How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The King's Speech.
Quote #1
BERTIE: I don't care what woman you carry on with at night, as long as you show up for duty in the morning!
Bertie doesn't care what his brother does on his own time, but the dude is the King of England now and he needs to show up for work. He has a whole country depending on him now and he can't go on being irresponsible.
Quote #2
DAVID: A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor.
King Edward VIII doesn't last very long in his office. He doesn't even stick around a year before he leaves the throne of England to marry his love, Wallis Simpson. So much for family duty.
Quote #3
BERTIE: If I fail in my duty... David could come back. I've seen the placards: "Save Our King!" They don't mean me.
Bertie is convinced that no one wants him to be king because he can't speak well. But the truth is that most of the people around him are relieved that they won't have to live with his brother as king. After all, the dude was a lazy Nazi sympathizer. It's safe to say that, stutter or not, Bertie's a step up.
Quote #4
BERTIE: I can't even give them a Christmas speech.
Bertie has always admired his father's Christmas speeches. But now that he's king, he's worried that he won't be able to fulfill his duty to give these same speeches because of his stutter. But Bertie is a man of duty and if there's any way for him to fill his father's shoes, he'll find it.
Quote #5
ANNOUNCER: Now we go live to Wembley Stadium, where His Royal Highness the Duke of York will read his message from the King.
The opening scene of this movie is painful to watch because Bertie fails in his duty to speak on behalf of the royal family. It's not his fault that he stutters, but that doesn't stop him from feeling deeply ashamed at letting his family down.
Quote #6
LOGUE: I was also told, speaking with a Royal, one waits for the Royal to choose the topic.
Logue might ask for total equality with Bertie, but he still has some sense of duty to the man as the King of England. In this case at least, he pretends to care about duty so that he can get Bertie to speak first.
Quote #7
GEORGE V: In the past all a king had to do was look respectable in uniform and not fall off his horse.
King George yearns for the old days before radio when all a king had to do was ride a horse and wave to people. But in the modern era, kings need to be good public speakers. And that doesn't bode well for Bertie.
Quote #8
GEORGE V: With your older brother shirking his duties, you're going to have to do a lot more of this.
King George doesn't beat around the bush. He knows that his son David is a disappointment and that Bertie will have to pick up the slack for him in terms of royal duties. That's why poor Bertie is constantly asked to give big speeches despite his speech impediment.
Quote #9
GEORGE V: Get it out, boy! […] Relax. Just try it! Do it!
King George is an impatient man when it comes to his son's speech performance. He doesn't wait very long into Bertie's efforts before yelling at him to do his duty to England and speak clearly. The problem is that that's the one thing Bertie can't do.
Quote #10
QUEEN MARY: If your father were well, tardiness would not be tolerated. None of this… unpleasantness would be tolerated.
David's mother (the Queen) gets fed up with David's constant lack of respect for his duties as a member of the royal family. He shows up for stuff late and totally ignores his public duties. This sort of thing would never stand if the stern old King George were still around. But unfortunately, the old man is dying and it looks like David is destined to be king.