‘He is now of the people’

Prince Harry is slowly cementing his new life as an ex-royal.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, and his wife Meghan Markle, 41, stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020 before moving to California that same year.

A speech expert has revealed that Harry’s accent is beginning to sound a little different since living in the States.

Specialist Emma Serlin claimed that in a promo video he appeared in last year for his mental health initiative, BetterUp, his voice appears distinctive compared to his other British relatives.

Serlin, who is the founder of the London Speech Workshop, explained to the Mirror that the Invictus Games founder’s speech shows that he is more “of the people” than being of royal blood.

“Harry’s accent now sounds much more rounded and middle rather than upper class,” she divulged. “He’s the friendly prince, he’s charming, he connects with people. He is his mother’s son.”

His late mother, Princess Diana, was also known as the “People’s Princess,” due to the way she graciously worked with others and connected with her peers.

“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,” Serlin noted.

Harry hasn’t been back to the United Kingdom very often, as he jetted back home in recent months for his father, King Charles’ coronation and Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Serlin continued to say how he’s “no longer aligned” with his family and “doesn’t spend time with them” as much as he used to.

She also described how Harry’s accent is adaptable to the people he meets and sees on a daily basis.

“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,” she said.

But as for if he’s simply changing his voice to seem more American, Serlin doesn’t believe this notion.

“He doesn’t sound any more American. 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.

Harry has been BetterUp’s Chief Impact Officer since March 2021.

The start-up focuses on coaching people on their mental health to help them improve their “mental fitness” so that they can experience peak performance at work and in their personal lives.

Harry has gone public with his own mental health struggles and detailed them in his memoir, “Spare.”