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Meghan Markle has experienced a raft of sweeping changes to her life since her engagement to Prince Harry.
The former Suits actress has swapped glittering after parties and Hollywood stardom for official engagements and the English countryside.
And perhaps in a bid to conform to her new location and lifestyle, royal experts claim the Duchess of Sussex has made a very particular change all by herself – her accent.
According to The Sun UK, recent audio clips have emerged which show the newly minted Duchess using British pronunciation in place of her native Californian drawl.
Speaking to the BBC, Assistant Linguistics Professor at the University of Toronto Marisa Brook explained one instance where 37-year-old Meghan deliberately used a British mannerism.
Thanking royal well-wishers for a bouquet of flowers the expectant mother said “I do appreciate that”, which Professor Brooks believes is a style of speaking she has developed “to be used when directly talking with the British public”.
“These are the situations where people might be judging her in public instantly – where it really benefits her to sound British ad aristocratic,” she added.
Sociolinguist Dr Ella Jeffries from the University of Essex believes Meghan’s experience as an actress will have helped her to quickly master accents and mimic the intonation of those around her.
Royal enthusiasts are divided on the subject with many taking to social media to criticise the Duchess for what they perceive as a pretentious affectation.
“Meghan Markle and this newly inherited British accent – siiiisss goodbye!” one Twitter user wrote.
But others leapt to her defence, with one woman pointing out: “Of course her accent has changed – mine did when I moved 50 miles away!”
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