Prince William and Kate are not known to speak any language other than English. There’s some indication that William knows some French, but he’s never spoken French with any fluency in public. Back in June of this year, the Mail even pointed out that Kate only speaks English. All of which speaks to Will and Kate’s incurious natures and failure to prepare for their roles. What kind of global statesman refuses to pick up a second language? What kind of “Prince of Wales” refuses to learn Welsh? It speaks to their education too – Kate was solely focused on getting her MRS degree, while William was simply too lazy to work when he was in school. Anyway, Hello Magazine has an interesting piece about how Kate wants her children to be fluent Spanish-speakers. Dios mio, Niñera Maria tiene la mano llena.
It is a well-known fact that part of being a royal is extensive engagements with foreign countries and many of the British family are expected to learn at least one foreign language from childhood. Take His Majesty the King for example, who to varying degrees of accomplishment can speak Welsh, French, and German.
The same expectation is placed on the next generation of royals, namely Prince George and Princess Charlotte who are being taught Spanish by their mother Princess Kate. This may come as a surprise to those who know that the usual second language of the British family is French. The late Queen was fluent in the language and even ordered her meals in this way.
Princess Kate knows better than anyone that with Prince George’s status as heir to the throne after his father Prince William, it is important that he is able to keep up important international relations. Danielle Stacey, HELLO!’s Online Royal Correspondent tells us: “Given the fact that George, Charlotte, and Louis will probably carry all out full-time royal duties in future and will meet people from all over the world, it’s no wonder that the Princess of Wales wants her children to be confident linguists.”
The choice to teach George and Charlotte Spanish can also be attributed to Princess Kate’s own personal connections to the language. Danielle Stacey highlights: “Kate also spent time in Chile on her gap year and no doubt will have picked up some of the language, and of course, it helps that the children have their very own tutor in the form of their nanny Maria, who can help them practice.”
By the time Princess Charlotte, eight, went off to nursery in 2018 she was able to count in Spanish. At the time, the same was true of Prince George, 10 owing largely, we expect, to their Spanish nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.
I wonder if Nanny Maria has been speaking to the kids in Spanish this whole time. It’s so much easier to learn a language when you’re exposed to it at a young age. Your mind is like a sponge when you’re young and you can pick up languages so much faster the earlier you’re exposed. Anyway, I actually hope that the Wales kids are learning other languages and not just through Nanny Maria. What’s the point in sending the kids to all of these expensive private schools if the schools are not prioritizing this kind of stuff? It’s also funny because it feels like William and Kate are a lost cause now – as much as they try to keen their way through life, they are both so unaccomplished, uneducated and dull.
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- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JULY 05: Prince George of Cambridge plays with the wheels of Princess Charlotte’s pram as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince George’s nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo (in her Norland Nanny Uniform) looks on as they leave the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on July 5, 2015 in King’s Lynn, England.,Image: 525425487, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JULY 05: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince George’s nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo leave the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on July 5, 2015 in King’s Lynn, England.,Image: 525454287, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- 116260, Prince George’s Nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo with the The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George attend the Plunkett’s Parent’s Group at Government House in Wellington. Wellington, New Zealand – Wednesday April 9, 2014. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 London Office: +44 208.090.4079 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 530638305, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte arrive on day fourteen of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos.,Image: 789477112, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only – no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos., *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Victoria Jones / Avalon
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- Princess Charlotte and Prince George during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502286, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
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- Marseille, FRANCE – Prince William, Prince of Wales and his son Prince George attend the Rugby World Cup 2023 Quater final match Wales Vs Argentina in Marseille. Pictured: Prince William, Prince George BACKGRID USA 14 OCTOBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- The Prince of Wales and Prince George watch from the box during day four of the second Ashes test match at Lord’s. Featuring: Prince William, Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 01 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis during a visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. Featuring: Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Where: Fairford, United Kingdom When: 14 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
“ namely Prince George and Princess Charlotte who are being taught Spanish by their mother Princess Kate.”
Wait, what? Kate, who only speaks English, is teaching her children Spanish?
Also, why Spanish? Is that super useful in England/Europe? (genuine question)
From listening to her speak, it can be reported that Kate barely speaks English. Her most fluent language is Word Salad.
