As the new King of the United Kingdom, Charles III has taken on a diplomatic role and his recent visit to Paris requires great communication skills.
A key question on many people’s minds is: how well does King Charles speak French? French is invaluable to Charles in order to foster relations between the UK and France.
Does King Charles speak French?
The answer is that King Charles III has an excellent command of the French language. He was taught French in his youth.
This has served him well for decades in delivering speeches to French-speaking audiences in Canada and Europe.
In 2017, King Charles impressed French speakers in Canada when he greeted the crowd on Canada Day in fluent, well-spoken French.
Onlookers commented that his pronunciation and skill were superb for an English speaker.
King Charles III is generally considered to be completely fluent in French, at the same level as native speakers.
This is probably the result of years of sustained practice, as well as private French lessons that began early in his royal education.
What other languages does King Charles speak?
In addition to his fluency in French, King Charles III has strong capabilities in other languages.
The king has also delivered speeches in German when visiting places such as the British embassy in Berlin in 2019, such as at the German parliament in 2020.
As Prince of Wales, he also learned some Welsh and has used it in speeches after becoming King.
Although not fluent, he has a basic knowledge of Gaelic, which he learned from public readings.
Notably, the king has also poked fun at some of his linguistic mishaps.
Despite having longstanding ties to the Arab world, his knowledge of the Arabic language is a lost cause. In fact, he has joked that “It goes in one ear and out the other”.
Arguably, French remains King Charles’ second strongest language. However, his varied language skills reflect a monarch who values communication and connecting with people around the world.