Film actor Colin Firth, who won an Oscar for his role as the stammering King George VI in the widely-acclaimed film, The King’s Speech, has been appointed a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s birthday honours list announced on Saturday in recognition of his contribution to drama.
Ironically, Firth was not the first choice for the role and it came his way only after Hugh Grant reportedly turned it down.
His portrayal of the monarch’s struggle with his speech and how he overcame it with the help of a slightly eccentric Australian speech-therapist has won him several prizes, including a Bafta awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
King George VI was the Queen’s father who suddenly found himself on the throne after his brother Edward VIII was forced to abdicate over his decision to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite, in defiance of the Church of England which did not allow divorcees to remarry while their former spouses were still alive. He could not remain on the throne if he married Ms. Simpson.
Firth achieved cult status among a generation of young women after he played Mr. Darcy in the BBC TV’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. His other films include Bridget Jones's Diary, and the musical Mamma Mia.
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