Comparing The Crown's Accents Vs. The Real Royals

Comparing The Crown's Accents vs The Real Royals

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re Comparing The Crown’s Accents Vs. The Real Royals.

For this list, we’ll be looking at how closely this royal drama's cast nailed their real-life counterparts' accents.

Who do you think replicated the Royal dialect best? One must share one’s thoughts in the comments.

#9: Princess Anne

Season three introduced us to Erin Doherty’s fierce and fabulous Princess Anne. The actress shared that she initially struggled with the Princess’s accent since it felt so foreign. According to Doherty, the princess “suppresses her voice... it’s kind of this odd, low placement.” She studied her speech through YouTube videos, apparently relying heavily on one, in particular, to help her find the correct range. Indeed, like her real-life counterpart, Doherty manages to limit her jaw movement and still deliver lines with all the conviction and sass they deserve. It’s so far from the actress’ native accent and understandably required a lot of practice. Doherty certainly nailed the royal’s sound, demeanor, and grace and inadvertently made the fictional Anne— and real Princess— the season’s stand-out character.

#8: Winston Churchill

As any history buff knows, Winston Churchill had a distinct drawl. We imagine this is a tough sound for any Brit to replicate, let alone an American. However, the showrunners wanted an actor from across the pond to highlight the Prime Minister's eccentricities, noting that Churchill's mom was American. John Lithgow noticed that the Prime Minister tended to speak from the back of his mouth, so he initially tried to mirror this idiosyncrasy by stuffing his cheeks with balls of apples. This was later replaced by "little blobs" attached to his back teeth that helped him maintain Churchill's "remarkable speech impediments." He'd also stuff cotton up his nose to get that nasal sound. Needless to say, Lithgow did his homework, and the result speaks for itself.

#7: Margaret Thatcher

Much like the woman she portrayed, Gillian (jill) Anderson’s Thatcher impression was considered rather divisive. There's no denying that Anderson brilliantly reflected the essence of the controversial politician with her lower register and hesitant breathiness. However, as some noted, "The Crown's" version sounded more like a caricature of the real Iron Lady. In the series, Thatcher sounds perpetually exasperated and frustratingly patronizing. Although, those who knew her might say that isn't a far stretch from the truth. If we closed our eyes, could we picture the real Thatcher talking? Well, she's no Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady." But packaged with the rest of her outstanding performance and wrapped neatly in a Pussy Bow, Anderson made for a rather compelling and believable Margaret Thatcher.

#6: Camilla Shand / Parker Bowles

We’re no stranger to seeing Britain’s new Queen Consort on our screens. However, we don’t often hear her speak, so we imagine Emerald Fennell had her work cut out for her. Still, if you listen to the Royal’s rare interviews and compare them to her fictional counterpart, we think you’ll be impressed. Fennell clearly did a deep dive into Camilla’s on-screen appearances, and the payoff is evident. Apparently, the actress voiced her interest in playing this character early on, so she had plenty of time to do her research. The real Camilla called Fennell her “alter ego” and joked that she would call on her should she ever need a stand-in. We reckon that means she thinks Fennell did a pretty good job.

#5: Princess Margaret

Vanessa Kirby explained that the accent used by the British Royal Family, also known as “Received Pronunciation,” is so unique that it was almost like learning a new dialect. She also noted hints of a German accent, indicative of the family’s heritage. The show’s dialect supervisor William Conacher (cawn-uh-ker) added that the key to nailing the voice was to move your jaw as little as possible to manipulate how the words come out. Indeed, Helena Bonham Carter shared that she would lean into the stereotypical, and in this case literal, stiff upper lip to channel her character. If there are any two characteristics Bonham Carter can dominate, it’s posh and eccentric. Perhaps it also helped that she’d met the Princess and reportedly later received the late Royal’s blessing to play her.

#4: Diana, Princess of Wales

Given the magnitude of Diana’s fame, most of us could easily recognize her voice with our eyes shut. However, if you played a soundbite of the late Princess next to the actor who played her in season four, you might struggle to tell them apart. Emma Corrin shared the word they’d use to help them find Diana’s voice. They said that Diana’s inflection tended to go down at the end of her sentences, reflecting her sweetness, sincerity, and often sadness. Corrin also worked with Conacher, who helped them find Diana’s voice and movements to give audiences a realistic portrayal of this beloved figure. Based on what we’ve heard from the actress who’s set to take over the role, we have no doubt Elizabeth Debicki’ll also do the icon justice.

#3: Charles, Prince of Wales

Josh O’Connor took a slightly different approach from his co-stars when portraying the then-future British king. He studied the Prince’s speech patterns with Conacher, explored his body language with movement director Polly Bennett and watched lots of old footage in preparation. Ultimately though, O’Connor was more focussed on creating a character than mirroring reality. Even so, the actor confessed that he worked really hard to master Charles’ dialect while the Welsh dialogue in season three was “alright.” Still, there’s something recognizable about this Prince Charles that piqued our interest and made us want to know more about the future king. His approach appealed to many and earned him an Emmy Award. We’re sure Dominic West, who takes over the role, will also do O’Connor’s Prince Charles proud.

#2: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Matt Smith did a marvelous job at portraying an empathetic, if slightly jaded, character. But slipping into the Prince's voice was no easy task. Apparently, the royal had a very precise way of saying words like "was" and "one," which turned out to be the bane of Smith's stint on the show. Still, like the actual Prince, Smith's character's speech was often clipped and curt but without taking himself too seriously. Despite his struggles, Smith laid a sturdy foundation for Tobias Menzies. The latter also made the accent sound effortless, as we're sure Jonathan Pryce will in the following seasons. There's a lot to remember, from shortening vowels to distinct pronunciations that sound foreign, even to a British ear. Yet, they make it look (and sound) easy.

#1: Queen Elizabeth II

If you ever heard Queen Elizabeth II speak, you’ll notice that her English doesn’t quite sound like the average Brit on the street. Indeed, Conacher didn’t want “The Crown’s” Elizabeth to sound like a parody, but she also needed to be relatable and believable. As we previously saw, the actors were instructed to barely let the words slip out between their teeth to achieve this unique sound when they talked. You can also hear noticeable differences in how they pronounce vowels that are barely heard today. Claire Foy does it so perfectly that hearing her actual voice is somewhat jarring. Meanwhile, Olivia Colman revealed the words that helped her get into character. We have no doubt that Imelda Staunton’s performance will also be fit for a Queen.