🤔 Wonder who else is fluent in Spanish? It’s pretty obvious why that is the language chosen to emphasize.
Technically it’s indeed their mother first language….
Yes, by mother we mean the person who did all the job of raising the children. 😂
Meghan is…don’t you know? LOL
Yep. That was my first thought. They just need to compete ALL the time.
Spanish is the official language of 21 countries so it’s definitely useful for the children to learn it.
My son wanted his kids to learn Spanish, so he hired a nanny to teach them. My 3 year grandson is doing well in learning Spanish. My daughter (26) learned Spanish in college and can speak fluently. Teach them while they are young. Spanish language is taking over the worl. I am An African Americian and always open to new things.
@Megan 21 countries in Europe?
(I’m not including Central/South America in my question because the British royals never go there.)
Hello Magazine has been running this story at regular intervals since Nanny Maria was hired, so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to anything they write. Surely someone would have leaked it if the nanny only spoke Spanish to the children.
It’s a very long and stupid story to explain why I was looking for photos of one of Kate’s first engagements recently, but I was, and I happened to notice that in the DM’s story, one of the photos was captioned,
“Kate Middleton sung the Welsh national anthem flawlessly.”
I only took a screenshot because I meant to send it to @Becks but forgot, lol. I don’t remember the date, but it was the day she “christened” a new yacht or something. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a brown tweed coat. I think it might have been after W&K’s engagement announcement but before their wedding, when the press was talking about Kate like she was the best thing since sliced bread.
Anyway, either the reporters were told she knew at least that much Welsh, or they made it up, and since it’s the Fail, it could go either way.
I just thought it was interesting because she’s been PoW for more than a year now, and have we ever heard her say so much as a single word in Welsh?
(I mean, I genuinely can’t understand what she’s saying most of the time, so it’s entirely possible that she’s speaking Welsh regularly and I just don’t realize it.)
Doesn’t Meghan speak Spanish?
She does. Fluently iirc
Ding ding ding. Meghan speaks fluent Spanish so naturally after Kate’s checked off the box of “landmark symposium speech” from her copycat journal she’s moved on to languages.
Going full tinfoil as is my tendency, I wonder if Archie and Lili said something in Spanish on the video that may or may not actually exist and that’s why the Wales kids suddenly need to speak Spanish too.
When did they hire the Spanish nanny? I thought it was before Meghan, tbh, but I might be mistaken.
Learning another or multiple languages is good for your brain. It can delay dementia and it makes your brain more flexible. Also thinking in different languages gives you different perspectives, so good for George, Charlotte and Louis! The European royals are all fluent in at least 2-3 languages, so it’s great that the English are being raised bilingual.
Yes they’ve always had a Spanish nanny which only makes this brand new story, about an 8- and a 10-year-old learning Spanish suddenly as opposed to being taught from birth which is like the whole point of having a nanny that speaks a foreign language, even more suspicious. It’s possible the thought just dawned on them, but it’s infinitely more likely that it’s just the next convenient thing to build Kate up about. It has nothing to do with languages or even her children, it’s all about Kate.
Honestly, I believe that they took a look at how much attention Earthsh!t and Kenya and KC’s bday got, vs Kate’s clothing and came to a panicky decision. H&M left eons ago, and the person left who gets the most headlines who’s still there is Kate. Omid Scobie’s book has them worried. So it’s time to focus on Keen and the kids. Which is how you get stuff like this 🙄
Exactly @Sunday! This article if full of lies. The British royals are notoriously ignorant when it comes to foreign languages. They were German and spoke that fluently amongst themselves and heavily accented English in public. Its laughable to state that French was their 2nd language. But you know who grew up in California and speaks Spanish fluently? Meghan. And whose children are growing up in California and most likely speak Spanish as well? The Sussex kids.
Meghan also speaks conversational French.
This is the usual hang positive Sussex attributes onto mediocre royals to cover up their many deficiencies.
Yes, Archie and Lili, when told it was Chuckles birthday probably said “Quien es? Tenemos abuelo? Que sorpresa!”
LMAO, Gabby!
