The Queen is a polyglot. English, French, German and Spanish and can hold basic conversations in Greek, can read Latin and knows how to pronounce words in Irish Gaelic. She can also read music, play the piano (family only - rock and roll as a teenager) and has made her own compositions.
Latin is mandatory for two reasons 1. it is the language of the church, and she was the head 2. language of diplomacy, all Christian kings/emperors spoke Latin and Greek
Was born in a time when French was the language of diplomacy, so it would have been part of her education. She is also Queen of Canada, so she has had to use it when she visits to Canada . Her French is better than many Canadian politicians.
to be honest most people don't realize how hart warming it is to ear a politician speaking your language it makes you feel like you are not a minority. just learning to speak French gave her the respect of all French Canadians living in Quebec and all Acadians living in the Maritimes. a lot of French Canadians are extremely proud of there French to the point were we feel more patriotic to our language sometimes. also she his speaking a very proper "posh" French in other words better French than most French canadines i should know lol it suits royalty very well in my umbel opinion.
As a Canadian who has heard her speak French numerous times and actually heard her speaking conversationally in French to people when visiting I can say she does honestly speak French fluently. She is not just reading off a sheet of paper. I’m pretty sure she is fluent in other languages as well.
My stepmother was a Frenchwoman from France who worked in upper levels of the Canadian government. She was in the Resistance during World War II, tough & demanding. She was at many conferences where Her Majesty spoke French. And she was impressed! That's all I need to know! 🇬🇧 🇫🇷
The Queen was an incredibly intelligent woman, by all accounts. In her later years with that ‘everybody’s granny’ appearance I think people forgot this, along with her political acumen. What an inspiration.
The Queen’s governess taught her French growing up as a child, which is why she knows how to speak it. Her education was pretty lack lustre, as it wasn’t heavily academic (her parents actually didn’t put much emphasis on education) but French was one of the subjects she was taught from a young age and it stuck 🤷🏻♀️
thanks for the history lesson i didnt know that !. Also, there is a long history of british Monarchs speaking and reading french, dating back to the 11th century with Guillaume le Conquérant ( William the conquerer ) conquest of England's throne
Queen Elizabeth was the Queen of Canada. French is an official language in Canada and is the first language of 20% of the Canadian population. The Queen was fluent not only in Standard French but in the Canadian dialect of French. She often spoke French with the our French Canadian Prime Ministers (Louis St. Laurent, Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien, and Justin Trudeau).
Did you know French is the go to language for all royal families when they gather together for things like holidays , family social occasions such as weddings or ceremonial days in Europe.
In Sweden the menu when other royals and during state visits, is in French, when the royal family is hosting different things (never in Swedish or English, just in French). Lol, so I guess what’s for lunch or dinner is a surprise for some of the guests unless they speak French or dare ask their neighbor at the table.
That may have been the case earlier, but it certainly isn’t so now. When Scandinavian Royals get together they speak their own language or English with each other. I’ll include the Greek Royal family as well since they have close ties with the Scandinavian Royals who are all related. A native speaker of any Scandinavian language can understand the other two if you are used to listening to them.
That was revealed in that Vanity Fair Special edition about the Young Royals. Prince Michael of Greece pointed that out. Although today, you will hear more English.
This is also probably related to the fact that the royal house of Sweden was basically founded by a French King. House of Bernadotte, after Jean Bernadotte, named Charles XIV John.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that she is also queen of Canada, much of which speak French, so of course she is a fluent French speaker! Long live the Queen!
@@kevinlove4356 That makes it necessary for them to speak French but most royals have been speaking French fluently since 1066 when William the Conqueror took the English throne. The English language was viewed as a language for peasants by the English nobles who majority had French ancestors so they all spoke French. And even today in England the French language is viewed as a superior and more sophisticated language.
Gentlemen, The fact that England acquired French speaking subjects back in 1760 does NOT mean that the Monarch HAD to learn to speak French. Actually, as one of his suggestions, Lord Durham in his report of 1839 recommended that the French speaking population of Lower Canada (Québec) be absorbed into the English speaking population. The French speaking population responded with the “Revenge of the Cradle” by having very large families so as not to be swamped by the growing English speaking immigrant population. Five years previously Governor Lawrence had deported the French speaking colonists of Acadia to (mostly) Louisiana. This was done without consulting the Home office. British monarchs learned to speak French as part of their education.
Thank you so much for the respectful way you talk about our dear, late Queen. And, I love the way you pronounce "pause"! I was listening to President Macron the other day, in his speech sending condolences to the British people. He speaks beautiful English with a good accent which is really hard for French people. We all know Her Majesty's accent was resolutely English when speaking French and I have always wondered why. She had every opportunity to acquire a French accent but, I considered that perhaps keeping an utterly 'top drawer' English accent when speaking your language, was a way for her not to accidentally have acquired any regional accent so as not to appear biased to one part of France or another; or, to sound less than regal in French - if that makes sense.
