The King's Speech

"If I am King, where is my power? Can I form a government? Levy a tax? Declare a war? No! And yet I am the seat of all authority because they think that when I speak, I speak for them. But I can't speak."

"Is the nation ready for two minutes of radio silence?"

"Waiting for me to... commence a conversation, one can wait rather a long wait."

"We're not a family, we're a firm."

"In this grave... hour... perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send... to every household of my... a-peoples, both at home... and overseas... this message... spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross... your threshold and speak to you... myself. For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at... at war. Over and over again, we have tried to find... a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now... our enemies. But it has been... in vain. We have been forced into a conflict, for we are called to meet the challenge of a principle, which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilised order... in the world. Such a principle, stripped of all... disguise, is surely the mere... primitive doctrine that might... is right. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet... the challenge. It is to this... high purpose that I now... call my people, at home, and my people across... the seas, who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm, and firm, and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war... can no longer be... confined... to the battlefield. But we can only do the right... as we see the right, and reverently... commit our cause... to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful... to it, then... with God's help, we shall... prevail."

"[to Winston Churchill, on the hold that Wallis Simpson seems to have on Edward VIII] Apparently she has certain skills - acquired at an establishment in Shanghai."

"[to Bertie] You know, I refused your first two marriage proposals not because I didn't love you, but because I couldn't bear the idea of a royal life. Couldn't bear the idea of a life of tours, duty, and... well, a life that really no longer to be my own. But then I thought, 'he stammers so beautifully, they'll leave us alone.'"

"[to King George VI, upon his learning that Logue has no formal credentials] It's true, I'm not a doctor. And yes, I acted. A bit. Well...I recited in pubs, I taught elocution in schools. When the Great War came, all our soldiers were returning to Australia from the front, a lot of them shell-shocked, unable to speak. Somebody said, "Lionel, you're very good at all this speech stuff, you think you could possibly help these poor buggers?" I did muscle therapy, exercises, relaxation, but I knew I had to go deeper. Those poor young blokes cried out in fear. No one was listening to them. My job was to give them faith in their own voice, and let them know a friend was listening."

"Forget everything else, and just say it to me. Say it to me, as a friend."

"In the past, all a king had to do was look respectable in uniform and not fall off his horse. Now we must invade people's homes and ingratiate ourselves with them. This family's been reduced to those lowest, basest of all creatures. We've become actors."

"[on Edward] I told him straight, no divorced person can ever be received at court! He said, it made him "sublimely happy." [scoffs] I imagine that was because she was sleeping with him. "I give you my word" - this is what he said - "I give you my word, we've never had immoral relations." Stared square into his father's face, and lied. When I'm dead, that boy will ruin himself, this family, and this nation within twelve months."

"It takes leadership to confront a nation's fear. It takes friendship to conquer your own."

"When God couldn't save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could."

"Find your voice."

"Colin Firth - Albert Frederick Arthur George, afterwards King George VI"

"Helena Bonham Carter - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, afterwards Queen Elizabeth"

"Geoffrey Rush - Lionel Logue"

"Guy Pearce - Edward, Duke of Windsor, afterwards King Edward VIII"

"Michael Gambon - King George V"

"Timothy Spall - Winston Churchill"

"Jennifer Ehle - Myrtle Logue"

"Derek Jacobi - Cosmo Gordon Lang (Archbishop of Canterbury)"

"Anthony Andrews - Stanley Baldwin"

"Eve Best - Wallis Simpson"

"Freya Wilson - Princess Elizabeth"

"Ramona Marquez - Princess Margaret"

"Claire Bloom - Queen Mary"