Princesses and princes are learning Chinese

The little prince of England, the princess of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Thailand, have all learned or are learning Chinese.

Prince George is 4 years old this year, and just started kindergarten in September. In class, in addition to learning English and math, he also learns Chinese. Photo: Sina.

King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia have two daughters: Princess Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10. Princess Leonor (red shirt, left) is the future heir to the throne. In preparation, in addition to receiving military training, she has to study English, ballet, and Chinese at a private school in the capital Madrid. Photo: Hola.

King Felipe once revealed that his two daughters have been studying Chinese for several years and that Spaniards are now passionate about learning the language. The number of learners has reached 25,000, of which the number of people taking the HSK (Chinese proficiency test) has ranked first in Europe for three consecutive years.

In 1996, Belgium successfully amended its Constitution, stipulating that royal women have the same right to succeed to the throne as men. Princess Élisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, 16 years old, the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, is the first heir to the throne. Photo: Pbs.

In addition to being fluent in Dutch and French, the two languages ​​widely used in Belgium, Princess Elisabeth also had to learn Chinese. Not only did she know how to communicate simply in Chinese, the princess was also very interested in Chinese calligraphy.

The Royal Family of the Netherlands. Princess Catharina-Amalia in the middle. Photo: Hello Magazine.

In July 2016, during a press photo session, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands introduced his daughters' education to the media and announced that the eldest princess Catharina-Amalia would learn Chinese this year. Queen Maxima added that her 14-year-old daughter really likes Chinese.

Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, third child of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Photo: Muids.

She translated the modern Chinese novel "Her City" into Thai in 2013. She also translated many works of Tang poetry, classical literature, modern novels, and Chinese essays into Thai. In her youth, she studied Chinese at Peking University. In 2008, the King of Thailand began teaching Chinese. The first class had 22 people, all of whom were royal officials.

In addition to Chinese, she is fluent in English, French and Latin.

President Teshome and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing in 2013. Photo: China Daily.

In addition to some royal families, many world leaders have also studied in China. When visiting China in 2013, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome revealed that he had studied at Beijing Language and Culture University.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also studied in China. In 2008, during a speech at Peking University, he famously said a self-deprecating line in Chinese: "The Chinese have a saying: 'Fear neither heaven nor earth, but only Westerners speaking Chinese'."

In addition, Arabella, the granddaughter of US President Donald Trump, has also learned Chinese since she was a child. She is considered a little diplomat. During his visit to China last week, Mr. Trump showed off a video of his granddaughter singing Chinese for Mr. Xi and his wife.

According to VNE