Well, the mystery has been solved. Some of us wondered why the Duchess of Cambridge’s makeup looked so nice (and so heavy) during her event a few days ago in London. We also wondered why she was wearing a mic pack. It was because she took part in a weird little video for Heads Together alongside Prince William and Harry. I say weird because… this whole video is completely bizarre. I think the videographer was trying to make it seem like he just chanced upon Will, Kate and Harry sitting in Kensington Palace garden, discussing mental health. And even though they’re all clearly wearing mic packs, the sound quality is sh-t. Not to mention… uh, Kate’s fake-posh accent is so dreadful that it seems like she’s slurring her words constantly. SO THE VIDEO IS SUBTITLED.
Watch The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in conversation on mental health for @heads_together #oktosay pic.twitter.com/417gqyqzk0
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 21, 2017
Thank God it is subtitled because I literally didn’t know what Kate was saying. Apparently, Will and Harry both give her credit for coming up with the idea for Heads Together, which is their charity conglomerate/umbrella foundation for a dozen separate charities. Kate talks about how there was a common thread of mental health in their separate work. Oh, and Kate uses the word “KEEN.” Bless.
Beyond that… well, HER VOICE. It is crazy to mean how unintelligible she is. Harry and William have posh accents, obviously, since they were bred in a posh laboratory. But you can understand them and their accents are completely normal. Kate’s accent is manufactured… poorly.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
Her fake accent is horrible, sometimes I can barely understand her, but maybe that’s because English is not my first language.
Richard Palmer just tweeted William and Kate are on Scott Mills’ Radio 1 show.
I cringed, instinctively. Who would want to listen to Wooden Wills and his pet Giggling Curtain of Hair?
And why does no one who works for them point out the damage they do to their charities with their crap communications skills?
Well, they have nothing intelligent to add to any conversation so does it matter that the silly tits can’t be understood?
Ha! This is, by far, the best nickname/description of Kate that I have ever heard!
Video of the BBC Radio interview popped up in my news feed so I watched it. They are peculiar. The awkward silence and weird looks they exchanged when asked about tv habits…Wills couldn’t name a children’s show, but covered it up well by playing along when the radio hosts named show for him. But it made me feel bad for Kate. She seemed terrified she might have to speak.
William’s accent is just as bad. They both speak too rapidly. Prince Harry is the only one you can really understand.
That’s what I thought. I cannot understand Kate or Will, but can completely understand Harry. Odd…
I think this is it. I live not far from Sandringham and most people around here speak the same as these three. I don’t think it’s fake at all. I understand them perfectly well. However William and Kate in particular are speaking very quickly and I suspect that’s because they’re a bit nervous and uncomfortable. Most privately educated people seem to have a similar accent an only those well practised in public speaking seem to slow down and annunciate a bit better. It’s not really fair to criticise their accents any more than an east end or geordie accent.
It’s not only the fake accent that is a problem; for me, what ruins everything she or William say, is the fact that none of it sounds genuine. I don’t hear concern, or compassion, or drive. I hear two people rehashing soundbites of what their prep team told them would make them sound as if they cared.
But they’re not genuine, concerned, compassionate or driven. They are paid to support charities, which is weird in itself, in order to be visible. Visibility equals relevance in their world. The reality is that they have no use, just a drain on pubic resources.
@addie: Exactly. And that annoys the heck out of me. So many people out there are pouring their heart and souls into these charities, often volunteering or for very little pay, genuinely trying to make lives better, genuinely caring. And then you have these hanger-ons come in, skipping most of their engagements anyway, spending their days doing who-knows-what on the taxpayer’s payroll, dropping the word “keen” every now and then: it enrages me that they can’t even be bothered to care.
@sauvage: I agree wholeheartedly and SMH at people’s gullibility when it comes to royals pretending to care for their 30-45 minute visit, clearly unprepared and caring less. Goodness knows what William, Harry and Kate do with their time but given their performances, it’s definitely NOT boning up on mental health. Wish the charities got more attention, not this silly trio.
English isn’t my first language, and I understand it pretty well….. I know that it is celeBitchy (and i love it) but c’mon she sounds fine. She seems nervous and trying to articulate but overall she is fine. If I can understand, that I find it “interesting” when native english speakers can’t….or won’t.
I agree. I think she looks really pretty here, and I’m delighted she’s wearing trousers and flat shoes! I think she looks great and much more comfortable. Girl is so stubborn with those pencil skirts and swishy skirts, especially for formal events, and I don’t get why. It’s so jeune fille and old-school. I know she wants to look pretty for public functions, but a badass trouser-blazer combination is sexy, which is more interesting than pretty sometimes.
But then I don’t understand Will’s stubborn insistence on button-down Dad shirts and pressed trousers, even when he’s on vacation hanging with his pals. Harry rocks the t-shirt and jeans, no problem. I guess Harry’s the one who got his mom’s style genes.
I am not a fan of Kate but am not getting all of the accent hate. I am antipodean and work in the City – her voice is no different to what I hear on a day to day basis with colleagues/clients/counterparts. No shade from me – she is actually speaking freely in front of the cameras and it is the first time I have felt any semblance of warmth towards her. Yes the whole thing is contrived – but in this day and age what isn’t?! At least it’s for a good cause.
I agree. While I can understand criticising their public speaking abilities, since that’s actually part of their job, I don’t think we should nitpick a video like this one. They aren’t actors, and this was clearly shot in a limited timeframe – I actually think they sound prepared and decently enthusiastic about the cause.
The video was contrived and also some untruths folded in to make them appear better than they are eg Kate and Carole followed William to Wales with George, and highfooted it back to Bucklebury pretty quickly. William was not much in George’s life for the first 6 months. Such liars.
Why do they have to talk at all? They are not experts in mental health and are confusing normal emotions felt with actual clinical mental health illness. They send a dangerous message that just starting a conversation will be helpful. It may be quite a dangerous message, rather than direct people to seek medical care in the first instance where proper help can be provided (medication and/or counselling).
Of course it’s “contrived”. There is a structure to it that was decided in advance + tightened up in editing. See also: any late night TV interview, where the host continuously guides the guest toward planned anecdotes. Considering the fact that Kate of all people has to play this role here, you can’t expect something anywhere near as fluid as a seasoned host can produce, but the point of this video isn’t pure entertainment, so it’s fine if the seams show a little in the service of relaying a message.
“William was not much in George’s life”? How would you know that? Are you their housemate?