@ML, that’s nanny Maria above, in her Borland best, with toddler George. So she was hired circa 2013/4, well before Meghan was on the scene.
She is really beginning to remind me of a girl, yes a girl at primary school not a woman in her 40s, who wanted everything I wore, to do everything I did, go everywhere I went. It was truly suffocating but we’re talking about an 11 year old. This is a grown woman copying another woman on a daily basis, and I know that sounds babyish but copying is I believe a psychological trait that is not only based only on insecurity but also competitive smothering. Imitation isn’t always flattering; it can feel stalkerish (oh, how unusual for Kate!). French is actually the language I’d thought she’d have gone for, given that for centuries it was the language of courts across Europe and something the queen herself spoke (her Christmas lunch ‘menu’ was written in French).
I was just telling my son the other day how unusual it is that most Americans only ever learn one language, and that in most other countries in the world, people grow up learning at *least* two, and many speak even more than two fluently.
We’re such an embarrassment sometimes, honestly.
I like how they mention Kate spent part of her gap year in Chile – wasn’t that part of her effort to follow William? but its clearly meant to draw a parallel between her and Meghan who spent a semester in Argentina.
And I’m willing to bet spent most of her time with other English-speaking kids, so there was little to no opportunity to pick up Spanish. She also spent part of the gap year in Italy, but there’s no mention of speaking or teaching the kids Italian. I’m liking @Sunday’s tin foil tiara theory more & more.
Meghan also spent a Semester in Spain, she said her favorite place to visit is Barcelona.
@Becks, yes— IIRC she signed up for exactly the same program that William had done. Quite the coincidence!
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
lol no it’s because nanny Maria did raise the children unlike Kkkhate who is barely if ever out of props in their lives.
Remember all: Keen had 3 nannies and a night nurse at one point (24/7).
Well if they learn Spanish they can say naughty things to their parents and their parents won’t know what they said lol. I hope they teach little Louis too so that he doesn’t have to thumb his nose at his mother lol.
The children should learn Welsh to make the insults really sting.
When our English cousins came to visit, we taught them Irish swear words. Our own small act of defiance against the crown. 🇮🇪
😂😂😂 Every little bit helps.
Everyone in my English primary school knew póg mo thóin.
Is breá liom cáca milis! 😄
Kate can barely speak English. And I *seriously* doubt* she learned *any* significant Spanish while in Chile, other than “Margarita” and “Tequila”.
It is ALL on Nanny Maria, poor thing. She’s also their only hope of learning compassion and empathy. Sadly, I don’t think the kids’ school(s) have much diversity; let’s hope they don’t absorb their parents’ racism. 🙏🏻
Will spent the same amount of time in Chile that she did, so where is his big knowledge of the language in the article?
Based on my personal experience, the two older Wales kids are the age to have already absorbed some. Ask any Black child in the early grades (under 10 yrs old), and they can point out white children who piled on racial abuse on them.
Can confirm. I’m the white mom to two Black sons, and my younger son has been called the N word on the playground for the last two years running. If only the school gave a damn.
Kids can be vicious! And forget about the teachers. Of course the school doesn’t give a damn. In both my childhood and my daughter’s childhood, the white school teachers would smirk and pretend not to notice the abuse. Not one white teacher was ever an ally to me or my child. The school boards don’t care. It’s traumatic.
@ACB, that’s fcking disgusting, and I’m so sorry that happened to your child (and to you). But I’m appalled that the school didn’t do anything— do you mind if I ask what state you’re in? I’m just curious. I sincerely hope that if this happened at my child’s school, there would be some serious repercussions.
How pathetic that this family cannot speak a word of a foreign language.
For us it is totally normal to know at least 1-2 foreign languages. And although this family comes from Germany and Prince Philipp grew up in Germany (so his native language is German), his son and “King” can’t really speak German. And I don’t even want to start with Peg…
Poor children definitely have a hard time learning languages if they have two parents whose IQs aren’t exactly high.
I will say that for a lot of Germans living abroad this is how they dealt with it after WWI or WWII depending on when they immigrated.
