Prince Harry’s Accent Changes Hold Subtle Clues He’s ‘No Longer Aligned’ With Royal Family, Expert Says
Prince Harry’s latest BetterUp interviews have provided an opportunity for in-depth analysis. Harry’s body language showed confidence and his accent is revealing as well, with one expert pointing out the subtle clues that he’s “no longer aligned” with the royal family.
Prince Harry’s interview skills are on display in new BetterUp videos
Harry interviewed Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, author and psychologist Adam Grant, and BetterUp member Blu Mendoza, discussing mental health for BetterUp, where he serves as chief impact officer.
“We all have greatness within us,” Prince Harry noted in one BetterUp YouTube video. “Mental fitness helps us unlock it. It’s an ongoing practice, one where you approach your mind as something to flex, not fix.”
While speaking with Grant, Harry shared, “Throughout the years of traveling around the world, what I saw was the similarities of experiences of trauma, of loss, of grief, of being human. That building up of resilience is absolutely critical.”
Prince Harry’s accent changes reveal how he’s not aligned with the royals, expert says
Harry’s accent shows some subtle clues that he’s not as close with the royals, speech and accent expert Emma Serlin, founder of the London Speech Workshop, told the Mirror.
“Harry’s accent now sounds much more rounded and middle rather than upper class,” she explained. “In a classic Harry way, he’s doing what we know him to be — he’s the friendly prince, he’s charming, he connects with people. He is his mother’s son.”
Serlin continued, “He is now ‘of the people’ in a much more overt way. He has always toned the classic royal accent down and softened it, but previously he was much more aligned with the royal family.”
She added, “Now that Harry hardly ever sees the royal family — not only is he no longer aligned with them in the same way, but he also doesn’t spend time with them in the same way.”
Prince Harry, according to Serlin, “has adapted his accent to connect more with the people he is meeting and seeing every day, and the people around him.”
She pointed out how it’s entirely probable that Harry’s accent could align with royals if he were with the family. “Ultimately, I’m sure he would heighten his accent if he was around the royal family again, but it’s really about adapting to build connections,” Serlin shared.
Expert says Prince Harry softened his posh accent after leaving the royal family
While Prince Harry hasn’t adopted an American accent, Serlin said he has softened his “posh” royal accent, however.
“In my opinion, Prince Harry doesn’t sound any more American,” she said. “He does, however, sound as though he has taken the edge off the received pronunciation that was very much part of his previously somewhat ‘posh’ accent.”
She pointed out one instance to illustrate that. “There was one word — ‘critical’ — where he dropped the crisp ‘t’ and replaced it with a glottal stop [when you don’t fully make the ‘t’ sound],” the expert noted.
Serlin added, “In short, there were only a few instances in this video where he started to sound Americanized. It’s much more that he’s softened and taken the edge off the poshness of his accent.”
