Languages of the Royal Family

[Saturn]

Constantino and Anne-Marie have spent their holiday in Majorca many times, I've also seen them on tv many times and tey speak English to one another.
Queen Anne-Marie also speaks English with Theodora and Philippos when they are in Majorca.
Alexia speaks Spanish without accent, she even speaks Catalan as she was living in Barcelona (I heard she on tv).
Pavlos also speak Spanish, though he is not as fluent as Alexia.
I never heard Nikos, Theo and Philip speaking Spanish.

 

[LauraMCS]

Alexandra never learned Cantonese despite being born and having lived in Hong Kong for almost 30 years. She speaks English, German, French and Danish. She learned enough Madarin for her speech.

MC studied French for years and is fluent. She also speaks excellent Italian in addition to her limited Greek.

 

[Andrew 24]

I heard MC speaking French in TV few years ago and she was fluent. I'm sorry but I don't remember what occasion it was.

 

[maria-olivia]

Does somebody know which language Queen Frederica speak to King Pavlos and her chidren ?
Was her knowledge of the Greek language fluent ?
She spoke french , german , english and greek ?

 

[Maura724]

In her book, she says she spoke German and English to Pavlos, German in person and English over the phone and in letters. She claims that they spoke Greek to the children, but I don't believe her, especially in Sophie's case, because I'm not sure how good Frederica's Greek was and because Sofia still does not speak it fluently. However, Sofia's German is flawless and her English has a German accent, so I think that's the language she heard from her mother as a little girl.

 

[susan alicia]

she spoke those languages to her children so that they would learn them besides Greek.

And Frederika definitely spoke Greek, the Greek Royal family would have left Greece long before they did if they were not able to communicate with anyone.

In her book, she says she spoke German and English to Pavlos, German in person and English over the phone and in letters. She claims that they spoke Greek to the children, but I don't believe her, especially in Sophie's case, because I'm not sure how good Frederica's Greek was and because Sofia still does not speak it fluently. However, Sofia's German is flawless and her English has a German accent, so I think that's the language she heard from her mother as a little girl.

 

[BELTRANEJA]

I agree with Susan Alicia...

too ,she learned to speak Hindi (the official language of India) and she learned Spanish, it was not very good, but she spoke it

 

[fandesacs2003]

In her book, she says she spoke German and English to Pavlos, German in person and English over the phone and in letters. She claims that they spoke Greek to the children, but I don't believe her, especially in Sophie's case, because I'm not sure how good Frederica's Greek was and because Sofia still does not speak it fluently. However, Sofia's German is flawless and her English has a German accent, so I think that's the language she heard from her mother as a little girl.

Queen Sofia is absolutely fluent in Greek. Her mother might have talked to her in German (normal, Queen Federica was german!!) but she had received Greek education and atttended Greek schools. I have heard many times King Kostantin, Queen Sofia and Pcss Irini talking Greek, they are ABSOLUTELY fluent. They all have a slight heavy intonation, but any person has his own voice. If you close your eyes and you do not see who is talking, you will never distinguish them from other average Greek people.

the Queen Federika, she remenber me to princess Irene

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3046/federikaq2.jpg

This is Queen Sofia and IMO she looks a lot like her mother

And Frederika definitely spoke Greek, the Greek Royal family would have left Greece long before they did if they were not able to communicate with anyone.

Yes she spoke. With a foreign accent of course but she did speak.

It is always one of the first think a foreign royal bride has to do. To learn her new countries' language. Queen Sofia become fluent in Spanish, CP Maxima in Dutch, and CP Mary and Pcs Marie, both in Danish.

Despite all the good or bad opinion that people might have on Queen Federica, she was a disciplinate person, and hard worker. Consequently, of course she learned Greek.

 

[BELTRANEJA]

I think that we can speak a language very well but the accent the person cannot control it. When a person really speaks, she think that has not accent but the rest of person, are those identify the accent, they say "You aren´t of here"

 

[fandesacs2003]

I think that we can speak a language very well but the accent the person cannot control it. When a person really speaks, she think that has not accent but the rest of person, are those identify the accent, they say "You aren´t of here"

Agree with you. Nevertheless it is not a shame to have an accent on a foreign language. People know that you have learned this language and that you are not a native speaker.

 

[BELTRANEJA]

I agree, it isn´t a shame ... a shame would be criticize to a person non native by having accent ...

 

[Odette]

Accents are not only a result of someone learning a foreign language but also where that person lives for a long time. All members of the royal family spoke fluent Greek.
Q Sofia was educated in Salem Germany after her schooling in Greek and she speaks very fluent Greek perhaps with traces of German accent. K Constantine speaks it like a native Greek. Queen Frederika has been blamed and accused for a lot of things but never for being unable to speak the language.

 

[mariazil]

Not only is Queen Sofia fluent in Greek but all three of her children can speak a bit of Greek too. Infanta Cristina in particular speaks it quite well, well enough to surprise those who happened to be sitting near her in a well-known restaurant in Athens. And let me tell you (being of her generation) I remember that , after finishing high-school in Madrid, she lived with the GRF in London, studying Greek in the Hellenic College of London.

