What Languages Do The Royals Speak?

[tommy100]

Prince Philip speaks German, on the recent state visit to Germany he spoke to those he met without a translator, whereas the Queen relied on an interpreter.

I've read somewhere that Princess Anne speaks French and German, I believe both Charles and Anne were taught these languages growing up.

(edit - apparently Anne spent a week in France as a child where she was only allowed to speak French - http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/french-camp-for-princess-anne.html)

I'm pretty sure the Queen does not speak Irish Gaelic but learnt the phrase used at the start of her speech during her state visit. This is not a criticism, I just don't know if you can say she speaks it simply because she learnt one phrase.

I wonder if maybe Andrew and Edward weren't taught French growing up, Edward and Sophie were certainly spotted learning French a few years ago, about the time they started doing more public duties after the Golden Jubilee. I wonder if they started learning it (or maybe refreshing their knowledge of it) knowing it might be helpful for their official duties.

 

[Molly2101]

Prince Philip speaks German, on the recent state visit to Germany he spoke to those he met without a translator, whereas the Queen relied on an interpreter.

I've read somewhere that Princess Anne speaks French and German, I believe both Charles and Anne were taught these languages growing up.

(edit - apparently Anne spent a week in France as a child where she was only allowed to speak French - Royal Musings: French camp for Princess Anne)

I'm pretty sure the Queen does not speak Irish Gaelic but learnt the phrase used at the start of her speech during her state visit. This is not a criticism, I just don't know if you can say she speaks it simply because she learnt one phrase.

I wonder if maybe Andrew and Edward weren't taught French growing up, Edward and Sophie were certainly spotted learning French a few years ago, about the time they started doing more public duties after the Golden Jubilee. I wonder if they started learning it (or maybe refreshing their knowledge of it) knowing it might be helpful for their official duties.

I imagine Andrew and Edward were taught French at school - it's pretty standard in the UK for children to learn french at school. I remember seeing photos of Edward and Sophie leaving with French textbooks, but I found it odd that they chose to learn it fluently given that when they attend foreign weddings and such, everyone else can speak English.

I imagine that the Queen's grandchildren can speak basic French as they were all likely taught it at school.

 

[hernameispekka]

I imagine Andrew and Edward were taught French at school - it's pretty standard in the UK for children to learn french at school. I remember seeing photos of Edward and Sophie leaving with French textbooks, but I found it odd that they chose to learn it fluently given that when they attend foreign weddings and such, everyone else can speak English.

I imagine that the Queen's grandchildren can speak basic French as they were all likely taught it at school.

Well, maybe they just learned french as a hobby and something to do together

 

[tommy100]

I think, personally, there is a difference between learning French at school and being able to speak it to a good level. The UK is where i was born and live and I learnt French at school but wouldn't say I speak French, I know a few phrases and like anything, the more I speak the better I get but put me in France or Canada and expect me to hold a conversation in French and I wouldn't be able to.

If I recall correctly Edward and Sophie may have started learning French after Sophie's ectopic pregnancy so maybe it was a way to distract themselves and to do something as a couple. I'm sure, even if they had learnt French at school, a bit of revision and continued practice would be beneficial.

 

[Cris M]

Prince Luiz, Head of the Imperial House of Brazil sepeaking German (with a French accent, in my opinon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSlpA3H9hi0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTTOjSjoV3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dZJPJC9l68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJdEVc5PYrw

His mother the late Princess Maria (1914-2011), was born a Princess of Bavaria, and Prince Luiz studied Chemistry at the University of Munich.

Besides Portuguese, French and German, the Prince understands English, Spanish and Italian.

 

[hernameispekka]

I think, personally, there is a difference between learning French at school and being able to speak it to a good level. The UK is where i was born and live and I learnt French at school but wouldn't say I speak French, I know a few phrases and like anything, the more I speak the better I get but put me in France or Canada and expect me to hold a conversation in French and I wouldn't be able to.

If I recall correctly Edward and Sophie may have started learning French after Sophie's ectopic pregnancy so maybe it was a way to distract themselves and to do something as a couple. I'm sure, even if they had learnt French at school, a bit of revision and continued practice would be beneficial.

I agree. I took 6 (!) years of spanish in school, now 4 years later I can barely introduce myself. And I had good grades in it. It's insane how fast you loose it unless you use it (or have a very natural talent for language)

 

[Isabella]

I imagine Andrew and Edward were taught French at school - it's pretty standard in the UK for children to learn french at school. I remember seeing photos of Edward and Sophie leaving with French textbooks, but I found it odd that they chose to learn it fluently given that when they attend foreign weddings and such, everyone else can speak English.

