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After several years in the United States, Prince Harry seems to be picking up more American speaking habits. Fans of the royal family noticed the Duke of Sussex’s accent change while watching a recent promotional video for the Invictus Games. Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who is American, moved to the US in 2020.
In the recent video, Prince Harry got a fake tattoo from Jelly Roll.
In a comedic video promoting the Invictus Games, Prince Harry gets a fake neck tattoo from singer Jelly Roll. At the beginning of the video, Harry waits for his tattoo artist to arrive then acts surprised to find out that Jelly Roll is the tattoo artist.
“Wait, have you done this before?” Harry asks in the video. “Practically,” Jelly Roll responds. “Pretty much. Trust me, man.”
Fans picked up on Harry’s Americanized vocabulary.
Me everytime Prince Harry speaks and his British accent sounds more diluted to make way for the American accent. 😍😁 pic.twitter.com/y2ltp3fy3I— Vanessa Nguyen Hernández (@hernandez_64876) November 19, 2024
While many appreciated Harry’s acting and humor in the video, they also noticed something interesting about his speaking mannerisms. Based on some of the words he used in the video, such as “dude,” “screw it” and “a–” instead of “ar–,” it seems like spending time in the US and being married to an American has impacted the way Prince Harry speaks.
“He uses an American accent,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Its been 4 years, born and brought up in the most British speaking family in England and it took him 4 years to speak in an American accent.”
His accent sounds more ‘diluted,’ fans noticed.
Taking a brief moment from my Hiatus just to say:
It Sounds Like My Cousin Prince Harry is losing his British Accent 😎 pic.twitter.com/2nRZHHdjRM— smileyval05 (@smileyval05) November 19, 2024
“His British accent sounds more diluted to make way for the American accent,” a fan commented on X.
Another person noticed that “Prince Harry is losing his British Accent.”
Others were more critical of Prince Harry and his move to California and accused him of speaking like “a Valley Girl.”
Maybe Prince Harry is trying to fit in more, an expert suggested.
We don’t talk enough about #PrinceHarry‘s ability to talk for sustained periods of time while still sounding like a normal human being.
No other member of his family can open their mouths for even a second without sounding unbearably arrogant and out of touch pic.twitter.com/TuLn9zOSgt— Bev🌺 (@firewhisky7) May 2, 2023
Changes in Harry’s speech could be both conscious and subconscious, speech and accent expert Laura Bailey told the Daily Mail. Perhaps Harry wants to fit in more, and at the same time, he might be experiencing a “gradual subconscious shift” due to the change in his environment.
“This will be partly because he’s not hanging out with other posh people any more — so it’s not reinforced all the time by hearing it — and partly in order not to stand out so much, and partly perhaps a conscious identity shift now that he’s not doing official royal duties — maybe he wants to feel more like a ‘normal person,’” the expert told the Daily Mail.
Harry’s speaking habits began changing years ago.
Ahhh come on Harry, you didn’t get a tattoo after all?? He is so sweet and adorable aww 😍🥰 i love him. The people’s Prince. And he totally has an American accent now. https://t.co/PmQiweaqWI— Nina (@ShakeLS) November 19, 2024
Though some fans (and naysayers) noticed a shift in the way Harry speaks during his recent video with Jelly Roll, some experts believe Prince Harry’s accent began changing years ago — shortly after he married Meghan. Anthony Shuster, a communication coach and accent specialist, told The Telegraph that he thinks Harry began adopting more American speaking habits in 2019.
Previously, speech and accent expert Emma Serlin told the Mirror that Harry’s subtle accent changes reflect the image he wants to portray.
“Harry’s accent now sounds much more rounded and middle rather than upper class,” she said. “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.”
