“The King’s Speech” capped off its wildly successful awards season with Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Colin Firth.
The movie is the true story of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth’s father, and his attempts to overcome his stutter upon inheriting the throne. He seeks the help of unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue who, after a rough start, bond and King George overcomes his impediment.
For fans of the movie, much of what was seen in the film can be seen in present London due to the relatively recent (for London’s standards) WWII setting.
A good portion of the film takes place in Logue’s home office where the king visits for his speech sessions. His office was located at 146 Harley Street in the chic Marylebone neighborhood, a few blocks from the popular tourist attraction, Madame Tussauds and the boutique shopping on Marylebone High Street. The home was not used for the scenes in the movies as the real room was too small. So the scenes were shot at nearby 33 Portland Place. However, Harley Street, the home to London’s medical community for centuries, was shut down for a day of shooting and transformed into 1930’s London and used for the exterior of Logue’s home.
A short walk away you can walk where King George and Lionel walked during the pivotal scene in the movie where Lionel offends the King and George stops seeing him for a period of time. The scene takes place in the beautiful Avenue Gardens in Regent’s Park. During the warmer months, this is a popular place to spread out on the grass among the sculptures and incredibly manicured flowers and trees.
Before King George and his family moved into Buckingham Palace, they resided at 145 Piccadilly since 1927, located right between Hyde Park, Green Park and Buckingham Palace in Mayfair and Soho. The house was where Elizabeth spent much of her youth and was fit for a queen with 25 bedrooms and 21 servants. Unfortunately, the home was destroyed by a bomb during the blitz. Remarkably, 33 Portland Place served as 145 Piccadilly in the film too.
While every tourist will probably stop by Buckingham Palace, the interiors of the palace were filmed in Lancaster House in the St. James neighborhood. Built in 1825 for the Duke of York, the house is no stranger to film, being used as a double for Westminster‘s Buckingham Palace in “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Young Victoria,” as well as the triumphant climax of “The King’s Speech.”
If you fell in love with “The King’s Speech” just like we did and want to experience the life of a (Hollywood) King, consider staying in a Mayfair apartment, a Regent’s Park vacation rental, or an accommodation elsewhere in London.
Although it’s in a Victorian home similar to Logue’s, two bedroom, two bathroom Regent’s Park London vacation rental (LN-793) on Albany Street has very modern interior within blocks of both Logue’s home and Regent’s Park.
A few blocks from 33 Portland Street and the landmark BT Tower is this three bedroom, two bathroom vacation rental in Westminster, London (LN-328) is bright with lots of natural light, topped off by a balcony opening to a private garden.
This stunning one bedroom, one bathroom vacation rental in Westminster, London (LN-298) is in the neighborhood of 145 Piccadilly between Hyde Park and Green Park. The regal apartment comes with maid service to make you feel like a future king.
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