My grandfather spoke only German and possibly another language when he entered kindergarten. Where he was deeply embarrassed and ashamed he didn’t speak english. And deeply felt the social stigma of speaking German. Even though his parents weren’t German. (That part of the world’s borders changed so many times in such a short amount of time. Trying to follow great grandparents lives in Europe is incredibly difficult)
But he never ever spoke it again if he could help it after that. And I only heard him – and my grandmother who was scandanavian but told us she was Irish because why not – use it to swear. His mother was alive far into my childhood and she had a very heavy accent and I never ever heard him speak German to her.
Finally when I told him that I was learning German when I was 8 or 9 and asked for his help- he actually expressed regret that he hadn’t “kept” his German. For someone who never ever expressed emotion, I remember being stunned.
I’ve tried multiple times over the course of my life to learn different languages and they just don’t “click”. Although oddly I am picking up Korean simply by watching kdramas with the captions on. 🤷🏻♀️ perhaps I’m just a different learner when it comes to languages.
Prince Philip was born and grew up in Greece! We know that he spoke both Greek and French along with English. His mother came from the Danish Royal family and I am sure he spoke some some Danish.
Prince Philip’s mother was Alice von Battenberg (hence Mountbatten), a German princess, and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Prince Philip attended a boarding school in Germany, Schloss Salem, before the family transferred him to Gordonstoun in Scotland.
He was fluent in German and French, but didn’t speak Greek, as the family were exited when he was an infant.
He left Greece when he was a baby in a fruit basket. He lived in Paris until he was (I think?) 9. So French is really the culture he grew up in. However his family at home spoke French as immigrants/second language speakers. Their native tongues were English and German, which they’d switch between, back and forth. His family knew Greek as a second language, he learnt to understand some words, but not to speak it. He was only at boarding school in Germany briefly (I think about a year and a half?) before being sent to England to be educated.
So he grew up in France, as an immigrant whose mother tongues were English and German whilst considering himself Danish. Went to Germany for a year, then moved to Britain where he finished growing up.
@moxylady
I think it’s great that you’re learning German! Do you still have roots or connections in Germany? I personally love the German language!
To Prince Philipp: he did grow up in Baden Württemberg in Germany.
Incidentally, the entire Greek royal family descends from German royalty. You can google it. That also explains why the Greek and Spanish royals are often blonde…
“Except for the first king from the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, all subsequent kings came from the German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.”
Phillip left Greece in exile when he was a baby. They set up shop in Paris. Then a rich relative paid for Phil to head to boarding school in england then Scotland from the age of 10. His older sisters were married off asap.
Philip left Greece as an infant (1922) and even after the restoration spent very little time there.
He lived partly in England afterwards where his maternal grandmother lived. And some in France where his immensely aunts-by -marriage Marie Bonaparte and Nancy Leeds helped support the family. Edwina Mountbatten also helped.
His sisters all married when he was about 10-11. He spent the most time with his sister Theodora and her husband Berthold of Baden at their home Schloss Salem where Kurt Hahn had set up an experimental school. But he spent long periods in England as well.
When the Jewish Hahn had to leave Germany he set up a new school, Gordonstoun. Philip was then enrolled there. Once he graduated he entered the British Navy.
England was where he spent the most time throughout his childhood and young adult years.
Honestly that top photo of wank looking slightly overwhelmed and their kids grabbing and pointing is the MOST relatable and likable they have ever looked. I also like the one of them with baby George. Both of them actually look genuinely happy. I’m not sure how they accomplished that given who they are – but I forget that at one point they could stand to be in the same room together.
I think it all fell apart when Kate flinched away from him in public. Narcissists hold grudges like you wouldn’t believe. Or would considering how William is still obsessed with H&M. But Kate flinched away from him and that sign of rejection / discomfort from his doormat made him furious and he’s been making her pay ever since. He doesn’t look at her or touch her or if he does it’s with disgust. I don’t think it’s even about Kate at this point. Narcissist hatred morphs from a breeze to a hurricane and they feed it every single bad emotion they feel and they blame that person for all of it.
In the top photo George looks nervous and unsure.
They likely look happy because Chuck and QE are enjoying the FFK, and W & K felt they had reached the pinnacle of achievement.
