divorced; both her husbands are still alive. Rumors circulate about Wallis: she controls Edward sexually, she has more lovers, she is a Nazi. The affair is a scandal waiting to happen. Wallis’s husband lays the foundations for an impending divorce while she and Edward travel the Mediterranean on a yacht. The foreign press covers the scandal while the British press does not.
Wallis sues for divorce from her husband on 27 October, citing his infidelity. The scene outside the courtroom is hectic and two press cameras are smashed by police truncheons. The court is in session for 19 minutes and Wallis is granted her divorce. She must wait six months for the divorce to be ratified, presenting the government with a ticking time bomb. On 16 November, Edward informs the government that he intends to marry Wallis and wants to remain King. If they do not accept this, he is “prepared to go” (117).
Logue watches “with as much surprise and shock” (117) as everyone else. His correspondence with the Duke has grown less frequent. Logue’s sons are grown up and successful, so Logue writes again to the Duke. He receives no reply; the Duke has far bigger problems in his life. On 3 December, the British press finally publish the details of the affair. Edward is hopeful, but Wallis receives death threats. Edward does not seek his brother’s advice, even though “the Duke had no desire to become King” (119). Finally, Edward reveals that he plans to abdicate.
The Duke is in a “somber mood” (120). On 10 December, the King signs a “brief instrument of abdication” (120). The next day, he delivers a speech on the radio and departs after 327 days as King. He crosses the Channel into exile.
The Duke of York becomes King George VI. The question of his speech impediment, however, is still “looming over the King” (121). Pointed comments from the Archbishop of Canterbury stir the King’s nerves and encourage a “whispering campaign” (122) from people who lack confidence in the new King. Even Logue’s credentials are called into question in Australian newspapers.
Chapter 9 Summary
On 15 April 1937, Logue is asked to visit the King in four days’ time. Five months after being named King, “Bertie was to be crowned in Westminster Abbey” (126). The King is concerned about his responses in the Abbey and the radio broadcast to the Empire.
Logue and the King prepare the speech and then chat about the circumstances. At a minor speech on 23 April, Logue is surprised to hear people comment on how well the King spoke. They rehearse the radio broadcast with the equipment. The King practices for the next few days, the last attempt going so badly that he becomes “almost hysterical” (128) but is calmed by the Queen. A composite record of the King’s practices is made, a backup if anything should go wrong.
The recording studio is prepared and will allow the King to stand up as he speaks. Logue, with the help of a friend, squashes a newspaper article which suggests that Logue is helping the King, as he believes it would be a “damn shame that such a thing should be written” (129). Logue goes to the Palace two days before the coronation and notices the King’s nerves. That night, Logue is told that he is to be on the Coronation Honors List for his services to the King. The next day, he thanks the King, who smiles and hands him the order to wear at the coronation. They listen to the composite recording; it is good enough to broadcast but “Logue hoped it wouldn’t be necessary” (130).
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Noticeable in the above chapters is the manner in which external events affect the Duke. This will continue to happen for the rest of his life, as he finds himself swept along by massive societal changes that are outside of his control. The Great Depression, the First World War, and other events are global in scale and affect him personally. The Great Depression, for example, forces his family to make sacrifices (or, at the very least, appear to make sacrifices). On a more personal level, the death of his father thrusts him into the limelight. Although his speech is improving at this time, he is constantly at the behest of global events and must tenor his improvement in relation to these events. Though his position as a world figure provides him with unimaginable wealth, this comes at a cost. He has to accept the diminished agency his position brings. He is not allowed to mourn alone. Everything is projected onto the world stage.
This is made all the more apparent when his brother falls in love with the wrong woman. However, the nature of his brother’s love demonstrates the different ways in which he and his brother deal with royal responsibility and lack of agency. The nature of Edward’s love for Wallis is important in this respect. As illustrated in the text, he falls in love with Wallis because she challenges him. She talks to him in a manner in which he is not accustomed. After leading a life of tremendous privilege as the heir to the throne, Wallis treats him as she would any other person. Added to this, he is forbidden from marrying her. This turns Wallis into an unattainable object, which only seems to make him love her more. Even though he is the head of the British Empire and one of the most important and powerful people in the world, he is not allowed to marry the woman he loves. His responsibility impedes his happiness in a very different way to how it affects his brother. Though they are close and raised in the same environment, they react to the situation in very different ways.
When Edward decides to abdicate, the narrative catches up to the opening chapters and Bertie is thrust into the role of King. Now that the stakes and the characters are established, the audience can recognize the difficulty that giving a speech and a radio broadcast presents to the King. He is thrown into a situation he never expected, one that his medical condition makes all the more difficult. Even with the knowledge that the two speeches are a success, the immensity of the task seems even more enormous.
