The late Princess Diana had one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, and the voice to match. Over the years, plenty have parodied the doe-eyed, low-voiced royal. But according to dialect coach William Conacher, the man responsible for getting some of the world’s biggest actors to sound like Diana, it’s much more complex than it might seem.
“Everybody,” he begins telling me, whether they’re portraying Diana, the Queen, or any other member of the royal family, “struggles with this posh ‘ah’ vowel.” He’s talking about the “ow” sound present in words like house, mouse, or brown. If you’re posh enough, that “ow” sound turns into an “ah”, for example, “The wallpaper is looking a little brahn in here, darling.”
