Prince Harry is a ‘visual thinker’ who speaks too fast due to a ‘fear of not fulfilling expectations’ – while his ‘self-assured’ wife Meghan Markle ‘articulates with mental agility’, Princess Diana’s vocal coach has claimed.
Stewart Pearce, 68, of London, claims to have been the late Princess of Wales’ voice and presence coach from late 1995, shortly after her Martin Bashir interview was broadcast, until her death in 1997.
His latest self-help book, Diana: The Voice Of Change, details how one can experience the Radiance of Diana by practising a series of breathing techniques and confidence boosters which he calls ‘The Diana Heart Path’.
As well as Diana, Stewart has worked with actors including Mark Rylance, Hugh Bonneville, Eddie Redmayne and Minnie Driver, and politicians such as Benazir Bhutto, Mo Mowlam and Margaret Thatcher.
Giving his verdict on the Duke of Sussex’s ‘podcast’ voice, which Meghan, 39, swooned over during the teaser for their Archewell Audio Holiday Special on Spotify, Stewart said the prince, 36, has an ‘off-the-cuff’ style but a tendency to speak too quickly.
Prince Harry is a ‘visual thinker’ who is yet to find the ‘centre of his power’ – while wife Meghan Markle is ‘self-assured and articulates with mental agility’, Princess Diana’s vocal coach has claimed. Pictured: Harry and pregnant Meghan at the #SpotifyStreamOn event this month
‘Harry gives the impression that his thoughts tumble in speech, and although he is quick witted, his clarity of thought is slightly lost by rhythmically speaking too fast,’ he told FEMAIL.
‘This tendency often arises from someone who is hyper-vigilant because of unexpressed trauma, or a fear of not fulfilling expectations.
‘Harry feels to me to be a visual thinker, which means he is holding several concepts in his mind in one moment, whilst expressing a leading thought.
‘He gives the impression that he doesn’t quite sense how to dispatch his thoughts with equity, instead they tend to pour out in a torrent. Space fillers like “um” or “ah” occur when the individual is hyperactive, lacking in inner stillness.
‘Many people have this tendency, feeling that any pause in speech is wrong, that they need to keep moving to be interesting, and so fill the silence with percussive sounds not wanting to appear incompetent.’
Giving his verdict on the Duke of Sussex’s ‘podcast’ voice, which Meghan swooned over during the teaser for their Archewell Audio Holiday Special on Spotify, Stewart said the prince has an ‘off-the-cuff’ style but a tendency to speak too quickly
Stewart said Harry’s casual, spontaneous style illustrates ‘his deep sensitivity for others’ through which he ‘attempts to create immediacy and authenticity for all’.
‘Yet whilst engaged in being “easy”, he loses a sense of centre in his voice – a firm tonal position or resonance – and articulates rapidly,’ he went on.
‘This means some vowels are squeezed and some consonants crash into one another or are cancelled, but not all the time.
As well as Diana, Stewart Pearce (pictured) has worked with actors including Mark Rylance
‘I feel the latter reflects his great awareness of form and respect of status, with a subtle desire to de-formalise and make “cool”. Both conditions are at present in dispute within Harry’s consciousness – and for very understandable reasons!’
Stewart added that Harry’s body language during public appearances often suggests a ‘huge amount of emotional mobility occurring inside’.
‘When visible Harry doesn’t have a firm centre in his walk or his voice,’ he explained.
‘This level of emotionality leads to impetuosity, quick wittedness, impulsive feats of desire, fun to have around, spontaneous, highly mobile and unpredictable. When he walks he moves his weight from side to side, and his footfall is light, not measured or grounded.’
Several commentators including a British behaviour expert have observed that Harry appears to have ‘dropped’ the Queen’s English accent in favour of a more ‘slurring mid-Estuary’ twang in his new podcast.
Judi James branded it ‘every bit as interesting as Tony Blair’s infamous mockney’, adding: ‘It’s pretty much mid-everything: mid-Atlantic, mid-London and mid-Estuary English.’
