Meghan Markle Has a British Accent Now (and It's Entirely Real), Says Language Expert

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (formerly Meghan Markle) was born in Los Angeles, California, and had a quintessential West Coast accent. That was, until she married Prince Harry. Now she's got a (kinda) British way of speaking.

A new royal documentary that features Meghan, 37, had viewers questioning if she was already losing her American accent. Some even wondered if she had actually undergone vocal coaching to sound more like a Brit. 

"Meghan's developed a case of Madonna's accent change," tweeted one viewer. 

Another wrote, "Meghan has had voice coaching, she seems much softer, bit like how Kates changed too."

Hmmm.

The two-part ITV documentary Queen of the World, focuses on Queen Elizabeth but shows Meghan when she is reunited with her wedding dress in the first episode.

Before you think Meghan's putting her new accent on like Madge in her British phase (married to Guy Ritchie, having a pint in the pub), one top language expert tells us it could be entirely real. 

Patti Wood tells Personal Space that when you are in an intimate relationship with someone and spent the majority of your time with them, we start to speak — and even look — like each other after some time. 

"Even in brief phone calls with friends and family you may begin to subconsciously match and mirror your partner. When you love someone you often match and mirror their body language and paralanguage, (aspects of the voice like tone, tempo, accent and speaking rate) when you are with them," Wood explains. "Over time you may begin to merge and match each other outside just your interactions with your loving partner. You create the same chemicals and the same thoughts. And those chemicals get into your bloodstream in less than a fraction of a second. You can begin to feel what they are feeling. The more love you have, the more you match and mirror [and] the better you understand your partner."

Wow. 

Also, remember, only a slight part of communication is verbal, she adds. 

"Real communication, verbal and nonverbal, means being able to see the world both through your eyes and someone else’s. Communication is about creating understanding. Rapport is the fastest and most effective way to create understanding with another person. Isopraxism (mirroring) offers a way for us to create rapport consciously using nonverbal communication to match or mirror another’s body language. Rapport creates a feeling of trust and safety between you and the other person. Rapport means the other person feels heard and understood."

When we have good rapport with another person, we are often sharing the same thoughts, which is reflected in our words and mannerisms.