What Languages Can Kate Middleton Speak?
Part of the British royal family's duty is to travel to foreign countries to maintain and grow relationships with other nations. Because of this, many of them speak different languages, according to Travel Tomorrow. The heir to the throne, Prince William, Prince of Wales, must be able to communicate with other foreign leaders. And boy, is he able to! William can reportedly speak five languages, per Showbiz CheatSheet. As for Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, who married Prince William in 2011, she had a different upbringing than someone born into the royal family (via US Weekly).
Her travels with William are what opened the Princess of Wales to a whole new world — literally. Lingalot reports that Kate grew up in an English-speaking household. She was born in Reading, U.K., and grew up with English as her primary language. She attended schools that were predominantly English speaking, so the princess never really knew more than that while growing up.
Now, though, the 40-year-old is more familiar with different cultures and languages. According to a 2018 PopSugar article, the Princess of Wales has been to a whopping 21 countries since marrying William, Prince of Wales. The couple has traveled so frequently that their kids now question where their parents are going when they gear up for a new trip (via People). William shared, "They are always asking us where we are going and we show them where we are on the map." So, now that Kate has visited so many countries, is she capable of speaking more than one language?
Kate Middleton only knows a little bit of French
If you hop on a train in the United Kingdom and take a brief trip across the sea, you'll end up in the beautiful country of France. France is extremely close to the U.K., which is why plenty of English people decide to take up French, according to French Leeds. Lingalot reports that Kate Middleton was someone who tried to take up learning the French language.
According to Commons Library, the majority of schools in the U.K. offer French, German, or Spanish as a subject. Kate grew up attending traditional public schools and most likely was taught the French language there (via Lingalot). Being close to the country and having the option to learn it in school, people are bound to pick up some phrases. The same goes for the Princess of Wales, who reportedly speaks a small amount of French, per Showbiz CheatSheet. Kate has visited the country several times during her marriage to Prince William, and some of those times have been leisurely trips (via PopSugar). The couple reportedly went in 2021 for a skiing trip with Kate's family. In 2022, the princess took a special trip to the country for her brother's wedding, according to Travel and Leisure.
According to Showbiz CheatSheet, Prince William and many other members of the royal family have learned French. So, to much surprise — especially with all the trips she has been on — Kate has only picked up a little bit of the foreign language.
Kate Middleton says her languages are 'so bad'
Kate Middleton did her best to learn a few languages, but over time and without practice, you can lose what you once knew. Showbiz CheatSheet reported the Princess of Wales decided to take a break before attending college and chose to travel to Italy instead. Kate reportedly took three months to live in Florence, Italy, and while she was there, she learned about art and picked up a little bit of the language, per Lingalot.
Kate took her gap year in 2000, and it wasn't until 2011 that she married Prince William and began traveling more frequently. While she was visiting Leicester in 2018, the princess learned how much she lost the Italian language, according to Showbiz CheatSheet. As Kate was greeting the public, she ran into a woman who was visiting from Italy. When Kate found this out, she said, "Very nice to see you, and how shall we say, ciao?" The crowd surrounding Kate and the women laughed. That's when Kate shared, "I have to practice my languages, they are so bad."
While Kate isn't fluent in any languages, she hopes that her children with Prince William will learn more than she did. According to Showbiz CheatSheet, she told the crowd, "I have to make sure my children are better than me." Seeing as Kate's eldest son is heir to the throne after William, he'll most likely pick up more languages than his mom did.