IMO, you don’t have to be an “expert” to promote a cause or bring visibility to it. It’s not like Diana was a certified AIDS doctor or land mine disposal expert!
I’m not sure how they’re “confusing normal emotions felt with actual clinical mental health illness” in this video. They’re talking about mental *health*, which is a broad term that can include non-illness-related topics like stress, grief, self-care, etc. At what point to they conflate those issues with “clinical mental health illness”?
Oh dear. She actually sounded drunk, her slurring was that bad to my ears. The production quality was sh!t and so is how the.video has been edited. Although she did seem more relaxed, maybe Harry being there caused that based on way she was looking at him. Lol. Her flirty behaviour with him gives me entertainment as she’s not like that with her husband.
She speaks through her teeth, as though her jaw is wired shut. It’s the trick to the posh accent. Unfortunately, there is the slurring side effect.
Eg try saying ‘house’ through your teeth as if your jaw has been wired shut.
I also think that she keeps her tongue too flat. I have done RP classes, am Scottish with a strong accent, and the key to a posh English accent is a flat tongue with minimal use to pronounce vowels and using the shape of the mouth/lips to pronounce Consonants.
I tend to use my tongue a lot to speak which gives me the sing songy lilt.
Kanye West has a song (Through The Wire) where his mouth is actually wired shut and he is still far easier to understand than Keen Kate
@Digital Unicorn aka Betti: Completely unrelated to the topic of Posh Waity’s accent; I’d just like to blurt out that I find the Scottish accent sexy as heck! It is one of the reasons I enjoy watching “Masterchef. The Professionals” so much, because there seem to be an awful lot of culinary talented scots out there…
Sorry, going back to my corner now.
It’s like she actually doesn’t move her lips when she speaks. She looks like she is trying to be a ventriloquist without a dummy.
It might be the fillers/botox thats affecting her mouth.
You know it’s BS too because her sister does not speak like this at all.
Should this “sit on a bench meeting” make them look normal?
IKR? I was less jarred by her accent and more by them talking like “normal folk.” These three are waxing philisophic on how kids today face more pressures than they did? Seriously? Like they so identify with normal people?
Yeah, at a picnic table with only water to drink, or was that Gin?
@Maria, if I was conducting that interview, I sure as heck would want gin. And I don’t even LIKE gin.
Oh, Lawd!!!! I just died watching this!! It was so uncomfortable watching them, because they seemed so darn uncomfortable making it! It is so bad that it takes away from the important messages they are spreading. The “intimate” conversation in which Wills talks about how he is really such a sensitive soul. Kate really is tough to understand, and the whole thing is just cringeworthy, the “casual” conversation the photographer just happened upon.
All of them are embarrassing – even Harry, who seems to be the most natural of them all
(BTW, Kate calls them “boys.” And says they are pretty healthy mentally because they had a good early upbringing. Cause mental health is, still, from crappy parents.)
I cringed hard at her calling them boys. IDK if it seemed more girlfriend affectionate or motherly affectionate, but that’s her husband and his brother, so it’s weird either way.
They may be ‘young royals’ compared to the oldies in their family, but by referring to them as ‘boys’ it excuses them from taking more responsibility for their pretty slack lives. It keeps the three of them infantalised.
Ugh sorry. After June 23, 2016, I’ve been triggered by such accents.
That’s funny. I guess the American equivalent of an election trauma trigger is the color orange.
I can’t take her seriously and never will. She’s too fake.
Exactly we couldnt understand her fake posh slurred speech she is really a phoney pretending she has been posh but the truth is she never spoke like that at university… its all in pretend land with her and its so not right the way they go on about mental health when they live in pampered lifestyle with all the servants and nannies running around. .
A lot of people are just sickened by this …….its so badly done…
fake accent? is there audio of her accent before she made this one up?
i’ve literally never heard her speak before this video (I dont seek it out) so i’m curious what she ‘really’ speaks like if people think this accent in the video is fake…
There is one ITY video where she is speaking to people (same day as this video – in the same outfit) and she sounds totally normal.
This manner of speaking along with the accent is completely put on and ridiculous. She is much more normal, down to earth and genuine when she doesn’t do this one-on-one with people.
I’m wondering if this is the same phenomenon that happens when Southerners get together. I’m a born and raised Southerner and I swear my accent gets more pronounced when I’m with someone who has a thicker accent than mine. It’s not a conscious decision on my part, so it may be something that happens when she’s around William and Harry.
I would love to hear what she sounds like when it’s just her and the Middletons hanging out with no one else around.
Sherry – I was going to bring this up! You explained it much better than I could. I think I’m a shape shifter. I start to pick up different ways of speaking after some exposure. I think that’s common.
Yes, this. I definitely come away sounding more southern when I with other southerners & it’s not something I am doing in purpose. I didn’t find any of their accents to be strange, but I don’t know many British people, I mainly hear the accent on tv shows, so I have nothing to compare them to.
Sherry, we are all shape shifters! I’m from the south but changed my speaking voice when I moved to the east coast. At first it was because I wanted to sound prisoner but then it started to change on its own from my being around so many yanks. But when I moved back home my twang was back in a snap.
You should listen to her in the William and Kate engagement interview. Everyone thought she sounded terrible trying to put on an posh accent when William was speaking normally, it was as though she was trying to mimic the Queen, she sounded AWFUL.
She sounds/tries to sound more posh than the other RF members.
“Terribly Grand”, as the BP staff would say. XD
Ermmm it must be an American thing because I could understand her perfectly…
Yeah, I could understand her just fine even though the sound quality of the video was a bit odd (never heard her speak before, though).
Just adding that I’m Jamaican.
Now that you mention it, I think the only time I ever heard her speak was when she was saying her vows at their wedding.
Not sure why this hasn’t been mentioned, but it seems like the majority of videos that pop up on social media have subtitles on them. That way you can watch the video on your phone without having to wear headphones or turn the volume on while on a crowded bus or waiting at the doctor’s office etc.
Not doubting the fact that her accent is manufactured and a bit strange, but yeah, it’s not that hard to understand. I’m not a Kate-apologist by any means, but come on, the sound quality isn’t great either. Subtitles are an obvious choice.
I understood every word.
I did too. I think unless you speak English like an American, many Americans have trouble understanding you.
I could understand too. I actually think she came across quite well in it. No shade here for doing this — to any of them.
