Upper-class Accent Examples

A selection of clips featuring British people with upper-class 'posh' accents: Prince Charles, Lord Sumption, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson, The Duchess of Cambridge, Tilda Swinton, Emma Watson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge,Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rose Leslie.

0:00 Prince Charles accent
0:11 Lord Sumption accent
0:33 Jacob Rees-Mogg accent
0:59 Boris Johnson accent
1:22 The Duchess of Cambridge
1:38 Tilda Swinton
1:48 Emma Watson
2:01 Phoebe Waller-Bridge
2:19 Tom Hiddleston
2:39 Benedict Cumberbatch
2:53 Rose Leslie

[stephanielim]

As a non native English speaker. The upper class man English accent is more understandable than any English accent.

[aloonamilton]

As a non-native English speaker, this is the accent that is clearest and easiest to understand.

[irEyERWO]

Fun fact about Tilda Swinton: she belongs to the Swinton Family, which is one of only three that could trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain.

[mikkqu]

Surprisingly, they all sound very clear and easy to understand. For some reason, I expected that the more upper-class British person is, the less legible and more ostentatious his speech is.

[rianamomo]

Everyone: *(speaks in sophistication, class, refined, pristine)*

Mr. Bean: murmurs and chuckles)*

[jays]

"It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him." George Bernard Shaw

[VincentNganTK]

I don't understand why ordinary English people don't like upper-class posh English. I find it very pleasant to hear and easy to understand.

[duncansmith]

All foreigners: “oh that’s English”

Most English: “oh those fancy southerners”

[thegrinch]

I’ll be honest, this is probably the first time I’ve actually heard Princess Kate talk

Edit: OKAY I GET IT, SHES NOT PRINCESS KATE. CAN YALL LEAVE ME ALONE NOW. Thanks for the likes btw :)

[theanhoe]

Yes but how do they pronounce the word "penguin" ?

[johnwright]

The received accent aka Oxford English, Queen's English was manufactured in the private boarding schools in the 19th century.

[chelli]

This made me realize that I've never heard Kate talk before. XD

[samlee]

To be completely fair, these accents may not be as much a product of their social class, but a necessity of the type of positions these people are in. Royals, politicians, actors, etc. are in positions where they need to have very clear and precise diction as a part of their work, and so they may have developed this style of speaking over time

[MakhalanyaneMotaung]

When we say upperclass "british" we always think english but i'd love to hear some upperclass scottish, welsh, and irish examples

Edit: UK accents not British as I realise northern Ireland is not in the island of Britain

[goesastawan]

Well, I can Clearly understand whatever they speak without any subtitle. As a non native English speaker I just feel so grateful for these upper class

[moonlight]

The articulation, carefully chosen vocabularies and sentence structure… this is music to the ears

[Mrpallekuling]

Want to speak upper class?
A) How to speak
Speak like you have a hot egg in your mouth.
B) Use the correct vocabulary, for example:
Say Lavatory (not Toilet)
Say Alcohol (not Booze)
Say Film (not Movie)
Say I'm finished (not I'm done)
Say May I have (not Can I get)
C) Position
You sound better if you stand up (that's why singers usually stand up when they sing)
D) Speed
Speak slowly, but not too slowly. Never speak fast, not even in an emergency
E) Interupt others
Never

[tomcat]

Don't you just love those crystal clear vowels and consonants.

[debosmitaganguly]

As an Indian I could hardly tell whose accent was classier, but one definitely melted in my ears and that was of Tom a voice and perhaps what an accent !!! 😍😍😍

[urgannagru]

Tom Hiddleston, Emma Watson and Rosie Leslie speak in RP as do several others here. The only upper class ones were Prince Charles, Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lord Sumpton. There's a noticeable difference, for an English person like me, between upper class English and Received Pronunciation