What Languages Do The Royals Speak?

[Prinsara]

King Felipe speaking French at Paris Peace Forum
Was his pronunciation good?

Pretty good, but then he is a Bourbon.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Do the royals speak Portuguese (Brazil), along with Queen Silvia?

I doubt most of them (royals) speak it apart from the Bragança family other than Queen Sylvia

Anne may. She joined her brother on visits to ‘the German cousins’ in the 1950s, when Prince Philip made private visits to see his sisters and their families. She, as well as Charles, might have continued those relationships into adult life.

I’m not sure about Andrew and Edward as by the time they were adults most of Philip’s sisters were becoming quite elderly.

I don’t think Anne speaks German because it’s really Charles who is closer to those relatives than Anne who doesn’t visit as much. She probably speaks a bit of French, and maybe knows some greetings in German. I doubt Andrew speaks it or Edward as it’s only Charles who has openly spoken German.

 

[MagdalenaS]

Do the royals speak Portuguese (Brazil), along with Queen Silvia?

I believe King Juan Carlos and his sisters can speak Portuguese (European Portuguese) as they spent some years during their childhood exile in Portugal.

 

[tdarlene]

Infata Pilar and Infanta Margarita speaks perfect and fluent portuguese, there is a video of infanta margarita being honored in portugal and speaking portuguese, you can listen on the following video at 1.04

King Juan Carlos can also speak portuguese at about 0.28 :

 

[Somebody]

The languages are related and they lived in Portugal for quite a while, so it would be strange if they didn't speak Portugues.

 

[tdarlene]

The languages are related and they lived in Portugal for quite a while, so it would be strange if they didn't speak Portugues.

Even though the languages are relatated a lot of spaniards cannot understand and speak portuguese, the accent is extremelly different, it is easier for latin amaricans to speak and understand portuguese than spanish themselves. And you would be amazed how many foreign people live in Portugal for decades and don't speak portuguese.

 

[Somebody]

Even though the languages are relatated a lot of spaniards cannot understand and speak portuguese, the accent is extremelly different, it is easier for latin amaricans to speak and understand portuguese than spanish themselves. And you would be amazed how many foreign people live in Portugal for decades and don't speak portuguese.

I am aware it is much easier the other way around. However, we are not discussing random Spaniards who never had a need to learn Portuguese but about people that spend a large part of their childhood in Portugal.

Still I would expect someone to learn the language of the place where they live. The fact that some people don't doesn't discount that it would be more likely for someone who spend most of his childhood in a country to be able to speak that language than not (even more so when the language to learn is closely related to your mother tongue).

 

[alene3]

I've read that the late King Baudouin spoke Dutch like a native, as does HM Queen Fabiola. So if Baudouin was taught the language as part of his education why not Prince Albert as well? Was it because no one expected him to become King? I still think that is a poor excuse but that might explain it.

I do agree that a Belgian monarch should and must be as fluent in Dutch as he/she is in French.

You bring up a thought-provoking point. The linguistic abilities of the Belgian royalty have indeed been a topic of discussion... Achieving fluency in both Dutch and French is not only a symbol of unity but also a way to connect with the diverse population.

 

[PhillyMonarchist]

any footage of the belguim royals speaking english?

 

[Somebody]

any footage of the belguim royals speaking english?

Mathilde:

Astrid:

 

[fandesacs2003]

Hello. I don't know if it is the right place to post, since it is for older and not alive royal. Mods feel free to move.
I found this interview in German give by late Duke of Windsor.

Interesting to know if he learned German because of their origin and if his other brothers earned also.
How is his German ?

 

[Prinsara]

Queen Mathilde's accent is both super stereotypical-sounding to Anglophone ears (I think most would just assume she was French, not Belgian, but then the same could probably be said about Poirot) and immensely charming — but then she is very pleasant to listen to in French (and presumably all her other languages) as well.

 

[Iolanthe]

Hello. I don't know if it is the right place to post, since it is for older and not alive royal. Mods feel free to move.
I found this interview in German give by late Duke of Windsor.

Interesting to know if he learned German because of their origin and if his other brothers earned also.
How is his German ?

Interesting video, thank you!

It's difficult to describe the Duke's level of German. You can clearly hear that it isn't his first language. And it sounds like he hasn't spoken German for quite some time: he is looking for the right words and makes easy gramatical mistakes.
At the same time it seems like he WAS used to speaking German (a time ago). His pronounciation is pretty good (not native, but really easy to understand and with a good rhythm), some of his vocabulary is advanced and/or quite colloqial. I am sure that he would speak much better after one or two days of exposure to German.

I would assume that he learned German rather young at school/through instructions and spoke/practiced it regulary (but not daily) for a time.

 

[kbart]

You can hear Philippe and Mathilde speaking a little English with HLM here... I note that HLM appears to introduce the Duke of Kent to them as Eddie!

 

[Prinsara]

Interesting video, thank you!

It's difficult to describe the Duke's level of German. You can clearly hear that it isn't his first language. And it sounds like he hasn't spoken German for quite some time: he is looking for the right words and makes easy gramatical mistakes.
At the same time it seems like he WAS used to speaking German (a time ago). His pronounciation is pretty good (not native, but really easy to understand and with a good rhythm), some of his vocabulary is advanced and/or quite colloqial. I am sure that he would speak much better after one or two days of exposure to German.

