As the son of the British King George V, it is one of Bertie's (COLIN FIRTH) duties to speak in public. For the reserved and level-headed man, this is torture, because he has suffered from a severe stammer since his youth. No doctor or psychologist can help him, which is why Bertie's lovingly caring wife Elizabeth (HELENA BONHAM CARTER) turns to the eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue (GEOFFREY RUSH). With his brash appearance and unconventional treatment methods, he initially upsets his aristocratic patient. Soon, however, the first successes become apparent. After the death of his father and the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. (GUY PEARCE) because of his love for the divorced commoner Wallis Simpson, Bertie unexpectedly becomes England's new king in 1936 under the name George VI. From then on, public appearances and radio addresses are even harder to avoid than before, and not least the threat of war increases the pressure on the shy regent. The cooperation and growing friendship with Logue helps Bertie considerably. But shortly before the official coronation, an unexpected revelation tests the mutual trust and thus also Bertie's fight against stuttering.