 

[BELTRANEJA]

this is true, plus she lived in Barcelona with Alexia...

 

[mariazil]

Exactly!!! I also read in the Greek Hello magazine that she kept on having a Greek conversation lesson once a week with a private teacher! I'm a great fan of Queen Sofia and her family as you might have already guessed!

 

[IRIS1983]

I think that the Prince Felipe doesn´t speak greek. the queen sofia when travelled to Greece she said that she doesn´t uses it, it is obvious,She works more with spanish and english and i would say that with German

 

[mariazil]

It is true that in one of her (many) visits in Athens she asked to be excused about her Greek when she spoke in public because she hadn't been speaking Greek for years but let me assure you she needn't have done it, her Greek is really fluent, perhaps she has to think twice before she speaks but that is natural, she has been living in Spain for 47 years and of course she doesn't use it with her children, I didn't mean that when I said they know "some" Greek (although Cristina more than "some").
One thing I know for sure: during all those years she has been watching Greek channels via satellite (she said so herself) and this doesn't mean she doesn't feel Spanish enough, dear Iris1983! On the contrary she works with love for Spain and she has promoted the Spanish language and culture in Greece greatly!
Finally, let me tell you that Spanish is quite easy for a Greek-speaking person to learn and vice-versa (vowels and consonants sound the same, even some "frases hechas" in common with you) so it must have helped when she was a young bride, learning to speak your beautiful language. As for German, she must be fluent of course but in the book "La Reina" de P.Urbano (1996) she admitted that she rather hated it

 

[Tilia C.]

I once heard her speaking German in an interview. She expressed herself clearly but it was obviously hard for her, speaking slowly and struggling for the right words and grammar. After all, German has a quite difficult grammar and I don't think that she had much occasion for speaking it after she left boarding school in Germany. Actually I was quite impressed, although I wouldn't call it completely fluent.

 

[roimat]

Queen Sofia of course speaks Greek as her born language. Also infanda Christine speaks Greek, i've head her myself once in Tatoi, at a comemoration service there.

 

[fandesacs2003]

I think that the Prince Felipe doesn´t speak greek. the queen sofia when travelled to Greece she said that she doesn´t uses it, it is obvious,She works more with spanish and english and i would say that with German

I think also that Pc Felipe does not speak Greek. Some years ago he was in Greece for a regata, he gave an interview and he spoke in English. He did not say a single work of Greek.

But Queen Sofia definitely she does speek Greek

 

[roimat]

I think also that Pc Felipe does not speak Greek. Some years ago he was in Greece for a regata, he gave an interview and he spoke in English. He did not say a single work of Greek.

But Queen Sofia definitely she does speek Greek

In that interview, which was back to...1998, he was asked in English, and spoke in English.

 

[BELTRANEJA]

Prince Philip of Spain does not speaks Greek .. The Greek journalist first asked him in Greek, and then he replied that he did not spoke Greek ..it was true..

 

[Jaya]

I think also that Pc Felipe does not speak Greek. Some years ago he was in Greece for a regata, he gave an interview and he spoke in English. He did not say a single work of Greek.

But Queen Sofia definitely she does speek Greek

Queen Sofia speaks Greek fluently and I know that since she studied at university there in Athens in her youth she reads and writes it too.

 

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Queen Sofia speaks rusted Greek - understandably so after so many years of absence and non-use. Modern Greek is a mix of several types and very tough to handle correctly, even university professors get caught making serious mistakes.

By the way, Queen Sofia never studied at the University of Athens or anywhere in Greece. She did attend, however, an institute-level (higher education) school for the care of babies and orphan-babies.

 

[stef]

it is true, she studied in the Mitera school..

 

[fandesacs2003]

In that interview, which was back to...1998, he was asked in English, and spoke in English.

The interview was given for the Greek Television. Consequently the first trial to speak would have been in Greek. But as Prince Felipe was not speaking Greek, the journalist spoke english.

 

[Vlaha Karatsokaros]

Anyway, Constantine, Irene, Pavlos, Alexia and Nikolaos are well versed in all types of Greek, from formal to colloquial. And that is that.
I, in fact, feel quite touched, when I hear Constantine speak English because he does so with a Greek accent and occasionally he translates from Greek to English.

 

[Patra]

I would love to hear a video of Constantine speaking english if anyone can post one? Thanks in advance....

 

[BELTRANEJA]

Patra, on the website of the Greek royal house is this interview, it is of last year that Constantine granted the journalist Sir David Frost, he spoke of the riots that took place last year in Greece.

The Greek Royal Family - News & Media
The Greek Royal Family - News & Media

 

[Cory]

There are serbian,montenegro,albania,romanian,russian,iranian Princes in exile or not but they all speak their languages and try to teach to their wifes and children.Prince Pavlos is an exception?