You didn’t think they came across as really uncomfortable, and showing it? I was actually squirming watching them. I thought it was cringeworthy and did the serious issue (that they do actually seem to be putting some time into) no favors.
They may be sincere, but it didn’t come across that way. None of them are actors, and they were obviously talking off of a script of some sort.
No question it was scripted, Sarah, and yes they aren’t actors and it was sometimes quite stiff. But I also thought William and Kate especially came across much better than they have in the past.
That’s why I am not going to be critical about it. It’s an effort — stiff to be sure — but an effort is an effort and I can’t fault them for trying.
I had no trouble understanding her at all — and I’m American.
Lol add me to the list of Americans who understood her. I actually think they all came across pretty well, despite the picnic table.
Me too, and my hearing is so bad I watch everything with subtitles.
American here – and I also understood her.
Yes. She speaks perfectly normal (British) English.
Austrian here, and I also have no trouble understanding her. I just don’t believe for a moment that they actually care, which is way more off-putting to me than any fake accent.
American here and I understood her just fine. She’s no more unintelligible than the princes.
I’m an American who was an exchange student in England, so I’ve heard a range of British accents. I could understand most of what she said, like 85 percent, but in some parts, it sounded like she was mumbling. I could definitely understand the princes better than her.
English is my second language, and understand it pretty well.
I could hear her perfectly well too.
I don’t like Kate and William very much, but I think they’re reaching to try and say she’s unintelligible.
Her accent is brittle and forced, but she’s not slurring.
Ugh that accent… maybe she thinks she sounds smart with her fake one.
She sounds terrible! This is part of the reason why she shies away from giving speeches, too afraid to slip up. Sounds like she is constipated or something. Must be so exhausting trying to keep that up.
I’m English, I’m (fairly) posh. Nobody I have ever met in my entire life has ever sounded like Kate does. It’s ludicrous! Kate – just be yourself. It’s got to be better than this ridiculous fakery that you’ve got yourself into.
Even the aristocracy don’t speak like this and I’ve worked with a few over the years. I think she’s trying to copy the way TQ speaks and is doing it badly.
One word: irritating.
Very!
The irony of speaking about the importance of being authentic…. with a bogus fake accent 🙂 she’s very guarded and didn’t share anything of depth, but William and Harry shared a bit more and I do give them all credit for drawing attention to an important issue!
Hypocrisy… that’s the Will and Kate mo and it will constantly undermine anything they do on this issue until they sort their own shit out. Telling people how they should deal with mental health issues when you pretend to be well adjusted, but clearly are not, just makes everything they say complete nonsense.
Harry admitting he got some help makes him far more credible and they should let him (and Meghan ) focus on this one. Maybe there is something with sailboats that Kate can help with.
Haha something with sailboats 🙂 yes I totally agree, Harry should lead on this one, otherwise it will be meaningless fluff and them guessing/pretending/sharing ”acceptable” struggles such as ”my first days with the baby I didn’t really know what to do with the new baby!”. Wow, way to open up Kate! So brave for having that difficult conversation….arggh.
This is true. Wills and Harry talked about their issues, Kate mentioned “a few weeks” with a new baby being tough, but then brushed it off as if she is totally mentally healthy. I don’t know, but I have long thought she has an eating disorder, and the irony of the elephant sitting on that table, her substantial weight loss over the years, kind of made me just think this was silly.
It is also tough, to their credit, to get non-actors to act like they are having a casual, unscripted conversation and look genuine. And I think this was somewhat scripted.
I think too that Kate has an eating disorder and that she is an hypocrite to talk about this cause…and the real issue here is that many girls or women are looking at her and thinking that her weight is ideal and she is totally normal…..I have seen photos of Kate when she was just dating William and she was totally normal(she was a 38 I think) and now she is so thin(she is a 32-34 i think….)….scrutiny of the public,William is a control freak also(i look at a video when they were talking at an audience and she was talking but she was looking down and he told her something and she immediately talk to the audience….he has some power over her I think)….and she is shy also,I think, and that’s a lot for her so the only thing she can control,it’s her body….I heard that she only eat cold foot(a lot of fish…) nothing hot or cooked,and that is her mother who takes care of her food……..She is like Letizia,they don’t feel well under public scrutiny and all the protocol,so they are trying to control their bodies and it’s scary….
Couldn’t watch it all, cringed half to death.
Years ago I saw Pippa on some morning talk show. Her accent and Kate’s fake one are miles apart. They don’t sound like they were even raised in the same home.
There is a video clip out there of Kate speaking pre engagement and she sounds different as well. And more like Pippa.
Then you have Kate’s parents speaking during the engagement announcement outside of their home. James also spoke at Kate’s wedding. None of them sound like Kate.
Sometimes Kates doesn’t open the mouth to articulate and it seems she speaks through her teeth. The video had interesting points but it was a bit strange and the setting seemed very artificial, like the all wanted to be the Normal Windsors having a picnic.
“They were bred in a posh laboratory”. LOL! Kaiser, where do you come up with these neat expressions?
As for Kate, I thought she garbled her words, so it was nearly impossible to understand what she was saying.
Sorry but I can understand her!
It seems like a strange comment about motherhood. Maybe she’d never been around babies before? Other first-time mothers are thrilled and are OVER THE MOON looking after their new baby.
Not all of them.
Agreed. Many are dealing with sleeplessness, post-partum depression and anxiety, lack of support, etc. It’s hard to be “over the moon” when you feel like your world is falling apart.
I loved my boys from the moment they were born, doted on them and couldn’t tear myself away even when I was exhausted and on my own during the day…but underneath it all there was a knawing anxious fear that made leaving my home terrifying, even just for a walk…I didn’t know it then but now understand those debilitating feelings were the beginnings of PPAD…I look back now and wish I’d had help of any kind, let alone like Kate had. It would have made a world of difference. However not that many of us are as lucky as she is, though I’m sure 99% percent of us with children felt the postpartum hell that comes with those first few months at home with a newborn.
From what I recall, George was a demanding baby and did not sleep well. So I believe her when she says it was different after they left Bucklebury.
She had help though didn’t she? I find it hard to believe that the future queen had to deal with her baby all by herself.
After they left Buckleberry, they took Carole and the maternal nurse with them to Anglesey. The extra help stayed in place until Nanny Jessie was installed.
Wikigoogle tells me Nanny Jessie was installed when PGtips was 7wks, but i recall seeing papped pics of Nanny Jessie, Kate and baby in a car long before that timeline.
