What languages do the royals speak?

[lula]

Originally Posted by infanteleonor

i ask me if letizia speak the dialect of asturias??

I do not believe it, the "bable" it is not a dialect that is official or that one speaks habitually in the whole Asturias; she can know words, expressions, or she will be able to understand the texts written in "bable" (It seems that her grandmother reads books in "bable"). Only in the last years it has started recovering and studying this dialect, it is possible to study in the school and in the University ... but its use is not widespread.

[donnaK]

Originally Posted by lula

I do not believe it, the "bable" it is not a dialect that is official or that one speaks habitually in the whole Asturias; she can know words, expressions, or she will be able to understand the texts written in "bable" (It seems that her grandmother reads books in "bable"). Only in the last years it has started recovering and studying this dialect, it is possible to study in the school and in the University ... but its use is not widespread.

At the 2004 PoA awards, Felipe commented that he only understood 50% of what his wife said in the conversations with other Asturians. Did Letizia speak 'bable' ?

[Mari_*]

Originally Posted by ...sOfIa....

Schloss Salem I think. I wonder if her German is still good?

I think so. Last year she spoke in german with Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) who's german, when he visited Valencia.

[Mari_*]

Originally Posted by donnaK

At the 2004 PoA awards, Felipe commented that he only understood 50% of what his wife said in the conversations with other Asturians. Did Letizia speak 'bable' ?

Really he said so? .. haha

[crisiñaki]

Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke of Palma and husband of Infanta Cristina speaks English, French, Euskera, Catalan and Castillian

[Royalist0007]

King Leka I of Albania speaks one of the 2 Albanian languages,plus he speaks English with a very heavily South African accent,as he has spent most of his life in both Rhodesia & South Africa.

The Basque language is actually related to no other language.There are 8 or 9 dialects of it.

The closest living related language to Danish is actually Norwegian,which has a very strong Danish influence.

The Finnish language's closest relatives are actually Estonian & Hungarian.Archduke Otto of Austria-Hungary can speak not only English,Hungarian & Schonbrunner German,but also such languages as Czech,Slovakian,Polish & Croatian.

The Nigerian traditional monarchs speak both their native languages & English,as do the Ghanaian traditional monarchs.

King Letsie III of Lesotho speaks both Basotho & English.

Kabaka Ronald Mutebi of Buganda speaks both Luganda & English.

King Mswati III of Swaziland speaks both Swazi & English.

The Tongan Royal Family all speak both Tongan & English.

King Goodwill Zwelithini of Zululand in South Africa speaks both Zulu & English.

Nelson Mandela (who is a member of the Thembu Royal Family) speaks Xhosa,English,&,surprisingly,fluent Afrikaans.

Aidan.

[Alison20]

An earlier posting said that the British Royal Family was considered German by others and that they spoke German.

This isn't actually true in this century. George I came to the throne in the early 18th century following the death of his distant cousin, Queen Anne. He inherited the throne through his mother, Sophia, a grandaughter of King James VI of Scotland and I of England, and did not speak a word of English (he was the Elector of Hannover). Most of his family (who only moved to Britain when they were already adults) were also unable to speak English, and therefore for many decades afterwards the Court was German-speaking. However, by the time of George III (3 generations on from George I) English was the native language.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) spoke English as a first language and with an impeccable British accent. She evidently later in life corrected a biographer quite firmly who alleged that she spoke English with a German accent (her mother was German). However, Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was German and spoke English with a marked accent. Their children were brought up more or less bi-lingual in English and German, and a lot of German was used among the family members, many of whom married into Germany families.

However, Edward VII's wife was Danish, and their children were brought up very English-speaking. George V's wife, Princess Mary of Teck, was on the surface German. But her mother was British (a first cousin of Queen Victoria) and her family was born and brought up in Britain. She was very much an English-speaker with no trace of any German accent. The last remnant of the German origins was the removal of the family name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Prince Albert's name) in the First Word War and the taking on of Windsor.

With both World Wars making the British Royal Family distance themselves from their distant German background, and the fact that George VII's wife was the daughter of a Scottish Earl, the current members are almost too British, and don't speak many languages or visit other European countries very often.

Prince Philip probably speaks German, though. He went to Salem school in Germany. All his 4 sisters married German princes in the 1920s and 1930s and he spent most of his school holidays with them (they were all much older than him).

Princess Michael of Kent speaks German as she is Austrian/Hungarian by birth (I believe). Prince Michael has learnt Russian. His mother was a Greek Princess, and her mother was a Russian Arch-Duchess. His decided resemblance to Nicholas II of Russia (a distant cousin through both sides of his family) has, I think, also made him very aware of this side of his heritage.

The Duchess of Gloucester is originally Danish - although not connected to the Danish Royal Family. It would be interesting to know if any of her three children speak Danish. (And her elder daughter has married a New Zealander of Maori origin - does that count as an additional lanuage in the British Royal Family!).

