A conversation between William and Harry during the funeral of their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, has reportedly been deduced by lipreaders.
The brothers are rumoured to have a difficult relationship, which has been even more under the spotlight since an interview which Harry and wife Meghan gave an interview to US broadcaster Oprah Winfrey last month.
Meghan alleged that Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, made her cry on one occasion, and that one royal – whom she did not name – raised concerns over how dark son Archie’s skin would be when he was born.
While Meghan, who is pregnant with her second child, stayed in America, Harry jetted over to attend the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday, when the pair were seen having a conversation after the proceedings.
The Express reported on Sunday that, according to lipreaders, William said of the service: “Yes, it was great, wasn’t it?”
“It was as he wanted,” it’s claimed Harry said in response.
However, the claims are based on speculation and guesswork, with researchers estimating that only 30 percent of speech can be accurately read on the lips, meaning the remaining 70% is down to interpretation.
In an article on the communication tool, the Australian organisation Deaf Connected say: “It is not possible to lip read 100 percent of a conversation due to similarities in how many English sounds look on the lips. For example, the sounds for ‘b’ and ‘p’ appear the same on the lips and it is what is inside the mouth that creates the sound distinction. This cannot be seen by a lipreader.
“The popular notion that lipreaders can capture everything and ‘overhear’ conversations from far away is inaccurate. In fact, much of lipreading is guesswork utilising a number of strategies (such as visual cues and context) to deduce what is being said.”
The majority wondered how it was possible to lipread the siblings when they were both wearing face coverings, but to be clear, this was when the masks were off.