Good description of narcissism, btw. If from personal experience, glad you are out of it
Plus they knew they had Nanny Maria to do the actual childcare.
Winning!
I see it’s actually Charlotte that Charles was looking at.
So they had produced the heir and the spare, and expected life to be all beer and skittles from that point on…
I assume nanny Maria is from Spain. They would never deign to have the kids learn Mexican or South American Spanish, the horror!
Yes she is but also they don’t care about where you come from if you have money….
How about learning Welsh, Princess of Wales?
Isn’t Ryan Reynolds and that dude from its always sunny buy a welsh football club and they are both learning welsh? The other dude much more publicly successfully than Ryan. Which has led to some hilarious promos.
How hilariously depressing that two American tv/movie stars speak more Welsh than the literal Prince and Princess of Wales. I would be so embarrassed to be either one of them.
*Meant to add: two American tv/movie actors who W&K would automatically look down upon and feel superior to because of the fact that they’re American and (gasp!) actors.
I think it would be embarrassing if those kids didn’t speak Spanish to be honest. They have a Spanish speaking (chief) nanny, if Will and Kate cared they would have asked her to speak to them in Spanish from birth because it’s the best way for a child to learn a language.
I doubt that happened though. With Peg and Keen being them and with Nanny Maria coming from that extremly old fashioned English nanny school, I’d be suprised if they did more than learn to count in Spanish.
THANK YOU.
THE COUNTING. OMG.
So many kids are multi lingual at that point and the wales kids could count in Spanish. Guess what. So could every single child who watched Sesame Street in the 80’s and 90’s.
Yaaasss, MoxyLady007! Sesame Street taught my then-toddler how to count to 20 in Spanish, plus many other words and phrases. And colors.
Yeah, a combination of sesame street and dora the explorer has meant that many young children know how to count in Spanish. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they speak Spanish!
If their parents want the children to be fluent, they would basically have needed to ask nanny maria (or a private tutor) to speak to the children in that language so that they could be immersed in it. And that would have needed to start during those all important “early years” for maximum impact.
Yes! I was about to comment that. By the time I was in second grade I could count to 10 in Spanish, say hello and good bye in Spanish, thanks to Sesame Street. You know, free access television and kinda like a babysitter at certain points of my childhood.
Of course later I became an exchange student (16) and am fluent in Spanish now, but Sesame Street was definitely the building blocks for a LOT for our generation.
Sesame Street was not around when I was growing up, (US) but we learned a Spanish counting song in Kindergarten, hardly a skill to be commented on in such a breathlessly impressed way in the press ! 🤣🤣🤣
🎶 I can count to diez! 🎶
Since George is the future Prince of Wales, shouldn’t he start learning some Welsh now? And why just Spanish? Why not have them learn Mandarin as well? Or French? And the idea of Kate teaching them is laughable. She probably signed them up for baby Babbel (or some other online school) so they can learn from their tablets.
Hard agree. Also an incredible number of Asian children are learning English from tutors online. And that’s after they have mastered their own language and possibly another Asian language. They start with being tutored in english around age 5.
Obviously it’s not ever child – a degree of privilege is needed – but the way that so many people are approaching languages as simple life skills is amazing to this can’t learn a language for their life AMERiCAN.
Keen would never think about that, she can barely think by herself. Their prime caretaker Maria is spanish and they, maybe if true, have taken after her.
He should learn French because if he is still the head of state of canada by then, being bilingual in French and English is expected of all senior politicians. The queen was bilingual and Charles is good in French too. William is awful. Since Canadians are exposed to French in school in most provinces, what William did was an utter joke. He could not even read French in a way that was comprehensible.
Learning a second language (or more) is so important – yes its a good life skill to have, but it also usually comes with learning about different cultures and histories and just opens up your world. With all the resources at their disposal there’s no reason for those kids not to speak multiple languages.
Plus learning one makes learning others easier! I’m pretty fluent in French thanks to my mother (in spite of having been warned against speaking it to me as a child by the narrow minded Brits she was living amongst) and I’ve been learning Spanish for the last few years (hey duolingo!) which is SO much easier thanks to having French already. It was similar when we went to Italy a few years back and I tried to learn some basics, French and my (then very rudimentary) limited Spanish really helped.