Unfortunately, the Celtic languages are not well represented in the Royal Family. Welsh and Scots Gaelic refused to be stamped out despite everything being put in their way. Welsh is now spoken as a first language over about a third of Wales and in this area all signs are bi-lingual. Prince Charles has tried to learn Welsh, but it is not easy as Welsh, Scots and Irish Gaelic, Manx, Cornish and Breton are a separate language group from both the English/German/Dutch/Scandanavian and French/Spanish/Italian groups. In Scotland we nearly lost our Gaelic. It hadn't been spoken in Central and Southern Scotland for centuries and this is the area of power. Since the middle of the 19th C the language was belittled and attacked, with only people in the North West and the Inner and Outer Hebrides still speaking it as a mother tongue. However, now things are improving and there is a political and cultural movement to bring back the language. The Queen may well have mastered a few phrases for the opening of the devolved Scottish Parliament. And good for her! (I am trying to learn it myself and I can assure you that it is difficult for an English speaker to get the right 'flow' and pronounciation as it is a much more 'soft' language than the rather staccato English!)

It is undoubted true, though, that the British Royal Family is not polyglot and most only speak English. Although the Queen speaks fluent (though accented) French, and both Prince Charles and Princess Anne learned French in France when they were young.

[Royalist0007]

I don't think the part-Maori guy who has married into the Royal Family speaks Maori.Nearly every New Zealander speaks English anyway.

Aidan.

[lilytornado]

Originally Posted by lilytornado

I have a question. As a royal you have to be educated and this includes knowing some languages (I know that how many are appropriate will probably depend on the country, for example I got the impression that the british royals tend to speak less languages than the other royals), so what is about the royal-by-marriage ones? I know that Letizia improves her English, but when she has done this, is she supposed to study more, like french? The same with the others, though it seems logic, that Maxima and Mary would focus on their Dutch/Danish as it is not their mother tongue first. But when they have done this, will they learn more? I know no one can see in the future, but is it expected from them?
Second, when do the royal children start to learn other languages ?
As they should get a good education, i would suppose, they would studying like english and french etc earlier than teenage age.
Does anyone has background information? Thanks!

To answer my own question a little bit: Danish Royal watchers are saying that Mary must be learning French now Danish Royal Watchers: Happy birthday Crown Princess Mary!
and they quote this biography in this article Fra tasmansk pige til dansk kronprinsesse - Indland - Nyheder - Berlingske Tidende

Also, since the Lech photosession, we know now that Máxima speaks also spanish to Amalia and Alexia, next to Dutch.

Also, I don't remember where right now, but I read that Felipe said that Leonor will start to learn English as soon as she mastered spanish, and then French.

[ysbel]

Originally Posted by lilytornado

To answer my own question a little bit: Danish Royal watchers are saying that Mary must be learning French now Danish Royal Watchers: Happy birthday Crown Princess Mary!
and they quote this biography in this article Fra tasmansk pige til dansk kronprinsesse - Indland - Nyheder - Berlingske Tidende

Also, since the Lech photosession, we know now that Máxima speaks also spanish to Amalia and Alexia, next to Dutch.

Also, I don't remember where right now, but I read that Felipe said that Leonor will start to learn English as soon as she mastered spanish, and then French.

Interesting, I thought Mary would have picked up some French. She seems to get along with Henrik so well I thought it was natural that she would pick it up. And if the DRF speaks French informally around themselves, it would be better for Mary to pick up a little to feel more at home.

I heard an interview with Willem-Alexander and Maxima at Lech and it appeared that Maxima was learning German. It was bad but she was speaking some.

[acdc1]

Originally Posted by Roshanah

The late Tzar Nichoaiovich Alexandrovich Romanov II of Russia (Nicholas II) spoke, Russian, English, German, Polish and French.

I read in a book that he could read (and maybe speak?) some Danish as his mother was a Danish princess.

[jspate]

i was curious to know what languages Princess Madeleine speaks besides Swedish and English.

[puppigurl2005]

Originally Posted by jspate

i was curious to know what languages Princess Madeleine speaks besides Swedish and English.

I've read somewhere that she speaks German as well and that she also speaks mid level french.

[Verde Esmeralda]

Originally Posted by ysbel

I heard an interview with Willem-Alexander and Maxima at Lech and it appeared that Maxima was learning German. It was bad but she was speaking some.

I believe she spoke German from before...don't forget she used to work for the Deutsche Bank in NY before getting married to Alexander.

[coco]

Does anyone know which languages Princess Diana spoke, beside English? I just know that she went to school in Switzerland for one or two yaers. . . Does she spoke French? Or German?
I've never heard her speaking German . . .

[kimebear]

I know that its widely acknowledged that the Monaco royals speak accent free English, but what about their French? Does Monaco have a different dialect of French than France does? If they do, do the royals speak it without an accent as well?? I've heard them speak French, but my own French is so poor I can't tell.

[LadyK]

Originally Posted by Verde Esmeralda

I believe she spoke German from before...don't forget she used to work for the Deutsche Bank in NY before getting married to Alexander.

Yes, but it is highly unlikely that she actually spoke German in her time working there- we Americans like to have our documents translated...and Maxima working in the US...

Usually, these types of internationally-based US located companies usually use English, the "international language of business". It is rare for large corporations here in the US to not work in English, so it is unlikely that Max would have had to pick up more than a few words of German


edit- just looked at their website, definately uses English- although they probably use a different "working" language in each country they are located in. (the language two workers at the same location use to speak to one another)

[foiegrass]

Originally Posted by crisiñaki

I believe nowadays the "in-languages" are english, spanish and mandarin, so good look to all our beloved royals learning chinese

Who are the royals learning Chinese?