Spain’s Queen Emeritus Sofia is one of the most respected and beloved figures in the Spanish monarchy.
However, there is one aspect of her life that continues to generate surprise and criticism: her command of the Spanish language.
Despite 62 years in Spain, since her marriage to King Juan Carlos I on May 14, 1962, Queen Sofia has not managed to speak fluent and correct Spanish.
Her accent, pronunciation and syntax reveal that Spanish is not her mother tongue, but one she has learned on the fly.
Queen Sofia was born in Greece, but her native language is German.
Her mother, Queen Frederica, was of German descent and spoke German to her children.
Her father, King Paul of Greece, also spoke German and English with his family.
Sophia learned Greek at the age of eight when she returned to her country after living in exile in a German boarding school. By her own admission, she never felt comfortable speaking Greek.
When she met then-Prince Juan Carlos on a royal cruise, Sofia was 15 and he was 16. She thought he was a “sweet, young, nice, joking boy”.
He tried to talk to her, but communication was a bit complicated because she did not speak Spanish and they tried to communicate in English.
From there, the then princess’ work of adapting to the country she would rule began.
However, at the age of 85, language is still a problem. Recently, on February 29th, the Queen received an award from the Balearic Islands and her speech of thanks earned her a wave of criticism from users who do not believe that despite her time as Queen, she has not learned the language.
Why doesn’t Queen Emeritus Sofia speak Spanish?
Pilar Eyre, an expert on the Spanish royal family, is the one who revealed some details as to why King Felipe’s mother had such a hard time learning Spanish.
According to Pilar, for decades Queen Sofia limited her activities to what she was told to do by the royal house.
Sofia’s role was limited to greeting and smiling, always at the side of King Juan Carlos.
After decades of opportune silence, in recent years the astonishment of many in this country has been rekindled by the fact that Queen Sofia does not speak fluent Spanish.
The author of “The Queen’s Loneliness” explains that the retired queen met King Juan Carlos speaking English, and they continued to speak to each other in that language.
“Also for their children: the language of their home was always English, although when there were people in front of them, they tried to speak in Spanish”.
The journalist expert in royal houses confirms that once in Spain, Sofia took Spanish classes and in fact spoke much more fluently, but that she has lost it enclosed within the walls of a palace where she does not communicate with anyone in Spanish.
How many languages does Queen Sofía of Spain speak?
Pilar Eyre points out that the Queen is fluent in several languages, but Spanish has been forgotten.
“Queen Sofia goes to Paris to see her cousin Tatiana, with whom she speaks French. She visits her cousins in Germany and her Greek family in Athens. …. She goes everywhere except Abu Dhabi. But he doesn’t practice Spanish and loses it,” explains Pilar Eyre on her YouTube channel.
For Eyre, the problem is obvious, although no one has mentioned it along with the criticism of her Spanish diction.
“The Queen lives in absolute isolation in Spain. She has no relationship with anybody. In fact, she says she has no friends here. She only interacts with her relatives, with whom she speaks in German, French or English, and with her sister. She does not speak to anyone else, except for the official ceremonies she has to attend. It is logical that she loses the language if she does not speak it with anyone”.
In short, Queen Sofia’s language is a mystery that reflects her loneliness and lack of integration in Spain.
The Queen Emeritus has not been able to speak Spanish that identifies her as one of them, despite her efforts and dedication.