The monarch speaks in British Received Pronunciation (RP), a speaking style that was adopted in the late eighteenth century among the upper classes. Insider spoke to Claire Larkin, a cultural expert at Babbel, who explained how using this speaking style will make people believe you're posh, even if you're not.
At the beginning of her reign, the monarch spoke a more aristocratic form of RP that is sometimes known as U-RP, or upper-class RP. Since then her accent has shifted slightly towards what is known as mainstream RP, which is more typical of the middle classes and of the kind of standard English spoken in England today.
The Queen's English is also often called BBC English. It is the standard English which most non-native English speakers associate with people from the UK. It includes Received Pronunciation – the “posh” accent that the Queen uses – as well as grammatically correct utterances free of slang.
Anyone who has heard the Queen's speeches will recognise her distinctive British accent. This is RP – 'Received Pronunciation'.
A scientific study of Queen Elizabeth II's accent has found her vowels movingsteadily downmarket. The study published in Nature magazine found there was a drift in the queen's accent toward one “characteristic of speakers who are younger and/or lower in the social hierarchy.”
The monarch speaks in British Received Pronunciation (RP), a speaking style that was adopted in the late eighteenth century among the upper classes. Insider spoke to Claire Larkin, a cultural expert at Babbel, who explained how using this speaking style will make people believe you're posh, even if you're not.
The Queen was always pictured faced right on her coins in a tradition which has been place for more than 300 years, according to the Royal Mint. Each King or Queen faces in the opposite direction to the one who came before them - which is why King Charles is pictured facing left.
Some people believe that RP (Received Pronunciation) is the most standard or general accent in British English. Many EFL (English as a Foreign Language) schools teach it because it is supposed to be the most “polished” pronunciation. It is typically referred to as “Queen's English” or “BBC English”.
The standard British accent is something called received pronunciation, or RP. Geographically, people who speak with this accent live in the southeastern part of England. This is traditionally a “posh” part of England, so this accent is considered to be upper/middle class.
British accent has been rated as the most attractive English accent in the world, according to a new survey by the CEOWORLD magazine. The results were revealed in a global study, which questioned 96,398 people across 32 countries worldwide to list “most attractive English accents” other than their own.
Meryl Streep is universally hailed as one of the best actresses who has ever lived. So it will come as no surprise that among her many talents is her excellent British accent, even though she was born in New Jersey.
It's also reported that the Queen liked to read a little in bed before turning in, which is proven to be a great aid in relaxing the mind before sleep.
Analysis of the Queen's broadcasts reveals that in the first few decades of her reign, the Queen's accent became less distinctively upper-class, and somewhat more mainstream, changing her vowel sound at the end of the word "happy", to sound more like the "ee" in "freeze" than the "eh" sound in "bit".
They slept in separate beds
As etiquette expert Lady Pam and Her Majesty's cousin explained in a biography about her relative: "In England, the upper class always have had separate bedrooms. You don't want to be bothered with snoring or someone flinging a leg around.
The Birmingham accent is considered the least attractive accent in the British Isles – and Southern Irish the most appealing. A quick analysis of English dialects shows that there are roughly as many in the British Isles as there are in the whole of North America – including Canada, Bermuda and Native American dialects ...
The Cornish accent is apparently not everyone's cup of tea and was recently voted the least sexy accent in the UK. A poll, which aimed to find the UK's sexiest accent, was carried out by the dating app Match. Outrageously, 87% of the 2,300 participants voted that the Cornish accent is not sexy.
The British Accent
The Great British accent proved to be the most difficult of all the accents to imitate – along with the regional Yorkshire and Cockney pronunciations, in particular.
Let's face it, most of us are suckers for a sexy accent. According to a recent survey conducted by the popular dating website MissTravel.com, over 2000 American men and women regard Australian accents as one of the sexiest in the world.
According to a recent poll in the Independent, the British accent has been chosen as being the most attractive accent in the world, beating the French accent which was once know as the loveliest accent.
And Swedish accents are thought to be the most “intelligent” and “trustworthy” (24 percent and 15 percent, respectively).
Making herself instantly recognisable was also reportedly a factor in the Queen's choice to stick with the same hairstyle. In fact, according to some insiders, the monarch is believed to have insisted on her hair being entirely symmetrical, so that whatever side you saw her from, that iconic profile remained the same.
“I believe there's etiquette that ladies do not make their faces up in public,” the former royal footman explained, “but she had her bag over the side and she would take her lipstick out and put it on with no mirror or anything, and that was a signal to the ladies that she was ready to leave.”
Queen Elizabeth II's handbags served as both practical fashion statements and a means of communicating with her servants in secret about when she wanted conversations to finish, according to a number of Royal specialists. The Queen always carried a handbag on her arm to match her extravagant attire or the occasion.