I imagine that the Queen's grandchildren can speak basic French as they were all likely taught it at school.

I think Sophie and Edward likely were brushing up on their French, because I'm pretty sure they both had some experience with it already (I know Sophie had studied French in school because she mentioned it in an interview a long time ago; also, before she met Edward, she had spent some time working as a ski rep at a resort Switzerland, and was apparently required to know some French. I'm sure that Edward, like pretty much everyone else in the royal family, studied some French in school as well). I don't know when the picture of them with French textbooks is from, but several of the events they've attended abroad have been in countries that are at least partially French-speaking (Monaco, Canada, Luxembourg, and I know they've visited France.)

Certainly they don't need to know French, especially not for the royal weddings, but if they already have a background in it, it can't hurt to brush up on things. I've bought French textbooks to brush up on my French skills in my spare time, even though I have no need to speak French whatsoever. It's just a hobby, and it's always nice to at least have some familiarity with another language.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Prince Luiz, Head of the Imperial House of Brazil sepeaking German (with a French accent, in my opinon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSlpA3H9hi0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTTOjSjoV3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dZJPJC9l68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJdEVc5PYrw

His mother the late Princess Maria (1914-2011), was born a Princess of Bavaria, and Prince Luiz studied Chemistry at the University of Munich.

Besides Portuguese, French and German, the Prince understands English, Spanish and Italian.

The Prince has an accent but his German is excellent.

 

[Cris M]

The Prince has an accent but his German is excellent.

Thank you for the clarification, my German is quite rudimentary, but I could understand what he said.

Prince Luiz has a bit of a French accent even when speaking Portuguese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq-xgojAFbg

 

[Obsessed]

I agree. I took 6 (!) years of spanish in school, now 4 years later I can barely introduce myself. And I had good grades in it. It's insane how fast you loose it unless you use it (or have a very natural talent for language)

It's the same with me, and I'm technically Hispanic. Schools really do a pretty poor job at teaching languages, if you genuinely want to learn it you need to put matters into your own hands. The skills that I've conquered in Spanish recently have all been through my own attempts rather than stuff I've been taught in school.

And considering how long it's been since the British royals been in school, I wouldn't be surprised if they've forgotten a lot of stuff and only remember about 10% of the stuff they learned in French class which wouldn't even leave you with a basic understanding of French. That's always how it was for me with Spanish.

 

[Molly2101]

I think Sophie and Edward likely were brushing up on their French, because I'm pretty sure they both had some experience with it already (I know Sophie had studied French in school because she mentioned it in an interview a long time ago; also, before she met Edward, she had spent some time working as a ski rep at a resort Switzerland, and was apparently required to know some French. I'm sure that Edward, like pretty much everyone else in the royal family, studied some French in school as well). I don't know when the picture of them with French textbooks is from, but several of the events they've attended abroad have been in countries that are at least partially French-speaking (Monaco, Canada, Luxembourg, and I know they've visited France.)

Certainly they don't need to know French, especially not for the royal weddings, but if they already have a background in it, it can't hurt to brush up on things. I've bought French textbooks to brush up on my French skills in my spare time, even though I have no need to speak French whatsoever. It's just a hobby, and it's always nice to at least have some familiarity with another language.

The photos here are from 2005.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

[...]
Certainly they don't need to know French, especially not for the royal weddings, [....].

The various royal weddings in the Houses of Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco were predominantly in French. Unitil the 1970's even the Dutch Royal House employed two Court Chaplains: one from the Protestant Church in the Netherlands and one from the Église Wallonne (also Protestant but in the French language).

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I'm pretty sure the Queen does not speak Irish Gaelic but learnt the phrase used at the start of her speech during her state visit. This is not a criticism, I just don't know if you can say she speaks it simply because she learnt one phrase.

I didn't say that she spoke the whole language in my post. I just said "… and she also spoke Irish Gaelic when she visit Ireland in 2011". It was meant as more of an extra fact.

But you're correct, just because someone says a phrase in a certain language doesn't mean they can speak the whole language. I know a few phrases in Spanish and German, but it doesn't make me fluent in either language. In fact, I'm far from it haha. It's also quite easy to pick up languages when you go to a non-English speaking country. Most of the little Spanish I know has been picked up on holidays to Spanish speaking places.

 

[Cris M]

Princess Christine of Brazil (née Princess of Ligne) speaking Portuguese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGlzFiQ_X4

The Princess of Ligne (née Princess Eleonora of Brazil) speaking French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLr8yor2AII

Princess Christine is fluent in French, German, English, Spanish and Portuguese. And it should be noted that she only started learning Portuguese at the age of 26, after she married Prince Antonio and came to live in Brazil. She speaks Portuguese with almost no accent.