The couple’s newly-formed Archewell Audio project promises to produce programming that ‘uplifts and entertains audiences’
While Stewart didn’t detect a distinctive shift, he said it was natural for Harry to embrace conciliatory US gestures and phrases such as ‘you guys!’, ‘it’s like’ and ‘whatever’ to legitimise his role as an international citizen of the world.
‘Since graduating from Eton, Harry has used an accent that makes his status “ordinary”,’ Stewart added.
‘Many people suggest this is Estuary English and yet I feel it’s a hybrid vocalisation which in the UK many ex-public schoolboys use to not sound “upper-crust”.
‘Harry is a man of the people, and like his dear mother before him he is the People’s Prince, so in his attempt to make people easy, comfortable and open, he deformalises his voice and holds back powerful feelings, hence the vocal fry or tension.
‘But this is also because he hasn’t quite found the centre of his own power within and rushes forward in speech.’
Stewart added that Harry’s body language during public appearances often suggests a ‘huge amount of emotional mobility occurring inside’
By contrast, Stewart highlighted Meghan’s skills and experience as an actress means she knows how to place her voice within the podcast.
‘[The Duchess] is obviously self-assured and articulates with a mental agility that precisely defines what her opinions are,’ he said.
‘Whereas Harry is untrained and could really do with some help! It feels as though Harry has little technical management of his voice; as a voice coach I immediately want to help.’
He added: ‘I would suggest that in allegiance with Meghan they are both very conscious of being voices of change, and that now they are no longer subsumed within the Royal Family they can launch their own specific “brand” and viewpoint, to bring about liberations in the world.’
Last week Harry and Meghan were stripped of their royal titles, following their decision to quit as senior members of the Royal Family in January last year.
Stewart’s most famous client was Diana, Princess of Wales. In his books and promotional materials, Mr Pearce claims to have been her Voice & Presence Coach from late 1995 until her death in 1997
The couple are now residing in California, in an £11million mansion in Montecito, with their son Archie.
Stewart, who was introduced to Diana by a mutual friend (restaurateur Mara Berni) and hired to ‘bring forth her vocal power’, said the late Princess had a ‘great love’ of the US and would have ‘celebrated Harry’s bid for freedom’.
‘In 1997 [Diana] was talking of buying property in Malibu, where the boys could be free and dream a way of exploring the world beyond the confines of being Royal,’ he told FEMAIL.
‘I feel Diana would have celebrated Harry’s bid for freedom and would have loved Meghan and Archie, as the love between the two parents is so palpable, rich and endearing.’
His comments contrast with those made by fashion designer Roberto Devorik today, who remained a friend of Diana all her adult life. He claimed the late royal would have been ‘angered’ over the recent fall-out because she wanted Harry to help shape a ‘modern monarchy.’
He said Meghan and Diana wouldn’t have got along ‘in any way’, telling Hola! magazine: ‘I think Meghan is the boss… Harry is a boy who suffered a lot and believes that Meghan has the legacy of Diana. But he is very confused.’
Stewart’s connection to the Royal Family stretches back to his father, who was a valet to Prince Philip. He grew up in accommodation just behind St James’s Palace in London and frequently met the Queen, whom he adored.
He previously told the Daily Mail: ‘I remember the beauty of the young Queen and shaking her hand and not washing my own hands for a week afterwards because she was just so beautiful and exquisite.’
Asked how he thinks the Queen feels about Megxit, Stewart said he believes Her Majesty completely supports the Sussexes’ move to the US if it makes them happy.
‘The removal of titles are not seen as actions of disgrace within the royal household,’ he said. ‘Unusual sure, but in this case the removal of status is merely a matter of form within the social organisation of royalty and constitutional law.’
Stewart added that he believes Harry and Meghan’s upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey will be ‘explosive at best and revelatory at least’.
‘Like his parents, Harry will be using this opportunity to be completely candid about what has taken place to remove them from the UK and what their extraordinary future will be,’ he said.
Diana: The Voice of Change by Stewart Pearce is on sale now and can be purchased at https://dianathevoiceofchange.com/ or via Amazon.