Perhaps one of the most distinctive attributes of the royal family is how they speak and the language they use. Be it any member or any generation, a British royal is characterized by their regal vocabulary and exceptional articulation.
With an exclusive insight, Princess Diana’s bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, spoke in this week’s episode of A Right Royal Podcast about his first-hand observations of the royal family’s well-spoken ways.
In particular, one memory that sprung to mind was Prince William’s efforts to adopt his father and then Prince Charles’ high-class pronunciation when William was only a child.
“I’ll always remember the first time I went to Highgrove – their house in Gloucestershire,” Ken told A Right Royal Podcast. “I remember sitting there one morning and William came in. He said: ‘Ken, um, mummy wants to go right and we’ve got to leave the heiss in 20 minutes.'”
When Ken questioned William’s pronunciation of the words ‘out’ and ‘house’, the then-royal child responded with: “Because that’s what it is Ken!” “I said ‘Well no it isn’t. It’s: we’re going out, and we’re leaving the house.'”
Much to Ken’s dismay, two weeks later he was called up on this little royal interference by then Prince Charles himself. In an elongated speech, Ken recalled William’s father telling him: “I gather you’ve been giving William elocution.”
“If you wanted a hole to appear in the floor, that was the moment,” Ken joked. “[Prince Charles] was very good about it. He stretched out and tugged on his cuff. All he had to say was one word which was basically him saying ‘Well, stop it and shut up.'”
Continuing on, Ken penned: “One way to express himself was ‘Oh really?’. I love that phrase. I heard it so many times from him in so many different ways. But great fun.”