The Princess of Ligne is fluent in Portuguese, French, German and English. She learned French as a child.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

When the Princess is fluent in German, we may assume she understands Dutch as well, the major language of her native homeland, Belgium.

 

[Cris M]

When the Princess is fluent in German, we may assume she understands Dutch as well, the major language of her native homeland, Belgium.

I know the then Princess Christine of Ligne spent some time living in Munich, in order to improve her German.

Her nephew, Hereditary Prince Henri of Ligne speaks Dutch. He studied Law at the University of Maastricht.

 

[carlota]

sofia giving a speech in english:

Prinsessan Sofia hyllades för sitt tal på Global Child Forum i Sydafrika | Nyheter | Expressen

 

[principessa]

Grand Duke Georgi of Russia speaks Russian, English, French and Spanish.

Source: H.I.H. the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke George of Russia

His mother, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna of Russia speaks Russian, English, French, Spanish fluently and speaks and reads German, Italian and Arabic.

Source: Head of the Russian Imperial House, Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess (de jure Empress of all the russias) Maria Wladimirovna

 

[fandesacs2003]

I do not know of it has been posted. I found this short video of the Prince of Wales speaking French
https://youtu.be/mYZmlG5rIAs

 

[fortimo]

Bhutan's Queen speaks english:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxcRsxRIbAc

 

[carlota]

maria teresa speaking in luxembourgish in this interview:

RTL.lu - Kloertext - Thema: Léieren, mat Dys-en ze léieren!

also a short clip of her with pope francis, where we hear her speaking in spanish and telling him she has 5 children, a girl and 4 boys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDt8it9cGM4

another interview of maria teresa, interestingly her accent here seems very spanish at times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7hCbT6WAUw

and a speech in english:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9m_k4p0VrM

 

[carlota]

Bhutan's Queen speaks english:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxcRsxRIbAc

i like hearing jetsun pema speaking in english

 

[Countessmeout]

Bhutan's Queen speaks english:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxcRsxRIbAc

She studied English in secondary school and went to Regent's college in London before her marriage.

 

[carlota]

i enjoyed seeing this video of kind abdullah and barack obama, where the king speaks in a very british english:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTxwn8y0wA

letizia's speech in english in austria: her accent is also very british, i believe she was assigned an english tutor when she joined the RF. her english sounds better when she is citing her speech than when she speaks spontaneously, so i am inclined to think that she gets some sort of support to practice and perfect her speeches before she has to pronounce speeches in english.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5ix7LxX5E

 

[Countessmeout]

Not surprising Abdullah speaks English with a British accent. Between his British mother and later going to school in the UK, first at St Edmonds and later Sandhurst, would have had a huge influence on his language patterns.

I remember when I was a foreign student in Cuba, the grandpa of the family I lived with was fluent in English but hard to understand at times. He spoke it with an English accent but with Jamaican slang. Turned out he had spent 7 years learning it in Jamaica before the revolution. His teacher had been a British lady so he spoke with her accent but picked up the slang/terms of Jamaica.

 

[TLLK]

^^^Not surprising that he has a bit of a British accent, but sometimes I hear an American one as well when he speaks. That might be do to the years that he spent in the U.S. as a teenager.

 

[Curryong]

I wish William and Harry had been taught to speak a couple of European languages so they were fluent, although I agree that unless you actually live in a foreign country you are likely to forget its language very quickly.

Which royals speak English with an American accent? I know Victoria of Sweden does as does King Felipe of Spain I believe, but are there more?

 

[TLLK]

^^^Definitely Albert of Monaco and I'd expect that Caroline and Stephanie sound a bit American as well.

It appears that apart from QEII, DoE, PoW, Edward Kent, Brigitte Gloucester, and the Michael Kents that most of the BRF only has conversational French as a second language. (However if I am mistaken I hope that someone will correct me!)

 

[carlota]

^^^Not surprising that he has a bit of a British accent, but sometimes I hear an American one as well when he speaks. That might be do to the years that he spent in the U.S. as a teenager.

i agree, he sounds very british most of the time, but can hear some american accent in him!

 

[LadyFinn]

Prince Daniel inaugurated today "Future Focus: Exponential Technologies" in Nasdaq Stockholm (Stockholm Stock Exchange). He gave a 7.30 minutes speech in english without notes.
It starts at 2.12.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ4sUHGYmUU