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 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
In May 1940, a rapt population in Britain will listen to a radio broadcast from the King to commemorate Empire Day. Neville Chamberlain has been replaced as Prime Minister by Winston Churchill. The Nazis have invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and they are rapidly spreading across France. Logue is called to the Palace where he finds the King in high spirits, though his “hair was a little greyer on the side of the temples” (176). They prepare for the Empire Day speech. Just before the King begins, Logue squeezes his arm for good luck. It is a remarkable gesture, as “no one was meant to touch a king unbidden in such a way” (177). Logue listens, marveling at the King’s voice. After finishing, the King is proud of himself, as is his family and staff.
The war continues. The fall of Belgium results in the evacuation of the British army on a giant flotilla, taking the troops from Dunkirk. Churchill delivers his own speech, vowing to “fight on the beaches” (179). Laurie Logue is conscripted into the army; Myrtle cries. Next, Paris falls to the Germans. The bombing of London begins in earnest; even Buckingham Palace is hit. At Christmas, the King addresses the Empire again, with Logue there to help.
In June 1941, the Nazis invade the Soviet Union. By December, the Soviet Union has launched a counter attack and the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States firmly into the war. The war rages in Africa, too. While sitting with the King, Logue is among the first to hear Bernard Montgomery has forced the Nazi’s African divisions into full retreat. The Allies open another front in North Africa.
Soon, another Christmas speech is expected. Logue arrives again to assist and notices a specific decoration on the Christmas tree: a gift from Myrtle. As Logue listens to the King speak, he stops following along as “he realized there was no need to do so any more” (184). The King believes it to be his best speech ever.
Chapter 14 Summary
By the summer of 1943, the war has begun to turn in the Allies’ favor. They have won victory in North Africa and begin to plot an invasion of the Italian mainland just as Mussolini is deposed. The Italian government surrenders in September, declaring war on Germany. The battle for the Atlantic is effectively won. The King hopes to visit his victorious armies in the field. He is greeted with enthusiasm while visiting North Africa and Malta.
Logue lives the war “vicariously through the lives of his sons” (188): Laurie serves in North Africa, as does Tony. Valentine uses his medical training to help victims of the Blitz as a neuro-surgeon. Logue is too old to be conscripted but does what he can to help on the home front. He suffers from an ulcer as well as a downturn in business: most of his clients are away fighting the war. The King helps by making a personal gift to Logue of £500.
Logue also continues to rise through the honors ranks. He is placed on the board of the British Medical Association as a representative of the British Society of Speech, but confesses that he is slightly too old to fully enjoy these gifts. He does, however, receive many appreciative letters from former patients.
Logue is summoned to Windsor in June 1944. He and the King prepare a solemn address for D-Day, the Allied assault on Europe. The event has been planned years in advance. The assault takes place on 6 June. As they prepare, the King notices a comic situation outside and wishes to investigate. Logue reminds him of his duty. The speech is delivered, and straight away, the King returns to the window to see what became of the situation outside. When the Queen enters, this situation is all he can discuss. Later, the country gathers around the radio to hear the speech. The D-Day operation is a success.
By October, the Allies have liberated France and Belgium. They are moving through the Netherlands and Italy. Tony writes to his parents about a fierce battle in Italy. In December, Hitler launches a counter attack. The Nazis have also begun to fire V-1 and V-2 rockets at London, causing incredible damage and many lives lost. The King and Logue prepare a speech to commemorate the disbanding of the Home Guard; afterward, the King confesses to Logue that he made an intentional error because “if I don’t make a mistake, people might not know it was me” (197).
As they prepare for another Christmas broadcast, the King announces that he hopes to do this one without Logue. Instead, the Queen and the princesses will sit in the room with him while Logue eats Christmas dinner with his family. Logue holds a house party on Christmas Day and listens to the speech alone in his bedroom. The King sounds “much better than Logue remembered” (198). He phones the King to congratulate him as the guests listen in on the line. Logue tells the King that his “job is over” (198), which the King dismisses and credits the preliminary work. The war continues well for the Allies. Hitler shoots himself in the head in April 1945.
Chapter 15 Summary
The German surrender prompts huge parties on the streets of Great Britain. The royal family appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace eight times to wave to the public. Logue and the King prepare a broadcast speech, which is delayed as the inevitable victory is drawn out a little longer. The King invites Logue and his wife for dinner; Myrtle is instructed to “wear something bright” (202). The King gives his speech on a balcony in front of a rapturous audience. Then, the celebrations begin. Even the princesses are allowed out (with a guard) to celebrate with the people. Logue and Myrtle bid farewell to the King and Queen and are driven home.
At the age of 65, Logue continues to see patients. In June 1945, he is having an operation on his prostate when Myrtle suffers a heart attack. She dies on 22 June. Logue is “heartbroken” (205). The King sends his condolences while Logue grieves with his sons, though only Laurie remains when the other two are dispatched on military duty. Logue returns to work as a “great panacea for all sorrow” (205).
The King opens Parliament at the same time Japan surrenders and World War Two ends. Logue helps with the speech, despite his poor health. The incoming Labour government heralds a huge social change. The progressive nature of these changes concerns the King, “a natural conservative” (206) and he is saddened by Churchill’s defeat, whom he considered a friend. In Aneurin Bevan, he meets a politician who also suffers from a stammer, who tells the King of his admiration for overcoming the problem.
