The Prince and Princess of Wales' nanny has made headlines this week after she was recognised in the New Year Honours list with a Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) for her services to the couple. The couple's nanny, Spanish native Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, has extensive duties when it comes to caring for Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, but one of her rules will have benefits for years to come.
Maria, who trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, has been instrumental in helping the children to learn Spanish. It's no surprise that this would be a priority for William and Kate as the prince is proficient in French, Welsh, Spanish, German, Gaelic, and Swahili, while Kate has some foundational knowledge in French and Italian.
The rule for William and Kate's children
Danielle Stacey, HELLO!'s Online Royal Correspondent, previously told us: "Given the fact that George, Charlotte, and Louis will probably carry 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.
"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 Charlotte went off to nursery in 2018, she was able to count in Spanish, as was George. Not only will learning a second language help the royal children during the foreign royal tours they will take on in the future, but there are also developmental benefits for children in learning a second language.
The Centre for Educational Neuroscience highlighted that routinely collected data from the Department for Education shows that "pupils who are not fluent in English when they start school or enter into English schooling during late primary or secondary school are more likely to experience academic difficulties, probably due to the language barrier."
It adds that bilingual children find a type of thinking known as executive control (which is responsible for flipping between tasks) easier than those who only speak one language.
What are Maria's duties?
Though Maria doesn't live at Forest Lodge with the Wales family, she does have a busy schedule with the royal children – even now they are at school.
HELLO! previously spoke to nanny Louenna Hood, author of Your Baby's First Year, who trained at the famous Norland College in Bath, just as the Waleses' nanny did.
She revealed that a Norland nanny's duties evolve as the children grow, telling us: "With children at school during the day, you are required to organise school pick-ups and plan logistics of the different pick-up times due to after-school sports and clubs.
"Organisation is key for making each child has a filling breakfast, fuelling them for a busy day at school. And remembering to send the children to school each day in the right uniform or sports kit."
Norland nannies are also responsible for helping children with their homework, and importantly, providing a listening ear.