I did German at school but never kept it up after GCSE and have only visited the country once as an adult.
Oh and I read something years ago about being bilingual and mental agility as your brain is used to switching between two languages.
French and Spanish are very similar and if you understand the verb tenses in French it makes learning them in Spanish so much easier. English isn’t built the same way as either of those languages.
All this “no doubt” blah, blah. The children’s curriculum is right on their school’s website. They all have to study languages.
Ha! That is hilarious! And they spun a whole article out of it, too! Is that color wheel/emotion chart also on the website?
Not specifically, but a funny thing is that Nursery to age 5 is called “Early Years Foundation Stage.” There’s a whole structure for this. The entire curriculum policy is very detailed – I don’t think we need to be worried about the Wales children’s education.
I got the impression that the children were picking up Spanish vocabulary from their nanny who was there long before Meghan came on the scene. It would just be foolish to squander the opportunity.
Did I read that Charlotte went off to nursery school at age eight in that last paragraph? They should at least check their facts. Charlotte always struck me as a bright confident little soul. I remember her cute official photos of her first day at nursery.
I’m sure Archie and Lili are picking up Spanish. They live in California. Spanish is spoken by a huge population, if you consider South and Central America. William is going to China for ES apparently. Mandarin is certainly spoken by over a billion people. That would be a a useful language, especially if as expected China becomes the biggest economy eventually.
How can two lazy bums go to the best schools/colleges and not know at least another language ? It’s also quite disrespectful of them to assume that everybody should be able to adapt to them and speak in English.
Tbh there’s no excuse in Williams case, but Kate can barely speak English, and I’m not surprised she doesn’t. English is still the de facto universal language for business and most people especially in mainland Europe will speak it to varying degrees of fluency. The world wasn’t as connected as it was when Kate was in college, but let’s be real even if it was she wouldn’t have learned a second one. I can speak basic French and know some Russian, but I don’t pick up languages easily, not everyone does, and it’s harder for some people to learn one as an adult. Do you really think Kate, who still can’t give a speech in English can learn another language?!
I mean she could at least try, we know she’s got time.
Not everybody can hold a conversation in English in Europe, you still have plenty of millenials who can’t. Look at Charles, he at least bothered to speak a few words of French when he was in the French Senate.
@Lau it really depends on the country in Europe. Sweden has the highest percent of people who can communicate in English with about 70%. Luxembourg is also pretty high due to the fact that their instruction in school is divided into French, English, and Luxembourgish. I believe it’s four years of instruction of all subjects (history, science, etc) in each language. Regardless, you’re right Katie does have time, but do you really think she would try considering she doesn’t even put any effort into learning to correctly give a speech on her mother tongue…or do anything not half arsed for that matter
With all the time she has on her hands she could at least do fifteen minutes of duolingo daily.
If William doesn’t speak a second language the failure first falls on his parents, after all, as a child, knowing he is to be the future heir, they should have made sure he learned a second one. As an adult, the failure is on him, as he had and continues to have every opportunity to hire the best private tutors. I’m not surprised Kate doesn’t speak one, she can barely form a coherent sentence in English. I am sure Nanny Maria speaks to the kids in Spanish to varying levels, even if it is just saying the English word and then the Spanish word. It is very beneficial for all children to speak a second language as the world is becoming increasingly more connected, but especially for children who will be meeting with foreign dignitaries and whatnot.
I would think that the fancy schools he went to would have had second language requirements. Perhaps he’s just not talented in languages.
I’m sure they did, most schools whether private or not do. But Willy was not known to be a great academic. My point is, if a second language was important for him & his future role and a priority, his parents should have had him tutors, before he was even in school. That was their failure, now the failure is all his.
The children especially George should be learning Welsh not Spanish.
Welsh, and Scots and Irish Gaelic.
Being multilingual is a fantastic skill for any child, and the younger they learn it, the better. If they have a multilingual nanny who can teach them Spanish, that’s a natural fit, and it absolutely shouldn’t preclude the kids, especially George, from also learning Welsh, which is a beautiful language with completely different linguistic roots and which will probably need to be studied with a special tutor outside the home—lord knows his parents will be no help there. The kids will probably have a ball when they’re teenagers if they’re fluent in a language that their parents don’t really speak. If any of these kids are actually academically gifted, I’d expect them to know French as well, moving in aristo circles in Europe. Not everybody is a barely educated clod, ahem, Billiam.
