Languages spoken by the Royals

[bitterblueheart1]

Does anyone know if...

1) Queen Sofia's children speak Greek?

2) the Duke of Edinburgh speaks Greek?

3) Queen Anne-Marie's children speak Danish?

4) Queen Paola's children speak italian?

5) Queen Silvia's children speak German and portuguese?

I always wonder how much can a royal transmit their culture and language to their kids...

[Leesa]

1) I bet not.
2) Yes, but not aloud.
3) I bet they do.
4) No way!
5) No way either! - Swedish was alien to Silvia so she had to learn it herself, so they needed one language (=Swedish) to keep the family together. - Vickan is dyslexic and struggled through school, so I think she speaks English but doesn't write it too well.  The other two know English as well. As for other languages: too much hassle for all three!

[kbart]

1) There was a school in London in the 80s called something like Hellenic School, set up by Greeks in London. Constantine was involved  and I am pretty sure that Elena or Cristina, or even both, spent a term there, so they may know some Greek.

2) Prince Philip probably knows a little Greek but speaks better English, German and French. He spoke in a 90th birthday interview about his family members switching languages mid-sentence. He also said that he was born Greek by nationality but Danish by race, and that now he didn't think about what he is!

3) No idea! Alexia sometimes goes with the Danish royals to their summer castle so may know enough to speak to the servants!

4) No idea! Astrid's mother-in-law is also Italian so you'd think she might have picked some up....

5) Am pretty sure Victoria has been heard speaking halting German...

[Leesa]

3) No idea! Alexia sometimes goes with the Danish royals to their summer castle so may know enough to speak to the servants!

I don't understand that. Does one need less grammar, poorer vocabulary or something to talk to the servants? Doesn't one talk to the servants like people in general? Or is the expectation that servants are dimmer, in possession of a poorer language, limited in their comprehension and unable to learn a foreign language themselves? - Where does one purchase a servant at 50% discount?   

[norwegianne]

Does anyone know if...



3) Queen Anne-Marie's children speak Danish?


I always wonder how much can a royal transmit their culture and language to their kids...

Anne-Marie has stated several times (in books and interviews) that her children don't speak Danish. During their upbringing maintaining their Greek whilst living in the UK was a higher priority.

[Paddy1311]

Does anyone know if...



3) Queen Anne-Marie's children speak Danish?


I always wonder how much can a royal transmit their culture and language to their kids...

Anne-Marie has stated several times (in books and interviews) that her children don't speak Danish. During their upbringing maintaining their Greek whilst living in the UK was a higher priority.

It's a shame, they can't speak Danish. As I have read, that her children have Danish passports.

[bitterblueheart1]

1) I bet not.
2) Yes, but not aloud.
3) I bet they do.
4) No way!
5) No way either! - Swedish was alien to Silvia so she had to learn it herself, so they needed one language (=Swedish) to keep the family together. - Vickan is dyslexic and struggled through school, so I think she speaks English but doesn't write it too well.  The other two know English as well. As for other languages: too much hassle for all three!

Didn't know Victoria had dyslexia. Must have been a burden to her.

[ronda]

  Queen Anne-Maries children were apparently raised as Greeks. The eldest sons definitely speak Greek
   fluently. I have heard them being interviewed. I assume her other children speak Greek too. 
   I highly doubt Prince Phillip speaks Greek at all and I always felt that he never has embraced where he came
   from. It's all about his other German and English connections.                         
  Queen Sophia was a Greek royal first and foremost and speaks Greek beautifully. I have heard her give a
  speech or two and watched on TV. She is a Spanish Queen through marriage but she is greek through and
  through. IMO

[bitterblueheart1]

  Queen Anne-Maries children were apparently raised as Greeks. The eldest sons definitely speak Greek
   fluently. I have heard them being interviewed. I assume her other children speak Greek too. 
   I highly doubt Prince Phillip speaks Greek at all and I always felt that he never has embraced where he came
   from. It's all about his other German and English connections.                         
  Queen Sophia was a Greek royal first and foremost and speaks Greek beautifully. I have heard her give a
  speech or two and watched on TV. She is a Spanish Queen through marriage but she is greek through and
  through. IMO

Do you think that prince philip transmitted any of his german heritage to his children or was that a "no no" post wwii?

[ronda]

  Queen Anne-Maries children were apparently raised as Greeks. The eldest sons definitely speak Greek
   fluently. I have heard them being interviewed. I assume her other children speak Greek too. 
   I highly doubt Prince Phillip speaks Greek at all and I always felt that he never has embraced where he came
   from. It's all about his other German and English connections.                         
  Queen Sophia was a Greek royal first and foremost and speaks Greek beautifully. I have heard her give a
  speech or two and watched on TV. She is a Spanish Queen through marriage but she is greek through and
  through. IMO

Do you think that prince philip transmitted any of his german heritage to his children or was that a "no no" post wwii?

                                                       

   I definitely think that Prince Phillip has favoured more his german and English background than his greek
   heritage, and as a result his children do not speak greek but Charles in particular can speak german.
   Queen Elizabeth apparently speaks german too so I don't feel it was a " no no " post wwii as you say, the
   closest they came was by changing the royal name "  House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to Windsor due to
   the anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I in 1917.

   

 

[Miss Marple]

I remember a stroy that the German president went over to Sweden for a state visit and brought some children's classic in German - and was told the kids do not speak enough German to understand them.

[kbart]

3) No idea! Alexia sometimes goes with the Danish royals to their summer castle so may know enough to speak to the servants!

I don't understand that. Does one need less grammar, poorer vocabulary or something to talk to the servants? Doesn't one talk to the servants like people in general? Or is the expectation that servants are dimmer, in possession of a poorer language, limited in their comprehension and unable to learn a foreign language themselves? - Where does one purchase a servant at 50% discount?   

I just thought that since Alexia has been to Denmark many times, even if, as later posts imply, she does not know Danish, she may at least know enough to speak to her aunt's staff when staying with her, pleasantries, courtesies, please, thank you etc, the kind of things anyone might learn or pick up when travelling to a foreign country. Most of the royals are polyglots, we just do not know what combinations of languages they know and what they speak to each other.

[castille]

Christina speaks Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Greek fluently; and I believe that Elena at least speaks French because she studied in Paris.

According to an interview Silvia gave she never taught any of her kids portuguese because she did not want there to be a secret language her, the children and her husband.

[rsfc149]

When Victoria was in Germany, she was asked (in German) whether she and Silvia speak Swedish or German at home, and answered with "Misch-Masch", meaning a mixture of both.
I think I remember that Silivia wanted them to learn German later on, but when they were children, she only spoke Swedish.

[bitterblueheart1]

For example, I know (there is a youtube video about it) that P. Maxima talks in Dutch, Spanish and English to the Triple A girls. Made me curious about other multilingual families.