Royal fans praise King Charles after monarch delivers ‘brilliant’ speech in official language of Papua New Guinea to mark country’s independence
Royal fans praise King Charles after monarch delivers ‘brilliant’ speech in official language of Papua New Guinea to mark country’s independence
King Charles impressed royal fans when he appeared in a video speaking Tok Pisin, the official language of Papua New Guinea.
The King, 76, is known to have a knack for linguistics and can speak several different languages.
To mark Papua New Guinea’s 50th Anniversary of Independence, Charles sent a message of support and solidarity to its citizens as the monarch opened with a section in Creole language.
‘On this day of joyful celebration, I recall with fond nostalgia the moment when the flag of PNG was raised high on Independence Hill 50 years ago. I was there,’ he said in Tok Pisin.
‘On that historic occasion, we looked with hope and anticipation to the future of a proud new nation.’
He continued: ‘Today, as you mark this important milestone, we can look back with admiration at the achievements and progress of the past five decades as an independent, democratic state.’
The King’s message was played at a ceremony at Sir John Guise Stadium, where the Duke of Edinburgh was in attendance.
Tok Pisin, also known as New Guinea Pidgin, is the most widely used language in the Pacific nation and is derived from English.
King Charles wowed royal fans when he delivered a video to the people of Papua New Guinea for the 50th Anniversary of Independence in Tok Pisin
Viewers applauded Charles’s efforts to translate his speech into the little-known language for the occasion.
‘The King’s own speech in Pidgin was brilliant, just brilliant,’ one fan said.
‘Very impressive language skills from The King,’ another agreed.
‘Thank you, King Charles and Prince Edward. PNG appreciates the royal family and the visit on our 50th Independence Celebration. King Charles gave an excellent speech in Tok Pisin. Long live the King,’ a third wrote.
The multilingual Charles speaks fluent English and French and has partially learned a variety of other languages, including German, Welsh, Greek, Scottish Gaelic, Italian and Arabic.
He has had full conversations in French with President Emmanuel Macron and spoke the language for 26 minutes when addressing the crowd in Canada on Canada Day in 2017.
The King’s German skills come as no surprise, given his father, Prince Phillip, was of German heritage and spoke the language fluently.
He was the first British monarch to address the Bundestag in Berlin, delivering almost the entire speech in German.
Viewers applauded Charles’s efforts to translate his speech into the little-known language for the occasion
The King’s message was played at a ceremony at Sir John Guise Stadium, where the Duke of Edinburgh was in attendance
Charles’s knowledge of the Welsh language dates all the way back to his university days in 1969, when he completed a nine-week course on the language.
He studied at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth for a year and has given speeches in the language numerous times.
In 2013, the then-Prince of Wales revealed he had been learning to speak Arabic for six months but struggled to grasp the language.
The Prince was at the launch of the Qatar-UK Alumni Network when its chairman, Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, asked if he spoke any Arabic.
Charles replied: ‘I tried to learn it once, but I gave up. It goes in one ear and out the other.’
A royal aide confirmed he had been having lessons, adding: ‘He is enormously interested in the region.’
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