I like how In this story they talk about how this is a royal tradition to learn different languages. They mentioned the late queen then Charles and his three languages and then we skip wank and go straight for George and his siblings. It’s like well William is too stupid to lean another language so we aren’t going to waste our time even bothering to pretend that he isn’t .
As for Kate, let’s first start on her learning to master the English language. Then we will see where we go after that
Yep, spotted that too, ‘the next generation’ skipped to George, leaving out William (& Harry).
Even if Harry knows another language, they would have skipped him to not anger Will-I-am.
They talk as if the second language (spanish here, french for the queen) is something planned and not the result of the abandonment of the children by mothers that where more interested in their position than in the kids that permitted it.
Now they are being ridiculous, how the hell can Kate teach them Spanish when she doesn’t speak it herself.
Obviously both William and Kates uni years were mainly spent in the sack or in the pub if they didn’t bother to learn a second language! But what about their private schools before uni?? I think this proves all the rumours that it’s William who’s the thick lazy one, and he found a wife to match
Quite, that stood out to me too. And no, I don’t think the one maybe two words she remembers from a trip to Chile twenty-odd year back counts!
The phrase ‘two short planks’ always comes to mind when these two and their education/intellect are mentioned.
Didn’t Kate spend a term in Florence?
OTOH Florence is so busy with tourists, she could probably get by on English.
But it seems like a missed opportunity there, for a History of Art student?
Yep, she should have been picking up some Italian…. (figuratively & literally!).
Interesting how they mentioned Charles’ languages & then said ‘the next generation’ but actually skipped William & went straight to the kids.
What if Queen Maxima and Queen Letizia had conversations in Spanish when Kate was around on purpose to leave her out?
Jokes aside, Spain and Netherlands seem to be the strongest monarchies at the moment, right? Perhaps they intend to strengthen those relationships by making the Cambridge kids (is Cambridge still their surname?) befriend the others.
Edit to say: Chilean accent is already difficult for native Spanish speakers, there’s no way Kate is teaching the language to her kids based on the few months she spent there.
That nanny outfit is ridiculous.
Agree! Why does she have to wear it-why not regular clothes? Is it to remind everyone she’s a “servant”? Yuck.
More than likely…
You would think in a world that’s becoming more multicultural, the royals should have the best access/opportunities to learn another language. Kate only speaking English and not learning other languages- Not a Surprise. At my kids elementary school, they are taught 2 languages in their subjects. For example the math classes are taught in Spanish. And here in California depending on the school district they also offer options for Mandarin/English.
I took Spanish classes in high school and college, and it got me by when visiting Spain and Mexico, even in Miami 🙂.
That Daily Mail article is gold, I want to see more of that! They can’t deny that Meghan speaks Spanish and French well (pretty sure I’ve seen a video of Meg speaking Tagalog too). And love what the DM had to say about Kate “While Kate admits she can’t speak any languages well…” it’s true, Kate can’t speak English well either.
If nanny Maria has been speaking Spanish to the kids since they were born, then they should speak it! After all, American parents don’t “teach” their children English, they just speak it to them
Now she is interested I Spanish because Meghan speaks Spanish very well with a Argentinian ring to it. Oh boy, not even that is an original thought.
Plus Kate can’t reach her kids Spanish when she barely speak her own native language 😂
Sometime during the escape of the Sussexes I happened across a long excerpt from a documentary about Charles, focusing on his work with the Duchy of Cornwall. William and Charles were visiting one of Charles’ planned communities and while shaking hands William made a point of saying with gleeful laughter that he didn’t speak any languages. Later, he said in an interview that he had no interest in architecture, again with a self-satisfied smile. (Charles came across great–charming and fully engaged. This was before his rather precipitous physical decline.)
My utter contempt for William stems not just from his cruelty and violent temper but also from his complete disinterest in anything except himself. Ditto for Kate.