The story made it sound like William decided he was leaving and she reluctantly tagged along. I know she has said before he wasn’t around much when George was really little.
Lindsey: that was my interpretation of that little snippet. Doesn’t sound like there was a descussion involved. He decided to leave, and she followed.
I remember when Charlotte was born they said they were hiring a night nurse so Kate could sleep. From what I read, she nursed George at least until he was six months and started solid foods. By all accounts once he started eating solid food he calmed down considerably.
So, yes, I think she had help, but I don’t think she had the help she had with Charlotte. And if George was a bottomless pit when it came to his food, then I can see that Kate would have had a more difficult time, as I don’t think Jessie Webb would have been getting up to nurse him at night.
I didn’t think it was strange. I felt the same way when my daughter was born. I felt crazy, lost and super anxious. It took me a while to bond with her and really enjoy her because I was so scared and freaked out. It was even worse with my son. I wanted an abortion and my family talked me out of it and talked me into moving back to a state that I hate so I could be closer to family. I love my son, but when he first arrived I resented him. I was depressed and angry that I let people talk me into decisions. I was a mess and when I think back on it, I should have gone to therapy or something. I know I had ppd and it took me a long time to get out of a dark place. Motherhood really isn’t just sunshine and roses like some women make it out to be and I hate that I feel like I can’t honestly talk about how I felt when I first had children (except to complete strangers on the internet who don’t know my identity lol) because people will then find me odd or a horrible mother. Mental health is such an important issue after pregnancy, even if you don’t experience ppd. There are so many emotions and things going on and it can be really hard for some people.
Your post brought tears to my eyes…I remember being a new mother and feeling overwhelmed by everything. Take care.
A friend of mine said that she thinks there’s a hidden world when it comes to being a new mother that is not talked about, and I think your comment just showed exactly what that is.
So if Kate can say that she felt alone and unsupported with everything she has at her disposal, it might help another person feeling the same way — if Kate can feel that way then maybe I’m not abnormal. And that is a great thing to be able to do, I think. So stilted or not, she still said it, and for that I have no shade.
@minx Thank you. I’m happy to say I’m in a much better place now and enjoying my babies like I should be!
@bluhare I totally agree with your friend. I felt like anytime somebody asked how I was doing if I mentioned how I actually felt it would get shrugged off as me being exhausted and that surely I was over the moon about my babies. To a degree I was, but I was really struggling too. The first year with both of my kids was really rough for me and I had my husband. He was very supportive and helped as much as he could when he wasn’t working, but I still felt alone and like everything was on me. This is the one thing I can never shade Kate for. I know she has tons of help, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t worry or deal with your child. There were nights my husband took care of the baby, but the second I heard them cry I woke up. Sometimes I stayed in bed and sometimes I didn’t, but just because you have tons of help doesn’t mean you don’t worry or get the anxieties that come along with having a child. Plus if she had ppd it’s not like having a nanny would make it magically go away.
There are real issues in adjusting to a new baby – particularly the first. Also, there is the related issue of post partum depression. Both are real and difficult situations.
If Kate wants to address those, I am all for it. I think it will help many, many people.
But they need to untangle it from the issues of working families, veterans issues, and hearing about problems of working families. It dilutes the message.
“just because you have tons of help doesn’t mean you don’t worry or get the anxieties that come along with having a child. Plus if she had ppd it’s not like having a nanny would make it magically go away.”
Thank you ScrewStew!! It does not matter if you are a PRINCESS, depression is depression is depression.
PPD is post partum DEPRESSION. It is NOT being sad. And is NOT something you can push aside by sheer will. If a friend broke their leg, you would NOT be urging them to get over it.
Kate definitely seems to have some kind of generalized anxiety disorder. ANd that also takes all prisoners. You can be a KING and stutter. Kate may be a shallow selfish woman, but shading her for anxiety and depression does no one any good whatsoever.
She did not say she had anxiety OR depression. She said she had a difficult time adjusting as a new parent. So did William. That is definitely a difficult period, and it can bring on anxiety, but neither of them said as such.
She is not being “shaded” for her anxiety or depression – we have no idea if she has experienced either.
She also did not say she had post partum depression, which is a serious condition.
What she is talking about is a different situation.
What? Just…no. Do you have a baby? For a LOT of new moms, caring for a newborn is more terrifying than thrilling. I had help with my little guy, and I was still scared out of my mind half the time.
Yes, I have a baby. Giving birth and learning to breastfeed both really painful but I felt like a lottery winner. I was SUPER excited after waiting 17 years for him. I just feel like the dialogue has swung in the opposite direction, that’s all. It’s unusual to hear a new mother describe how ecstatic she was – as demonstrated in the comments above ^^.
I was thrilled but frightened and worried, too. There’s no “right” way to be a new mother, everyone is different.
I had never even held a baby before my daughter was born. I discussed this with the pediatrician I selected prior to her birth and he gave me the best advice. The doctor took my hand and very kindly told me that the baby had never had a mother before and would not judge me. With that advice, I happily spent her infancy with the two of us learning together and to heck with what anyone else said. That is not to say that we didn’t share a few nights with both of us in tears because it is a tough time for all but we survived and thrived.
THIS is so lovely.
It sounds like you had a wonderful pediatrician, AtlLady. I find you and your baby grow and change together. Both have good and bad days but in the end it’s all worth it. Good luck to you and your daughter.
I was terrified with my first, but got over it. My second, 13 months later, had spinal meningitis at 10 days old, screamed with colic for 4 1/2 months and I had undiagnosed post-partum depression for a year.
Thinking that you are supposed to be thrilled about all of this made me feel even worse about being a mother. Thankfully, I forced myself to do all the things I was supposed to do, but I was dragging that year. Ugh. Would never do that year again.
This is a ridiculous comment
agreed
I’m sure the video is subtitled for the deaf and people who want to watch at work without the sound on. Kate sounds fine. I don’t know that I’ve heard her speak before but she doesn’t sound any more posh than Will or Harry.
Have others videos from KP also been subtitled for the deaf? Or been subtitled at all?
What was her accent like before? She sounds fine to me although she sounds slightly breathy as if she has a touch of asthma or a chest cold by the way she is breaking up her sentences. If she spoke like that on the phone to me I would swear it was one of my friends. And my friend is definitely not putting on a fake posh accent.
