The King's First Speech on the Radio

In season five, Lady Rose persuades Lord Grantham to purchase a wireless radio, which Guglielmo Marconi developed in the late 1800s and popularized in the early 1900s. Lord Grantham is finally persuaded when he discovers that King George V will deliver a televised address at the opening of the British Empire Exhibition in April 1924. That was a true occurrence, and it was the first time many British citizens—and others throughout the world—heard the monarch's voice. Although probably not as well-known as the speech reenacted by Colin Firth in the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech, fans of that film may recognize the location as the scene of the future George VI's excruciatingly stuttering embarrassment at the start of the film, which occurred there in 1925.

Throughout the series, individuals are perplexed by the introduction of technology that we now take for granted, such as the telephone, refrigerator, and hairdryer, to mention a few. But probably the most enthralling innovation of all is the radio, which the curmudgeonly Robert refuses to purchase: "That people should squander hours gathered around a wooden book while listening to someone yell at them from someplace else... It's a passing craze. It will not last!" When he discovers that King George V will be making a broadcast, Robert's love of the monarchy compels him to cave. The entire family and crew congregate around a leased radio to hear the King's address. On April 23, 1924, the monarch made his first radio transmission to inaugurate the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. For the first time, about 10 million people tuned in to hear the king's voice.