Prince Philip was fluent in French and German. I have seen a video on You Tube of him being interviewed for French television about wildlife conservation.
@@goodyeoman4534 - She speaks quite a few languages. She also speaks latin, and quite often when she will meet the Pope they will either talk in Latin or Italian. The Royals tend to have a very different educational background, but one of the areas they are taught heavily in is languages, though that's to be expected given that they are the diplomatic face of the country, often hosting and meeting others around the world.
The queen was educated at home but had some prominent teachers, after her father succeeded to the throne she began studying constitutional history and law, and was tought by Henry marten the vice provost of Eton college. She is also a qualified mechanic and drove lorriesduring the war. She was also tought French. She can also say a few phrases in other languages as well which she has picked up over the years. Between the royals they can speak 7 languages fluently. Prince Philip can speak French and German, prince Charles can speak French and Welsh, prince William can speak French, Welsh, swahili and Gaelic and a little Spanish. Kate Middleton can speak a little Spanish and Italian. Princess Michael of Kent can speak Russian. It has always been customary for all aristocrats and monarchs to speak French,.
Greetings from Canada. It's the senate of France so of course she speaks French to them! Her Majesty learned French and German from tutors at home in her youth. The Queen and Prince Philip used to speak French with our Prime Minister Jean Chretien (he was from Quebec and his first language was French) whenever they were together. They wanted to practice their French conversation with him.
She speaks fluent French, and so her accent will just come through naturally. But if you are wondering why she rolls her R’s, she gets that from Scotland, so anytime she’s been interacting with her Mum’s family, her staff including her Governess’ who taught her growing up (and were Scottish) and her visiting Scotland, the accent sometimes comes through. But here is a good chat between her and the French President a few years back ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LZR7pP7wzqQ.html
Ne jamais oublier que la noblesse britannique ne parlait que le français durant des siècles. C'était la langue officielle des nobles dans toutes l'Europe
A comedy from my side about learning French. My father studied his medicine in pondicherry a former French colony. At that time if they learn French there were given additional scholarship It seems. For scholarship sake my father learnt French.
I think French is the most beautiful sounding language. I never had the intellect, or the confidence to learn another language, but always am in awe of those who do.
If you want to compare her French in this clip to her speaking it conversationally, there is a short video here on RU-vid of her speaking to François Hollande while receiving him at Buckingham Palace. The camera clicking in the background is quite loud, but the conversation can still be heard clearly enough. There might be better footage of her speaking French out there, but this was the first one that came to mind.
Got recommended this and I miss Her Majesty like chazy, so thank you for this review and thanks to YT for recommending! I also really appreciate the details you mentioned as I'm trying to learn the basics of French. She has left us just days ago. God save my Queen's soul 💚🙏
If you are exposed to native speakers of a language before going thru puberty (12-13 years old), you generally have good pronunciation and intonation. I am sure she had many French French teachers.
I can tell it's fluent French but it still sounds English/Germanic. I think it's subtle in the way she has spaces between words, stressed accents, and how she makes her vowels short and speaks them with a sense of resolution. A French person would probably not accent syllables in a word, would probably draw out their vowels more and would probably slur words into smooth phrases. English/German is more choppy. I've studied some French and have learned more than 10 languages, but I'm just intrigued as to why the Queen's beautiful French still feels so British to me.
Interesting to watch this on her day of her funeral and burial . I think back in her day , the Royal children had school at home with tutors . You speak wonderful English . I live in the USA and am an American English native speaker . You have an interesting channel !
She began learning French from her governess at an early age .She speaks conversational French. There is a RU-vid video of her speaking French with President Hollande.
I am not surprised the queen speaks french, or more languages. Queen Elizabeth the first spoke, Flemish, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Latin, Gaelic Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and the Cornish language.
She has been speaking French since she was a young child as all royal family members do. So she's been speaking French for roughly 90 years which is longer than most. The only people that would've been speaking French longer are people her age or older and she is 95 years old. She is also the queen of Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica & New Zealand. There are more countries she is queen of but these are some of the more known ones.
@@dylanwilson5167 quite right. And I suppose other realms like Australia and Jamaica will probably convert to republics after Her majesty’s reign comes to an end.
Hi! I love your channel. I learn so much. Will you please do a reaction video to Diane Kruger? I hear it's pretty good. Also, I'm hoping to one day live in the south of France. Any tips for someone moving from the US to France?