She’s nervous. Not a fan of the royals, but they’re actually trying to do good here and they’re STILL being shot down. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
“shot down” for her fake accent honey (where is the genuine I’m just like you “Normal folks” at??) NOT for the work they are doing…. which I STILL don’t get tbh. So there you go.
WHY does she fake her accent? what’s wrong with her own normal speaking voice? Don’t Will and Harry know it’s a fake accent?
Yeah. They were all subtitled, and she was just as easy to understand as the other two…. Kind of just sounds like Emma Watson
*shrugs* I have no love for her or Normal Bill, but I actually had more trouble understanding the princes than her.
IT’s really bizarre, she doesn’t sound like a posh person in 2017, she speak as if she was doing a commercial in the 80s.
Did i miss something? What’s wrong with the word ‘keen’?
Nearly every article and Palace statement about Kate describes her or any activity she intends to be involved in as ‘keen’.
Eg Kate keenly feels keen to go about her day as keenly as possible.
If it were a drinking game, we’d all be in rehab or alcohol poisoned or both.
One of the cable channels showed “The Queen at 90” special from last year (the one where Kate talks about her chutney.) The York princesses are on it, as is Peter Phillips, Prince Andrew, and the Queen’s cousin Margaret Rhodes. Kate stood out like a sore thumb as very try-hard and was indeed the hardest to listen to. (Eugenie has a kind of sexy smoking voice thing going on. I had never heard either of the York girls speak before.)
I think one of the problems is her voice is high. Pippa has the fake posh elocution going on, but her voice is lower so it’s not as hard to listen to. They can work on lowering Kate’s register. The queen herself had a high girlish voice at first but that changed fairly quickly.
Don’t care about Kate at all but i can understand her just fine. Also, all three of them are subtitled, not just Kate.
This actually makes me feel really sorry for her: she “won” her game but it’s somehow still not enough. Probably never will be. I’m not a fan, I think she’s lazy and entitled, but this makes me sad
I think she thought she would be loved, adored and a global superstar like Diana was.
She gets really positive press (especially in America); anytime she appears in public it’s covered. When she first got married she had the world in her hand so she had the potential to be a global superstar but it doesn’t seem like that’s what she wants.
Jessica, she gets a lot of criticism for her lack of work ethic.
I have a new policy. When they are actually working, I am not going to nitpick. I will say that I think this video is a worthy effort and i believe it was born of good intentions. I can understand them all.
However, it is jarring to hear (normal, albeit difficult) adjustment to new parenthood mixed in with issues of bringing your work home with you, the effect of social media on kids, and the problems of injured vets. All can trigger mental health issues of varying degrees, but the conversation was such a jumble.
I would like to hear Harry talk more about how social media often triggers issues or how being a veteran and reentering civilian life is scary. But not mixed in with stories of bringing little George to Anglesey for some family time. It’s not the same thing.
I hope they do more videos, but refine them and focus on one issue at a time.
There were a few mumbly moments, but I’m an American and I understood them pretty well. I’m not familiar with English accents, so I’ll have to rely on the Brits to tell me what “posh” means and if her accent has changed over the years. To my ears, it almost sounds a bit like English valley girl, but it doesn’t grate me.
I actually do appreciate this recent push they’ve done. Really, this is perhaps the most open Wills has been about his feelings and experiences in my near-recent memory. I think this video is the most authentic I’ve seen Kate and Will be about these issues, and it’s a smart move. I think people really want to hear them TALK about this stuff, rather than just show up for photo calls.
I do sort of wonder if Kate was alluding to some mild post-partum depression. I don’t think she wants to label it as such, but she does speak to the loneliness, insecurity, and isolation many new mothers feel. She doesn’t take it quite far enough (in my opinion) she just sort of alludes to having those feelings.
I don’t think she has to come out and say she had post partum depression, but if she is going to relate her experience as a new parent to mental health issues, it would make more sense to be more specfic.
FFS, people, give them a break on this one. The accent and all the other complaints here are essentially irrelevant.
Promoting conversations about and and understanding of mental health issues is critical and admirable. As an American who constantly struggles with depression and anxiety disorder, I feel desperate at times to hear anyone in power actually confront and discuss these issues. These are vital conversations to have when people’s lives are at stake, and I find criticism of their efforts so disheartening.
What matters here is that they’re acknowleding how hard these conversations can be and how important they are. Can we make that the focus instead of some silliness about Kate’s “fake” accent or whatever else? I am mostly indifferent to these three but this is serious, serious stuff. Let’s not lose sight of what matters.
Agree. Any conversation on these topics is worthwhile.
I thought this was a good start, if a bit flawed. My concerns don’t have anything to do with accents, though.
I agree, it’s important. I hope they continue and strengthen the message.
I totally agree, Unakaiansa!
Agreed! Well said.
Good for them. It’s a worthy cause.
I understood Catherine just fine. I think this video was well done and I applaud all three for their attempt to erase the lingering stigma associated with mental health.
I just don’t understand the wrath that this woman inspires in people. I mean she’s not imo a particularly inspiring person, so the fact that she triggers such intense reactions from people legit baffles me. But then maybe the fact that she’s such a “blank slate” encourages people to spin their own OTT dramatic narratives about her…IDK.
It is the default position here for most.
it is. idk that i’ll ever get used to it lol
Me neither, Lobbit. I’ve thought of it from different angles – the angry taxpayer, I understand that viewpoint. I don’t live in the UK. If I did, perhaps I’d be as critical.
I used to think it was jealousy because Will was a cutie, but most everyone despises him too, so it’s definitely not that 😂😂
Most of the complaints are centered around their work ethic, or lack thereof…Will & Kate, not Harry. When I saw the work numbers and the fact that Prince Philip & Queen Elizabeth blow them away, I understood more of the criticism.
I agree; when you’re a ‘blank slate’ people project things on you. I think she’s not particularly interesting but that’s not a crime and shouldn’t inspire such a visceral reaction.
I had no problem understanding any of them, listening with eyes closed. I thought she was quite clear and spoke well, much better than her speeches.
She is a cipher, so everyone who has an interest projects on her. That said, if she were a hard working blank slate, things might be different.
In the beginning, she was almost universally beloved. When she didn’t hit the ground running, the tide turned.
Her years of waiting around for William also haunt the narrative. In addition, William and his PR blunders have done her no favors.
In my opinion, she is probably a perfectly nice woman who makes her husband and children happy. I bet she is a good daughter and sister. There are signs the Queen likes her; certainly she lends her enough jewelry.
