I’m a North American doper who is wondering which UK accents are considered by UK residents to be the most prestigious.
Are all accents described by geography or are their accents specific to certain professions or social class irrespective of geography? In hearing the accent of a stranger could you conclude: “Oh, he’s a doctor.”, etc…?
Is it safe to say that, by definition, the accent spoken by the Queen is the most prestigious? Is that known as “BBC English”?
In those situations where accent does actually carry prestige, yes, BBC English is probably the most likely to be respected, but the idea of merit based on accent is pretty much on the decline.
The Queen’s manner of speech is so distinctively personal to her, I don’t think I can place it.
She has her own accent?
Duh! It is the Queen’s English.
And I suppose there’s traditionally been a bias towards BBC-style ‘Oxford’ accents in professional roles, because there has been in the past an emphasis on ‘proper speech’ in those educational paths that tended to lead to professional roles.
Nowadays though, accent discrimination is regarded almost as a kind of racism.
Worth noting also is that there is such a thing as a stereotypical ‘farmer’ accent - comprising lengthening and broadening of the vowel sounds, dropping of H and T and a few other features. To an outsider, I think the accents of rural Somerset, Norfolk, Dorset and Hampshire will probably sound quite similar - and the ‘farmer’ stereotype is a blend of them
I’m not sure if I’d call it an accent - her speech has mannerisms that are peculiar to her. I think it could only be called an accent if it was shared by group of speakers, usually regional.
Are the accents becoming homgenized by TV? Has “Cockney” disappeared?
Unless of course the single person is The Queen. 
How often does she actually use the “royal we”? I’ve seen footage of Seeches from the Throne (one of the most formal things she does) where she says “My government” instead of “Our government”.
One result of the homogenisation of accents/dialects is ‘Estuary English’ - which as well as being a natural convergence of RP and South-East speech is sometimes cynically used, by Tony Blair for instance, to appear to be ‘one of the people’. Throw a few glottal stops into your speech and you can attain the trustworthiness of a regional accent, somewhat hiding the Received Pronunciation you learnt at public school, Ironically, Estuary English comes across as more pretentious than RP, at least when coming from members of the elite trying to dumb down for the electorate.
It’s a class thing. ‘Ordinary’ accents are geographical. The higher up in society you go, the more the accent becomes an indicator of status and upbringing rather than geography (e.g. Tony Blair was born and educated in Scotland and Durham, but his accent has no such geographic traits).
They’re changing, and to a certain extent homogenising. Simply blaming TV is not necessarily the correct thing to do - a far greater mobility of the population, and greater internal migration, obviously affect accents. New accents are emerging due to the influence of immigrant populations, with some British-born Asians in particular having a distinct accent which is not simply one acquired from immigrant parents.
(On preview, there’s no point going into Estuary English, and I’m not the first person to have mentioned Blair and his flexible accent…)
This is a great collection of regional accents.
Speaking with the same one the listener is using.
Always worked for me. (Just don’t go OTT)
I would have thought that either a Birmingham, Liverpool,Geordie or broad Yorkshire accent would carry most prestige.
Tha knows 
For much of England’s history, the reigning monarch spoke no English at all. This might not be the yardstick to use.
Personally, I think the most prestigious accent is Patrick Stewart’s.
And what is your evidence for that? 
This is an interesting question, since prestige can be defined in different ways. Education? Wealth? Job?
The Queen and members of the Royal family don’t have strong accents.
I would expect a doctor, who must communicate clearly, either to speak BBC English, or the local accent.
Airline pilots must speak clear English - I would expect an strong accent to be a difficulty.
BBC announcers and newsreaders used to have to speak without any accent, though this has been relaxed recently.
Sir Alan Sugar, a wealthy businessman who has a ‘Norf Lunnon’ tinge to his accent, is proud of his 'umble beginnings.
As others have said, Tony Blair has redefined himself. By contrast John Prescott (Deputy PM) has kept his accent. But since he has no discernable talent :rolleyes: except for ‘being a man of the people’, he desperately needs to keep that image.
…Which is significantly based upon a Royal Shakespeare Society accent - which, like BBC English, is interestingly a somewhat artificial entity.
Is there a parallel phenomenon in England to the Valley Girl teenspeak? (Term used for lack of a better one, if one is offered, I will adopt it…) You know what I mean? Totally? Its where teenaged girls in Arkansas speak very much like teenaged girls in Las Vegas or LA.
That would probably be ‘Essex girls’, although the parallel is not exact.
How would Ricky Gervais’s accent be classified? Michael Caine’s? Paul McCartney’s?
glee : Look at the smiley.
Sith thee, eh?..tha knows hin