Logue continues to work. He sells the family house. Tony suffers from ill health. The King becomes a patron of the College of Speech Therapists, a personal dream Logue has held for a long time. Following Myrtle’s death, Logue is lonely. He even “became attracted to spiritualism in the hope of making contact with her on the ‘other side’” (208), though his sons believe he is crazy. Princess Elizabeth marries, but her father is less than sure about her choice in men.
The King’s health worsens. The “strain he suffered during the war” (210) was blamed for this. Planned trips are cancelled as his condition deteriorates. He and Logue continue to exchange letters. Logue’s own health is not improving. In 1948, the King gives his now-regular Christmas broadcast without Logue, though he asks for feedback on the telephone immediately afterward. After surgery, “the King’s health appeared to continue to improve through 1949” (212). He delivers another Christmas message in 1949, though he admits in a letter to Logue that “it still ruins my Christmas” (212).
Chapter 16 Summary
To the audience of the King’s Christmas broadcast in 1951, “the voice was both familiar and worryingly different” (214). The King sounds hoarse, and at times, almost whispers. It becomes clear to millions of people how sick he has become. This is the first Christmas speech by the King to be pre-recorded, also attributed to health issues. By September 1951, a doctor recommends that the King’s lung be removed.
The operation goes well. His health still suffers such that—during the State Opening of Parliament in November—the King’s speech is read for him. Though some advisors recommend allowing the Queen or Princess Elizabeth to deliver the Christmas speech, the King insists on delivering it himself. It is, however, a composite recording made in advance.
The King’s final letter to Logue comes at a time when both are suffering badly from their ill health. Logue is taken to hospital before he can reply. On 5 February, the King is well enough to go shooting. He seems content and carefree, but the next morning, a servant finds him dead in his bed. The King died of a fatal blood clot to his heart. Princess Elizabeth is in Africa with her husband at the time. She is proclaimed Queen and must return to Britain.
Logue recovers from his own illness enough to write to the King’s widow. He tells her of the honor he felt at having been allowed to help such a man and how much he admires her own efforts to help her husband. Her reply is equally effusive.
Queen Elizabeth II sends Logue a small gold snuff box from the King’s desk. In December of that year, she delivers her own Christmas speech. Logue spends the day in his apartment, surrounded by his sons and their families. He does not record whether or not he listened to the Queen’s speech.
Shortly after the New Year, Logue falls ill for the last time. He spends three months confined to a bed before falling into a coma. He dies on 12 April 1953 due to kidney failure at the age of 73. He had been invited to the Queen’s coronation but had been unable to RSVP. He is remembered in newspapers around the world and the royal family dispatch representatives to his funeral. Despite Logue’s success, he is not a wealthy man. His work with the King, however, is immortalized in history.
Chapters 13-16 Analysis
In a section of the book that is filled with dramatic events on a global scale, listing invasions of countries and the deaths of world leaders, a very small gesture is one of the most important in the book. In the midst of one of the most important speeches the King will ever deliver, Logue reaches out and touches him on the arm. It is a small gesture, but it hints at the closeness of their friendship. As is noted in the text, there are few people in the world who could get away with touching the body of a British monarch without express permission. Logue, a “common colonial” (19) has transcended this traditional social barrier. He touches the King’s arm and the King hardly notices it as anything less than a warm gesture. The text itself draws attention to the moment, however, positioning the touching of the King’s arm as a monumental demonstration of the manner in which Logue frequently challenges class traditions and conventions. These two unlikely friends have developed a bond that transcends the expectations placed on them by their social stations.
The above chapters illustrate a turning point in the life of the King. They mark the changes that have taken place and the manner in which he has evolved as a person. Not only does Logue no longer need to read along with the words as his friend reads them out during the broadcasts (in order to double check errors that are being made and to help prevent them in the future), but the King has begun to introduce errors on purpose. Though this is framed as a joke between the two friends, it is a demonstration of the newfound mastery of the voice as exercised by the King. This is a level of confidence that was unthinkable earlier in the text. After years of therapy, friendship, and a great deal of effort from both men, the King has won victory over his stammer. When he delivers his next Christmas day speech, he tells Logue that he will not be needed in the room. This is a bittersweet moment. Though it represents the King’s victory over his speech impediment and represents the validation of Logue as a professional, it brings to an end a vital relationship in the lives of both men. They may well have succeeded, but they now no longer need to spend as much time together. It is the closing of a chapter in the lives of both men, a great victory that will lead to them spending more time apart.
In the closing chapters, the narrative comes full circle. The book opens with the characters attending a coronation, illustrating the nervous and worried attitudes they possessed with regard to the speeches that had to be delivered. The book closes with another coronation, that of Queen Elizabeth II, King George VI’s oldest daughter. This time, however, neither the King nor Logue is able to attend. It is the King’s death that has led to this coronation and Logue dies shortly before the ceremony takes place, unable even to reply to the invitation and indicate whether he planned to attend. Rather than being a tragic or a sad ending, this represents a satisfying and almost happy conclusion. The goal both men set out to achieve was fulfilled. The King was not only able to overcome his speech impediment, but he became renowned for his public speaking ability. He is well-remembered and followed successfully in his father’s footsteps. Likewise, Logue is justified in moving across the world to try and legitimize his ideas on speech therapy. The highest profile client in the world benefited from his methods and the two were instrumental in setting up professional bodies to practice the discipline of speech therapy. Both men leave a commendable legacy. Though the book ends with their deaths, the tragedy and sadness are alleviated by the success both men experienced in their lives, as well as what they left behind. Both men achieved great things in their lives and died happy and successful.