I would assume that he learned German rather young at school/through instructions and spoke/practiced it regulary (but not daily) for a time.

This probably belongs in the Duke's thread, but wouldn't he have learned from Queen Mary as well? We have a fairly good idea of his schooling, but I can't remember if "German tutor" was in there.

It's also a little bit of schadenfreude that he says "bissl" and is then told he must have been in Vienna — it also features prominently in Yiddish. I can't decide whether to hope with all his delightful politics and social views, someone sometime pointed that out to him, or that he just went through life and kept doing it without the slightest clue.

Even more oddly, he feels a bit more sympathetic speaking German as opposed to speaking English. I don't know why.

Edit: The description of the video says "In a private talk afterwards, the Duke stated he learned German in his youth while staying with his cousins and the Rothschild family in Austria." A bissl, indeed.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

This probably belongs in the Duke's thread, but wouldn't he have learned from Queen Mary as well? We have a fairly good idea of his schooling, but I can't remember if "German tutor" was in there.

It's also a little bit of schadenfreude that he says "bissl" and is then told he must have been in Vienna — it also features prominently in Yiddish. I can't decide whether to hope with all his delightful politics and social views, someone sometime pointed that out to him, or that he just went through life and kept doing it without the slightest clue.

Even more oddly, he feels a bit more sympathetic speaking German as opposed to speaking English. I don't know why.

Edit: The description of the video says "In a private talk afterwards, the Duke stated he learned German in his youth while staying with his cousins and the Rothschild family in Austria." A bissl, indeed.

“Bissl”? Do you know what it means please?

 

[SLV]

“Bissl”? Do you know what it means please?

Bissl means a little bit, in local speech. Formal it would be bißchen. The ß = ss

 

[kbart]

“Bissl”? Do you know what it means please?

It means a little bit - in hochdeutsch it would be 'ein bißchen', in Austrian dialect 'a bissl'

 

[Mbruno]

Queen Mathilde's accent is both super stereotypical-sounding to Anglophone ears (I think most would just assume she was French, not Belgian, but then the same could probably be said about Poirot) and immensely charming — but then she is very pleasant to listen to in French (and presumably all her other languages) as well.

She has a typical French accent in English and, from what I have been told by native Dutch speakers, she has a French accent in Dutch too. That is common, as native French speakers (and BTW also native English speakers when speaking other languages) usually find it hard to lose their accent.

The Queen is very fluent though.

 

[Somebody]

Mathilde has a strong French accent in Dutch indeed. I even heared a tiny bit of a French accent in Elisabeth's Dutch yesterday.

 

[Prinsara]

Accents may be typical but it doesn't always equate to charming. Mathilde is very easy on the ears in French and English. I would hope that's true for Dutch, even with the accent.

 

[Somebody]

Accents may be typical but it doesn't always equate to charming. Mathilde is very easy on the ears in French and English. I would hope that's true for Dutch, even with the accent.

I wouldn't say that her accent is 'easy on the ears' in Dutch but it sounds quite charming with her different pronunciation of several vowels and some consonants and especially her additional 'e'-sound at the end of some words (for example after a 't' or 'k'). Her vocabulary is excellent, so it isn't hard to follow along.

Listen for example to her speaking in Dutch here (especially at the start she has a lot of non-existing e-sounds at the end of various words).

 

[Prinsara]

I wouldn't know enough about what more-standard Dutch sounds like to say how Mathilde varies, but I can hear her French accent, regardless. She just has a particularly pleasant way of speaking, I think; it's almost a bit soothing. That's what I mean by 'easy'.

I think it does carry over regardless of what she's speaking.

 

[Curryong]

Wasn’t Queen Mathilde a speech therapist in her single days? That may explain the soothing tones. Does the King have a French accent when he speaks Dutch?

 

[Somebody]

Filip/Philippes accent is not as pronounced as Mathilde, however, his sentence structures are less common in Dutch. You may hear the difference (in accent) even if you don't understand Dutch; see for example this video (of a Belgian comedian visiting the king on their shared birthday).

 

[Prinsara]

Filip/Philippes accent is not as pronounced as Mathilde, however, his sentence structures are less common in Dutch. You may hear the difference (in accent) even if you don't understand Dutch; see for example this video (of a Belgian comedian visiting the king on their shared birthday).

That's a surprisingly complex video. But I think trying to discuss the details would pull this thread a bit loose.

 

[LadyFinn]

Crown princess Victoria had yesterday an hour long meeting with Boris Rhein, the Minister-President of Hesse. After the meeting Boris Rhein said to the press:
“I am deeply impressed that I was able to have the conversation with her entirely in German.”

 

[LadyFinn]

Crown princess Victoria's Memorial speech in German today at the official ceremony on the National Day of Mourning organised by the German War Graves Commission.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I think all three of the children of Carl Gustav and Sylvia grew up speaking German.

 

[JR76]

I think all three of the children of Carl Gustav and Sylvia grew up speaking German.

Like most children in Sweden who have at least one parent that has a foreign language as their mother tongue the three siblings reportedly had weekly German classes in school.