Salut! Merci pour ton commentaire. Diane Kruger is definitely on my list. The south of France is lovely 😍 You will love it. Tips for moving to France.... It would be such a good video. Please let me know what you would like to know and I will work on it 💕
@@MyFrenchStory I would like to know some basics: education, finding an apartment, getting a bank account, how different are the accents in the south, crime rates, the difference in raising children in south, etc. Not all of these need to be answered, just a few. Merci beaucoup!!
I should imagine with all the engagements she's had to do in her lifetime and up to and including the time just before her passing she was using a host of languages regularly such was the demands on her globally.
The Queen is fluent in French and has spoken in German and Irish Gaelic whilst on state visits as well. When the former French president visited the UK and addressed parliament in Westminster hall he did it all in French and refused to speak in English at any event.
Well, to be fair, Emmanuel Macron speaks better English than any other former head of state (if we aren’t counting past Kings of France, and France’s de-facto royal family today). De Gaulle may be the only exception. However, he didn’t speak English because he had a long grudge against the British ever since he was little, and it only grew after the British bombed Free French cities and destroyed the French navy and Air Force. Like I said, he may the the only exception. I think this is because today, Presidents aren’t as educated as any royalty (not saying that royals are superior). For example, the Orléanist family of France, current ‘monarchs’ of France, can speak Spanish, I think Italian, and likely English as well. The royal family of Spain also has a family full of linguists. They can speak Romance languages as well. However, we have seen that not many French politicians, or any politicians for that matter, speak many foreign languages. Sure, we have Vladimir Putin, JFK, and Barack Obama, but they too have history.
I think the evening menus, at Buckingham Palace at least, are always in French. Something to do with Queen Victoria having a French chef so it became a palace tradition.
Most World leaders. Speak and, write multiple languages. The Pope can converse fluently in many. Including Latin, Greek, Italian, Germain, English, Spanish, Portuguese and, so on …… And, that is just one of mention. All Global leaders are multilingual.
@Real Aiglon I always appreciate every opportunity to learn something new. And, thank you for seeping my knowledge. With this valued insight. As, a man of God. I am thankful the Lord gave me both the strength and, wisdom too admit my mistakes. And, own up to when I am in error. As, I am now. Again, I am most thankful for what I have learned from your civil remarks today.
I noticed that having only high school French very many years ago, I could understand most of the speech. It must be a combination of her elocution and the formal language of the speech.
late comment but her husband was fluent in French he was educated in Paris until he was 10. Look at his interviews; they could have conversed with each other.
Really surprising for me, too. I also didn‘t know that the Queen could speak French. Très bien. 👍 I asked before, but I would really like to see you comment on Sharon Stone speaking French. Merci.
I like your respect for the Queen, I am also flummoxed when I hear her speak French , so fluently , I'm sure she speaks German, but I've never heard her speak it, you are sooo funny , in a nice respectful way, great video.
@@anyani2 I'm also from the UK and I've heard her speak hundreds of times... I think perhaps you don't watch the news or the Queen's speeches very much? She gives regular addresses throughout the year, particularly on Christmas Day. It's a British tradition to watch her speech on Christmas Day... where have you been?!
@@anyani2 bahahaha yeah i've only seen her face, but that's bc i'm too lazy to watch the news, i guess i'll just use 'i'm american' as an excuse hehe B)
there are things I learnt about how the Royal family operates, protocols etc. while watching the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, which I had not known 🤗 a pleasent surprise is that the Queen spoke french fluently 💯 the english historians said she spoke the language from since she was a young lady during the war years. we love you Queen Elizabeth 💞 rest in peace and rise in glory 🕊
An instructor from the Alsace maintained the English 'upperclass' picked up French language instruction quickly. A bit of a philosopher, who spoke several languages, he believed it was partially because so many of their ancestors spoke French even after they 'moved' to England. It just came naturally. Heredity is a strange animal. I wonder how her German was.
She is the QUEEN they have to learn other languages also William and his Children know other languages for example William and Kates children are learning Spanish. So they are important people and they need to know other languages.
William peine à lire un court paragraphe de remerciements et on a jamais entendu sa femme parler français, en tout cas pas au Canada. Par contre Charles et Camilla se débrouillent tous les deux assez bien.
If you want to hear her speak French in an absolutely candid situation, back in the 1990s during the Quebec independence referendum, she was pranked by a Quebec radio station impersonating the Prime Minister of Canada, she spoke French with the imposter at length. The full prank call is on RU-vid if interested.
Have you reacted to Tony Blair speaking French? I don't know how good he was but I think he was better than most UK leaders. I think Edward Heath also tried
I'm not too sure why many are surprised by this... people in certain classes were taught by governers/nesses...HM never went to school. It was de rigeur to be a polyglot.
