The King's Speech

Happy Birthday to my Dad, who is 74 years young today!  Love, Always :-)

I happened to watch "The King's Speech" today.  Didn't think about the timing until I was well into the movie, but it hits really close to home.  If you're not familiar with the movie, it tells the story of the current Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI and his relationship with a speech therapist:

The current monarch and her father were not supposed to be on the throne.  The Queen's father, then Prince Albert, the Duke of York, was the second-born son.  The Duke only became king after his older brother abdicated the throne, to marry a woman deemed "unsuitable" to be Queen.  Can you imagine if that had been the outcome of the Charles-Diana-Camilla triangle?  At worst, he just has to deal with citizens who wish he'd voluntarily "step aside" in lieu of Prince William

The Duke also had a lifelong problem with stuttering.  At the time, it was considered to be a major "flaw" and something to be ashamed of.  It was something the Duke struggled with for most of his life.  The movie tells the story of how the King worked Lionel Logue to gain control over his "issue". 

The reason this resonates with me is that my wonderful Dad has also struggled with stuttering all of his life.  He worked with speech therapists and the public speaking group, Toastmasters International, and now is a very well respected speaker.  I'm so proud of how hard he's worked.