Unfortunately her position demands more of her and she has yet to find her feet there.
I think it is that she has so much opportunity to do good in the world, and chooses to do so little. She has always been lazy – she never worked in the ten years in her 20s, or she worked one part time job for a little while. And when she does work, she seems like she didn’t care enough to be prepared. Wills too. In India, upon hearing that many street orphans have a limb cut off so that they can make more money begging, she said, “How interesting.” Really. That was her heartfelt response. She also flashed India at their sacred memorial, which happens again and again and again all around the globe.
But the main reason I dislike her is her lack of work. To be given so much, and do so little with it? What is that saying?
To whom much is given, much is expected??
Kate’s motto seems to be, “To whom much is given, more is demanded.”
Well, I’m American, so I generally defer to the British CB posters here, because frankly I think the entire RF is a ridiculous institution–not just William and Kate. They are all entitled and spoiled. I don’t think showing up to charity events qualifies as “work.”
Agreed! The Windsors cost taxpayers £334 MILLlON a year to maintain. That’s almost £1 MILLION A DAY. Just to make appearances.
http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/money/mortgages-bills/how-much-does-the-royal-family-cost-11363982445194
All that money should go directly to charities and for free education for everyone. That makes the most financial sense.
I could understand her fine but she does sound like a friend of mine who has Invisilign braces. They have that same flat-tongued slight slur that comes from being more focused on keeping the braces on than enunciating.
I couldn’t listen to that video, William and Kate just aren’t suited to this effort. As a previous poster mentioned, Harry should take it over, and they should send Kate to some sailboat charity.
It sounds scripted and insincere.
Very!
Im American and understood her perfectly
From what I’ve heard, posh accents even when “real” are nearly unintelligible. They always sound like they have swallowed their own tongues. The Queen speaks BBC Standard, which I think she was coached to do when she came to the throne. But often William, Charles, Harry, and the rest all sound like they are swallowing half of what they are saying. In early interviews, Diana sounded like that, too. Later, when she became more accustomed to public speaking, she became much clearer.
Kate was sent to good schools from childhood, so it isn’t likely she’d have sounded like a Cockney or a Geordie (those are the only 2 British accents I can actually identify) – but I’m not sure what she IS supposed to sound like; perhaps she isn’t, either.
And that said, any man with a Geordie accent who so much as whispered in my ear would probably have me in five minutes . . . but I digress . . .
LOL! You push-over you.
I like the Geordie accent too.
I understand that flights from Newcastle on Tyne are booked solid to the closest airport, seesittellsit!
Well, actually, it’s subtitled for the hearing impaired, not because of Kate’s unintelligible accent. I’ve found watching British TV shows with the closed captioning on to be quite helpful in understanding the various accents.
As a side note, I heard nothing new in this conversation.
Lols at the radio 1 interview – Bill hardly let her talk at all. He knows she can’t string a sentence together unless it’s off a TelePrompter.
Well, you guys have done it. Kaiser’s posts have worn me down. I’m not too fond of William these days. Harry is adorable. I don’t think I’ve heard Kate speak prior to their wedding. I can buy it that’s she’s shy. Someone mentioned her jaw being tight – could be anxiety or improper dental alignment. There were a couple words I had probs understanding from all of them, but otherwise, it was clear.
Now I’m dying to hear Kate’s old accent.
Why doesn’t Will shave his head? That bald head is ridiculous?! You are a PRINCE.
And lol at her accent. Relax max. She’s sooo stiff. Just chill out girl.
Swooning over Harry. What a cutie.
Late to the party but closed my eyes to hear this. I am a Texan and do a better posh accent than she does! I can’t understand her.
I understand German better than whatever that just was. And I am an American who studied abroad in Great Britain.
I find she is easy to understand. But she needs to open her mouth more and to slow down.
If you look at Kate’s mouth/jaw then you can see how TENSE she is. Clenched teeth. Lips barely moving. The prosody of her voice reflects that as well as it is flat and without emphasis in any place. She sounds as if she will start to cry any moment. Good speakers and good narrators “bathe” in the words they pronounce. Kate barely manages to get out any sentences. She tries to use her hands to give her sentences some emphasis. Harry and William are trying to make her feel comfortable with their hmmhmm and yeahyeah. They are more relaxed and speak more naturally and more engaging.
Oh dear. It is painful to watch her and hear her.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Every time she speaks, I feel for her. It seems painful. She is so tense, so hesitant, as though she may make a mistake that will bring the wrath of the world down on her head. Who knows? From some of the pictures from over the years, especially in an airport in NZ or Australia, William looked like he was giving her a good telling off. I doubt he is an easy man to live with.
I used to think Harry was easier, but after his stupid threatening letter to the media over Meghan and how he seemed to be acting at that wedding (and many here thought it wasn’t disinterest in Meghan, it was annoyance at being papped) I don’t think he is much better. Spoiled, rich aristocratic pals, let’s be honest – he hardly works either, but does party – acted like a petulant child who Meghan was trying to cajole. Arms folded, almost ignoring her, red-faced. If that is how he acts when things don’t go his way, he is as bad as Wills.
I think the whole bunch of them should try to live a real life for a few days. Maybe then they wouldn’t all be so darn entitled.
I totally agree….
You know you know you know actually sort of sort of you know actually kind of actually. That’s what I heard out of Kate’s mouth. Made me crazy.
Same! She needs to stop doing that. She minimizes the impact of her words, and I hear the mumbo you know sortof kindof jumbo actually, not her message.
They all sound fine. It’s just a well spoken kind of Southern English accent, it’s really not that strange.
Iv been saying for years that Carole went overboard on the elocution lessons… so distracting and off putting.
Whaaaaaat… her accent sounds fine to me, that’s just how we speak down South.
Then again when I lived abroad with mainly American expats, it took them 6 months to reveal to me that half the time I was speaking my accent was so unintelligible to them, it was like I was speaking another language 🙂
Even with my expectation that most here are negative about these two, I’m surprised by this reaction to the video. I thought it was a little awkward, but quite well done and certainly well-intentioned. I understood every single word all three said, with no problem, and thought she sounded quite similar to the other two. She was also clearly in charge of leading the conversation in several places, as she was the one with the transition dialogue (e.g., she asks Will about the ambulance, she cues Harry for his “individual in the center” point). So she seemed to me, of the three, to be the most prepared. Ultimately, this is a good cause and they’re working. No shade from me.
