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The Duchess of Sussex seems to be taking royal life in her stride since marrying Prince Harry on May 19.
She has already had a solo outing with the Queen, visited Ireland with her husband and watched the tennis with her sister-in-law Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.
The 36-year-old California native has a lot to learn as she adjusts to being a Duchess, leaving her life as a Hollywood actress behind.
From how to dress, sit and stand, to how to talk and what not to say, Meghan has her royal work cut out for her.
Is Meghan’s accent changing?
A video shared on social media of Meghan’s trip with the Queen to Cheshire prompted an internet frenzy, with people claiming they could hear a British lilt developing.
As you can see in the video, Meghan can be heard introducing herself and discussing the weather with the adoring crowd.
The most notable inflexions are in the vowels, particularly the way she now pronounces “all.”
The apparent change in her accent divided opinion.
One Twitter user said: “I’m kind of disappointed. It seems unauthentic for Meghan Markle to be speaking with a British accent. Especially this fast.
“It makes it seem like something was wrong with the way she sounded before.”
Another said: “Unreasonably sad about Meghan Markle adopting an English accent and inflexions. We’ve officially lost her to the monarchy.”
However many others defended her, pointing out that there’s nothing wrong with picking up an accent in your new home.
One said on Twitter: “Accents are NOT biological, they’re cultural and they’re something you can pick up anywhere you go if you’re entrenched deeply enough.”
And the experts agree.
Linguistics expert Dr Damien Hall said: “Subconsciously, you always have the impulse to adapt to your surroundings, wherever you are.
“You learn to speak without any regional peculiarities at all that would make you difficult to understand.”
And it is hardly surprising that Meghan might’ve picked up a few British twangs given the company she keeps these days.
The Royal Family are famous for their cut-glass accent, known in linguistic terms as Received Pronunciation.
Received Pronunciation is spoken by an estimated 3 percent of the country, and is associated with high social prestige.
Other famous speakers of Received Pronunciation are Sir David Attenborough, David Cameron and Dame Judi Dench.
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