For many, the idea of growing up and marrying a Prince or Princess is the stuff of fairytales. Yet, for Kate Middleton – who was raised a commoner, meaning she grew up without any titles – that's exactly what happened. It's no wonder then, that ahead of marrying into the Royal Family, she felt the need to do a little bit of preparation. In fact, according to one royal expert, the Duchess of Cambridge signed herself up to elocution lessons before her 2011 wedding to Prince William to sound "more regal".
"I first spoke to Kate in April 2005 when she was on a ski trip with Prince William, Prince Charles and Prince Harry in Switzerland", royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! magazine. "She was always well spoken, she went to Marlborough College, she was hardly the fishwife in the way she spoke."
He continued: "But, having said that, it's as though her accent and the way she carefully speaks and pronounces her words have become more regal over the years and morphed into what we see now. It's almost like her accent has changed in accordance with the role that she's played over the years."
Speaking about the change in her accent, Duncan says it's "never been denied" that the Duchess took elocution lessons. However, he emphasises that this would have been a decision she made on her own, rather than on the advice of the Royal Family.
"She was every bit the Prince's girlfriend material and, of course, now she has an accent that is fitting of someone who will be Queen", he said, noting how Kate has adapted perfectly to her role within 'The Firm'.
"Kate is a perfectionist, she will look at everything about herself in minute detail so she's know exactly the kind of outfits that she wears to send out the right signals and are appropriate", he added. "She's elegant when she needs to be and mumsy when it's required. With that sort of attention to detail, can we really blame her for also paying that same attention to the way she delivers what she says?"
His comments come just a few days after the Duchess made her TV presenting debut on Cbeebies Bedtime Story, which aired on Sunday 13 February. During the episode, Kate read The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson, which she described as an "incredible, encouraging tale."