After watching the video, I am convinced that Harry would be a fantastic monarch. He really sounds genuine and kind. He seems to speak in a very natural way opposed to the way Kate and William sound. I applaud their efforts though to bring attention to mental health. I lost my mom and dad at a young age and it deeply affected me. I feel like as a 42 year old, that I am just now able to cope much better with it.
Hugs to you KatM.
+1
Thank you for your very kind and sweet words. : )
Hmmm, not going to single Kate out for the subtitles. All of them had subtitles but that could be so that the video can be watched by the hearing impaired? I could understand all of them. However, this merely means Kate sounds clearer in this particular video perhaps due to a clipped or boom mic that picks up better. Also, being understood here doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a fake accent. The non-natural accent still comes across. In the few speeches she has given in other instances, her accent is really jarring and I could not understand her. Will and Harry sound more natural in their other speeches, and overall Harry almost always sounds the most charismatic and sincere between the three. Back to this video, I feel all 3 could not really ‘act’ the message out naturally but Harry was the best, or least worst an actor, and I think they tried their best. Perhaps it wasn’t them entirely, it could be the execution, the script, the setting or all of it. Next!
As most have said, I understood Catherine just fine. Maybe, it is because I live in America (born in Jamaica, though). I cannot understand this new trend for tearing people down to shreds. She’s doing something for a good cause, yet, we’re finding fault with the way she spoke. It’s bizarre and tiring and I’m questioning why I spend my time on this site.
Kate’s lockjaw and slurring remind me of old videos of Diana Mitford. Who is … well, not the role model I’d choose.
But other than that, I’ll cast no shade. I have no idea what it’s like to talk about personal grief when you live your life in the public eye. Harry seems the most comfortable with the discussion, but it’s Will I’m most impressed by. You can feel his visceral discomfort, you can see him fighting against his default angry shutdown mode. He’s the example of how hard it can be to talk about this stuff. He didn’t have to do this video, and yet he did. Props to him.
The weak link, of course, is Kate’s cutting in with the opinion that they turned out as well as they did because of good early upbringing or whatever. She’s got to learn her way out of that construct if she’s going to be a mental health advocate. But, considering these are privileged people with neither higher education nor earth-shattering intellects, I’m going to be supportive of this early effort and hope that they learn some skills along the way to a meaningful mental health awareness campaign.
I can’t help but notice your nick…would Kate be CATHERINETHEKEENENOUGH?
I’ll show myself out.
Hah! Probably. Catherine is my real name, but I’m not a Kate so I didn’t even think about the Kate connection when I chose the nick. Maybe I should change it??!!
I didn’t read the comments yet so this may have been said already. I’m American so I can’t hear the difference in their accents. And i didn’t need subtitles. I understood all of them just fine. What I noticed about Kate is how she speaks. The constant breaks in the middle of her sentences, the questions instead of statements. She is sooooo insecure. I don’t know if it’s because of the camera or if she is like this with everyone. I think Harry has the best handle on his thoughts here. He seems most likely to have a real plan on how he can contribute to mental health issues. But all three do seem to really care about the issue. Will and Kate seem to recognize that there is a problem but have no idea about how to improve upon it. *goes to read comments now*
I think this video was ridiculous. They seem so plastic and stiff about a subject of which they want to appear as “experts” with their facility visits, “work,” etc. But I don’t think they’re really that knowledgable to be giving advice to people with problems. It’s like they’re play-acting about such a serious subject. They haven’t been in the trenches with people, attended seminars, done reading and studying, actually spent time with professionals, asking questions to really learn about this subject so they could really be in a good place to give advice. Whenever they’ve been out “working,” they’ve been visiting facilities for a photo shoot and pap stroll. There has been no serious depth to their trips.
Agree. They come off a bit like a closed, mutual admiration society. They are so vague on what they are trying to accomplish. They’ve had smoke blown at them by courtiers about their “important work”
I don’t know about “vague”… I think the messaging is pretty clear (roughly: mental health is super important to well-being and everyone experiences emotional hardships sometimes, but there’s still a cultural stigma around talking about it, which can make people feel even lonelier). As for what they want to achieve, I’d say they just want to bring the issue to people’s attention, spark discussion, and of course, raise lots of money for the mental health charities that do the more tangible stuff.
@Bethany: totally on point. Remember Kate’s HuffPo ‘editor’ stint for a day that consisted of turning up for 45 minutes, some photo ops and then off she went shopping? Or that she was always reading scientific papers? Such crap.
This campaign is for personal PR purposes only. It’s awful that real hardworking people involved in providing services are hauled in to give credence to these royal tossers who know nothing and care less.
She reminds me of Tovah Feldshuh in that video. She looks a lot older than she is and I don’t get it; she’s had such a privileged life. I could understand her but it’s so obvious that accent is fake fake fake. I wish she felt comfortable enough to just be herself.
I don’t quite get her aging either. She has circles around her eyes and puffy eyes. She has some kind of jowls when she isn’t smiling. She always looks as if she is very unhappy when she isn’t smiling. And most of her smiles are somewhat fake.
I have the suspicion that she had her jaw line slimmed/shaved down to get a more lenghty-oval face. unfortunately after that her jowls didn’t have any more jaw bone to stick to.
Her nose seems to have been straightened, too.
And wearing wiglets or extensions is a constant pull on your scalp and that must hurt after a couple of hours.
I could understand her just fine.I don’t understand everyones constant criticism of her and picking her apart.Imagine if she read all these comments it would be very hurtful shes still a human being.
Sigh. No, it is isn’t. I can understand every word. Good god, this is what passes for gossip?
Could someone from Great Britain please explain what a “posh accent” is, exactly? And for that matter, what makes a person “posh”? I don’t think we have this in America. We have “regional” accents, related to areas of the country or even a certain area of a city such as Brooklyn in New York City.
But “posh” is a class type of thing, right? I am asking this honestly – I just have never figured out what posh is.
Deeana, yes posh is a class thing. I’m not English but have lived there. The upper crust of England have posh accents, while there are also middle class accents and lower class accents. Like in the US, these may be tied to different regions. Have you ever seen “My Fair Lady?” There’s a lot of discussion about accents in that film, as Eliza Doolittle has a Cockney accent, and Professor Henry Higgins is coaching her to sound more upper crust.
