The timing couldn’t be better for the release of a masterful movie about monarchy. Just as Britain’s likable Prince William and his Kate prepare to marry in April, “The King’s Speech” is delivered today as an inspiring, witty prelude. It amplifies the private struggle and eventual public triumph of Will’s great-grandpa, who would become King George VI.
With the help of an iconoclastic Australian speech therapist and a spirited wife (Helena Bonham Carter) — the future Queen Mum of the current Queen Elizabeth — a shy heir unapparent (Colin Firth) really did overcome a speech impediment. And he did it just in time to survive the age of broadcast media, to preserve a crown amid unprecedented scandal, and to provide symbolic strength to an empire soon forced into world war.
