Princess Kate and Prince William try to keep the lives of their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as normal as they can, though there are a few rules the young royals must live by.
From how to sit (it's generally frowned upon for female royals to sit with their legs crossed at the knee), to never signing autographs (it's a long-standing rule that remains in place for all royals, due to the risk of their signatures being forged), most of the royal rules make little difference to the day-to-day lives of the family, but there is one tradition that will impact the Wales children.
The royal rule
Members of the royal family are required to learn to speak a second language, with this skill generally considered part of royal training in order to prepare them for international engagements.
© Chris JacksonFor example, Prince William can speak French, German, Welsh, Gaelic, Spanish and Swahili – the latter he reportedly taught himself Swahili while at university.
Prince Philip was a linguistic wizard, too, speaking German and French, as well as a little Danish and Greek.
© Mark CuthbertWhile at school, the Wales children are able to study French and Latin as language subjects. French is taught from nursery, while Latin is part of the curriculum from Year five, meaning Princess Charlotte will begin learning the ancient language in September.
Greek is an optional subject for years seven and eight, so Prince George could be learning his great-grandfather’s language already.
On top of French and Latin, Princess Kate is reportedly teaching her children Spanish at home, with Danielle Stacey, HELLO!'s Online Royal Correspondent explaining: "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."
© GettyThe Princess of Wales is clearly a good teacher, as by the time Princess Charlotte went to nursery in 2018 she was able to count in Spanish. At the time, the same was true of Prince George, owing largely, we expect, to their Spanish nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.
Part of Princess Kate wanting her children to be bilingual could also stem from comments she has made about her own linguistic abilities. Danielle Stacey points out: "During a royal outing in 2018, Kate admitted that her Italian was 'so bad' as she stopped to speak to one well-wisher, but she added: 'I have to make sure my children are better than me, that's my aim."
What are the benefits of speaking several languages?
As well as being beneficial on royal tours, there are other reasons it’s helpful for the young royals to learn languages, as Kirsty, a doctor who grew up trilingual, explained to HELLO!.
1. Excellent career prospects
"In a lot of jobs, having multiple languages can be really attractive in helping you network," Kirsty says. "It gives people a heightened idea of your intelligence, even if you probably didn't work hard at learning it because you did it effortlessly as a child. It seems to be something that's highly regarded and sought after later in life professionally."
Kirsty adds of the different careers afforded to those who speak several languages: "In terms of usefulness, some Latin languages such as Italian or Greek are handy for sciences and in particular for medicine. They allow you to access professional roles more easily, or at least understand the languages of those jobs."
2. It's easier to relate to others
"Aside from the obvious being able to communicate with people in different languages, one of the key benefits of being bilingual from childhood is you get to understand the culture and the subtleties of the language which give you the ability to relate on a cultural level to people," Kirsty says.
© Getty"You know the register, you understand the sense of humour and the language so much better, which can act as a pass when you travel and meet native speakers. It allows you to access the culture a lot more easily than if you're an adult learner because you've mastered the way people think from an early age."
3. You can express yourself freely
"I find that it can be nice and refreshing to be multi-cultural," adds Kirsty. "You can tap into your identities depending on your mood. Some languages are really good for moaning in - for example, French - some languages are really good for expressing beauty, enjoyment of food and art - for instance, the Italian language has so many words for appreciation compared to English, there are so many ways of saying something is beautiful!"
We can’t wait to see the Wales kids develop their skills!
