a new royal 'twig' - no. 1

The Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) delivered her first official (maiden) speech since her wedding. On the 19th of March she spoke at the East Anglia Children's Hospice in Ipswich, a hospice she has become patron of.

Let's listen to some of her pronunciation features most of which are quite normal and unsurprising. Particularly for NNSs of English, however, they should be of some interest.

1. Neutralisation of the opposition between /t/ and /ʧ/ before /r/ as in 'patron', 'extraordinary' and 'treehouse':
"Thank you for accepting me as a patron"

"What you have all achieved here is extraordinary."

"You as a community have built the Treehouse."

2. Monophthongisation and lowering of /ɪə/ as in 'here'
"I feel hugely honoured to be here."
"He would love it here."
"What you all have achieved here ..."
"... that is delivered, not just here, ..."
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But: "So thank you again for inviting me here today."

More to come!