With all of the hype about the critically-acclaimed—and Academy Award winning—movie starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, I began to wonder about the true story behind the King's Speech and the great, stammering British King, George VI, known as 'Bertie' to his family and closest friends. As expected with most Hollywood flicks, the King's speech distorted some details to make a better, more-dramatic film; yet, the over-arching sentiments of the movie were very true to the time.

As shown in the King's speech, the timing of King George's reign could not have been worse considering his stammer. Had he ruled 10 years earlier or 10 years later, his stammer would not have been a huge obstacle. 10 years before, he would not have been able to broadcast speeches on the radio and 10 years later, technology would have allowed him to prerecord his speeches before broadcasting them. Yet in some respects, his timing couldn't have been better because Britain needed a leader and King George VI fit the role to a T.

As properly depicted the King's Speech, Bertie's brother, Edward, seemed in many ways more suitable to be king; he was handsome, charismatic, and eloquent. On the other hand, he sometimes acted like a politically-naïve, irresponsible sybarite. In contrast to his character in the King's Speech, Edward VIII was very close with his brother, Bertie, and would not have teased him about his speech impediment. Edward certainly did not accuse his brother of trying to steal the throne; in fact, neither brother wanted to be king.

In my research, I was surprised to find that world history could have been quite different if Edward had not abdicated his throne. Unlike Bertie, he held the Nazis in high esteem and even visited Germany as a personal guest of Adolf Hitler. He claimed that Britain would ultimately hold the same ideas as Nazi Germany and said, if a war were to start, Britain must win by siding with Germany, instead of France. Some suggest that Hitler even intended on returning Edward to the throne after conquering England. The King's Speech captured the two different characters of the brothers but did not touch much on the implications of Edward VIII's abdication.

Instead, we saw the beautiful friendship between King George VI and his speech therapist, Lionel Logue, who used "talk therapy" and a variety of new-age methods to help cure the king's stammer. As properly depicted in the King's Speech, Lionel, an Australian, did not care much about British formalities or titles. He insisted that he and the king talk on a first name basis and meet in his private office away from the palace. After the King George VI's death, the Queen mother wrote Lionel, "[Y]ou helped the King, not only with his speech, but, through that, his whole life, and outlook on life."

Throughout his rule, King George VI began to symbolize both the triumph and vulnerability of the British people against Nazi Germany. He remained at Buckingham Palace which was bombed nine times during the war and gained the love of his people for his bravery and dedication. After he died in 1952 of lung cancer at age 56, his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, took over the throne and continues to carry forth his legacy today.