While, we don’t necessarily have “posh accents” in the US, we do make fun of people’s accents all the time. News anchors on national networks are taught not to sound like they’re from any particular region. They don’t want them to have a Southern drawl, sound like they’re from Southie in Boston, a Valley Girl in California or a Bears fan in Chicago. These are all accents in the US associated with more working class folks and are discouraged for professionals. Also, think of how people who speak Black English Vernacular or have a foreign accent are stigmatized. So, while we don’t have posh accents, we clearly have accents that are frowned upon. Maybe in the 1960s speaking like Jackie Kennedy would have been American posh. Now, I’d say the ideal would be to sound like a bland news anchor who enunciates well. Hope some of that helped.
As a non American I actually do think you have posh accents in America within your regional accents, and I think some of your regional accents are considered more classy than others e.g high class Washingtonians and high class New Yorkers.
There is no such thing as a high class Washingtonian or New York accent.
Some Americans in the public eye (newscasters/politicians/actors) work hard to erase their regional accents, and end up with a bland speaking voice. That might be what you are referring to.
But there are no “classy” accents. Plenty of rich folks speak in their regional accents proudly.
@PrincessK and @Suze, I think you both have a point. In New York, for example, if you sounded like Fran Fine on “The Nanny” or Janice on “Friends,” Americans would definitely ridicule your accent. However, we wouldn’t think Chandler on “Friends” has a posh accent. We’d just think he sounded “normal.” If anyone does get told they speak well, I think it is racial minorities, but this is for stereotypical reasons. Someone might praise how well an Asian American speaks English because they assume the person did not grow up in this country and expect them to speak broken, accented English. People tell educated African Americans how articulate they are all the time because they assume blacks are poor, uneducated and can’t speak grammatically correct English. Your average white person would never get these sorts of comments, though.
Well, a part of my studies was socio-linguistics. And the worst thing you can do linguistically is to pretend to be somebody you are not. This can be done by taking up an accent that isn’t yours or trying to use vocabulary that isn’t really your own vocabulary.
That is frowned upon because it is fraud / con man pretension.
It is a bit ridiculous, too and there is this episode in the show “The Nanny”: Fran tries to pretend she were from a higher social class. Nigel the Butler helps her to change her laugh to a higher pitch and a quicker sound and she changes her rather sexy clothing style to a more conservative grey and her flowing locks go into a strict bun. Of course she over-does it and it is hilarious.
Another example is Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady.
Kate reminds me a bit of these figures.
The Nanny: My Fair Lady, Start 18:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPq8Xd5FyAM
Posh, with a side dish of vocal fry.
It isn’t subtitled because of Kate’s accent. Most videos intended for distribution over social media are subtitled these days. That way, when it autoplays in your feed, you’re more likely to be intrigued and keep watching rather than scroll past it. And, as others have noted, it’s also an accessibility measure for the hearing impaired. Incidentally, I had no issues understanding what she was saying, though she does inexplicably sound like she’s from another century.
I heard that Stephen Fry, who is on TV (BBC) a lot and has hosted the BAFTAS, is part of this Mental Health Awareness Week (I think they call it) and I was shocked to hear that he is bipolar. He sounds so normal, and has never shown anything ‘different’ on TV. Rumor is that he and his husband plan to move to LA.
Read his autobiography, The Fry Chronicles; well worth it.
Kate sounds as though somewhere down the line she has had elocution lessons, she does not sound natural. William, and Harry especially are expressing themselves with much more ease. Kate would find it much easier if she spoke more naturally and worried less about getting her vowels right. Poor girl.
Having said that we all do change our accents depending on who we are with. I heard William speaking to Charles off camera and his accent sounder much posher, lets face it you can’t get posher than Charles, his posh accent is the real deal unlike Kate’s.
i thought it was hilarious when charles and catherine were talking about how stressful it was at first having a new kid, how no amount of book-reading can prepare you for it, it’s so overwhelming, not knowing what to do… as if they didn’t have a gigantic staff to help and tons of people around them who *do* know what to do.
also, hearing harry talk makes him even hotter.
I couldn’t agree with you more on the first paragraph (I don’t have a crush on Harry) 🙂
i did think it was weird, tho, when harry said “ain’t” twice. THAT doesn’t seem posh at all, or at least it sounds super affected, as if he’s *trying* to sound “normal.” i’m not british tho… do people there say “ain’t” these days??
Absolutely no issues listening to any of them.
Give credit where credit is due.
I cringed so hard while watching this. Not because of the accents, but if they’re going to do this sort of thing, they should at least hire an acting coach so they’ll sound sincere.
And also a scriptwriter for Kate.
I listened without looking at the video and I understood her fine; the video was boring though.
She looks better in video than she does in photos.
I could understand her accent really well. I could understand all of them. None of them sounded unintelligible. Their version of the British accent is easy to understand.
The DailyMail did really stick it to Kate this time though I doubt Markle wears less makeup than Kate.
“Though she’s toned down the heavy eyeliner and ‘Scouse’ brow, the Duchess of Cambridge still lacks sophisticated tastes when it comes to make-up
[…]
While Kate is often quite heavily made-up for public engagements — no doubt to hide the eyebags that plague all sleep-deprived mums — Meghan, who’s seven months older than the Duchess, prefers the natural look.
[…]
Her [Katie Buckett] other shopping staple is Peter Jones, the department store in her beloved Chelsea, where she buys outfits for herself, the children — and occasionally drags along her husband.
They’re just the sort of sensible Sloaney shopping destinations you would expect of the wife of the future King.
But once again it is Meghan who wears the Crown of Cool. Last year, she was spotted hiding under one of Harry’s caps as she ducked into Whole Foods, the American organic produce market, just a stone’s throw away from Kensington Palace. […]”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4434272/How-Kate-counter-Meghan-Markle-s-sparkle.html
Oh here we go. They are going to start making me feel sorry for Katie Bucket.
The Sparkle Markle is as natural as all the best cosmetics and sophisticated application can buy – and it’s fine. I admire that.
But the woman versus woman set up is irritating.
I don’t think it’s her accent that’s the issue. I think she’s a mumbler, and that’s why she’s utterly unintelligible at times. I speak like that as well, usually when I’m nervous/uncomfortable, and I have had moments where whatever’s come out of my mouth has just been entirely garbled. The key is just to practice speaking slowly and not trying to sound like anyone else but yourself, ie, not trying to sound smarter than what you actually are, and actually knowing what you’re talking about. Of course, that goes straight back to the prep work issue and, well, we all know how well Katie Keen & Bill Cambridge do with *that*.