The British royal family have reportedly been warned about lip readers analyzing their private conversations.Prince William’s tense talk with ex-Prince Andrew was just revealed in a new lip reading documentary.The royals have been told “don’t say anything” on walkabouts.
Now that celebrity lip reading is a THING, celebs can barely attend events without every conversation being analyzed. Which, to be clear, is extremely fun for those of us who are nosy / obsessed with pop culture! But maybe not so fun for them. And it’s not just celebrities—professional lip readers have also started to analyze the private conversations of royal family members, and they’ve been warned about it.
A royal source tells The Guardian that “As with many high-profile individuals, members of the royal family are aware of the unfortunate and growing trend for lip-readers to be used, with varying degrees of inaccuracy, to snoop on conversations that anyone would have a right to be considered private.”
This comes amid a new Channel 5 documentary called Lipreading the Royals, in which one expert analyzed a recent interaction between Prince William and ex-Prince Andrew, and claimed Andrew told his nephew “I’ve learned from what I’ve done. But before I forget, I’d like to ask you if you can forgive?”
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The Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter tells The Guardian that the royals have actually been aware of the lip reading issue for years, saying “Sometimes, they came out with some outrageous things. Often the member of the royal household in question wouldn’t remember if that is indeed what they said, as when they are on a walkabout they speak to so many people.”
Dickie adds that he warned the royals in the past, saying “I said: don’t say anything silly on a walkabout which could appear in print. And lip-reading is a craft which many people have. I actually did it once, during Prince William and Catherine’s wedding – when they left in a carriage, she quite clearly turned to him and said: ‘Are you happy?’”
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