Prince Harry adopts new speech patterns to woo Americans

Linguistic experts have claimed that UK's King Charles III's younger son Prince Harry's voice and language pattern have notably shifted since he moved to the USA in 2020.

"Since moving to the US, Harry’s once traditional, royal accent has taken on a more laid back tone, which, to some, might sound like an Americanisation of his accent, experts from the language learning platform Babbel has claimed.

According to some critics, the Duke of Sussex has reportedly changed his accent to woo Americans.

"However it’s more likely due to him dropping Received Pronunciation (RP), which is often the world’s idea of the ‘perfect’ British accent, also referred to as the Queen’s English. Many aren’t aware that the Royal Family has, in the past, been obligated to use RP when speaking publicly, however since Harry moved to the US, we are seeing him develop his own persona in front of the camera, which includes presenting his unforced, natural voice," they added.

"What we’re seeing as Harry’s ‘new’ accent is more commonly referred to as an ‘Estuary English’ accent, a well-spoken accent typical of London and the South East of England which is less rigid in its pronunciation than RP, but is still common amongst the upper class. Although Estuary English shares a handful of similarities with the American accent (dropping of ‘t’s and the use of contractions like ‘gonna’), it is more likely that Harry simply speaks with Estuary English naturally, and we’re noticing the difference because Harry is embracing his life outside the Royal Family."

They added: "It’s clear that Harry is beginning to borrow a selection of popular American slang and phrases (‘pop the hood’, ‘you guys’), although it’s unsurprising considering he’s been living in the US since March 2020."