English language in southern England
South East England and the Home Counties (the counties bordering London) tend to reflect the interface between the London region and other regional accents. Affluent districts are associated with a modified Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, reflecting their traditional popularity with upper middle and upper-class residents which has spread throughout more social classes broadly in rural areas with commuting access to London. Less affluent areas have traditionally mainstream London accents (that is, variants of the Estuary English accent) that grade into southern rural outside urban areas.
Phonological history of English low back vowels
As a result of the lengthening and raising, in the above-mentioned accents "cross" rhymes with "sauce", and "soft" and "cloth" also have the vowel . Accents affected by this change include American English and, originally, RP, although today words of this group almost always have short in RP. The split still exists in some older RP speakers, including Queen Elizabeth II.