The British Royal Family is known for its influence, tradition, and extensive travel around the world. With their global reach, it’s no surprise that members of the family have picked up various languages along the way. For instance, King Charles is known to speak four languages.
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Prince William, the future King of England, is no exception. He has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to communicate in different languages, reflecting his international roles and commitments. Let's explore the linguistic capabilities of modern royals like himself, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle.
Prince William: How many languages does the future monarch know?
The 42-year-old Prince of Wales, who has a very ‘non-glamorous’ workday routine, once shocked a Tanzanian man, Erick Venant, 25, by speaking to him in Swahili. According to MailOnline, the incident took place in 2019 when William met 20 recipients of Princess Diana’s Legacy Awards for tea at Kensington Palace.
Tessy Ojo, Chief Executive of the Diana Award charity, explained how Venant was left ‘gobsmacked’ by William speaking Swahili, calling it a ‘truly special’ moment. She said:
One of the young people is from Tanzania, and he started talking to him in Swahili...It wasn't just one sentence. This was not something he had just read out of a book.
Prince William taught himself Swahili while at university. However, it is understood that he is not completely fluent in the language. He can speak seven languages, including English and Swahili, according to HubPages. Apart from these two, the future monarch can also speak French, German, Welsh, and Gaelic. Interestingly, he once revealed during an Instagram Q&A that he can speak a little bit of Spanish as well.
How many languages do Kate Middleton, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte know?
While some people learn different languages as part of the school curriculum or out of personal interest, Royals are often expected to know more than one language. As such, apart from King Charles and William, other members of the family also know different languages. Let’s dive into their linguistic knowledge here:
Kate Middleton: The Princess of Wales cannot speak any languages fluently apart from English. It is reported that she has some knowledge of French and Italian, but she is not fluent in either.
Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte: The younger generation of royals already know some Spanish, thanks to their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, a Spanish native. Their school teaches French as part of the curriculum, and students can opt to learn Greek if they wish. Given that Kate Middleton’s language skills aren’t particularly strong, she once said:
My language is so bad, I have to make sure my children are better than me.
Do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle know any other languages?
Prince Harry is understood to only know English, whereas Meghan Markle is proficient in English, French, and Spanish. According to her old CV, she is fluent in Spanish and has good proficiency in French. When she travelled to Morocco with Prince Harry, she spoke to girls in a boarding school in French. In another incident, Access Hollywood reported her Spanish was ‘quite good’ based on how she spoke to a girl at a café where Spanish is the dominant language.
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Sources Used
Daily Mail: Sprechen sie royal? Princess Anne impressed with a speech in German, but she's not the only member of her family who can speak another language
Hud Pages: The Royal Family Is Required to Know More Than One Language
