A Cardiff University professor has suggested the Prince of Wales should be able to be able to speak better Welsh by now after 42 years preparing for the role.
Dr Dylan Foster Evans gave his assessment after the prince posted a video greeting in Welsh to Instagram on Saturday to mark St David’s Day.
‘Hello, on St David’s Day we come together to celebrate Wales – its history, its culture, its incredible people,’ William said to camera in the language.
‘From its incredible landscapes to its language, Wales continues to inspire.
‘Today we will celebrate everything magical about Wales.
‘To all the people of Wales and everybody around the world – happy St David’s Day.’
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme Dr Evans, head of the school of Welsh at Cardiff University said many viewers would not be impressed.
‘People say that he should be able to do a bit more than read for a few seconds from an autocue since Welsh does have an official status in Wales since 2011,’ he remarked.
‘Maybe we should expect quite a bit more.’
In 2024 William revealed he was using popular language app Duolingo to help him learn Welsh unlike his father who spent nine weeks at Aberystwyth University learning Welsh language and history before his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.
He was taught by the Welsh nationalist Dr Tedi Millward and went on to give a number of speeches in Welsh.
When asked what the prince needs to work on Dr Foster Evans said: ‘His pronunciation is a little faulty.’
He continued: ‘He gets most things right but practice will do him a great deal of good.
‘You need to use the language in a real world situation with real people to really get to grips with it.’
According to the latest government data there were an estimated 851,700 Welsh speakers living in Wales last year.
Around 27 per cent of people aged three years and over were able to speak Welsh which is the lowest percentage recorded in more than eight years.
William is seen in the clip wearing a daffodil, the national flower of Wales, and footage of his and Kate’s visit to Pontypridd also features.
The prince has been known to greet people with a few words of Welsh when in the country although he has not spoken full sentences in public before.
But Dr Foster Evans conceded that the prince had made an effort.
‘He was quite understandable and clear but he has a little way to go I think,’ he added. ‘It’s not perfect but it’s a start.’
‘I think many people were impressed and pleased to hear William speaking Welsh.
‘Most people in Wales don’t speak Welsh and it’s not easy to broadcast in your second language.
The prince’s ability to speak Welsh has prompted reactions across social media.
One X user said: ‘Given that he’s always known he’d be the Prince of Wales one day, William’s Welsh really should be better. It’s not as if his family couldn’t afford private Welsh lessons.’
Another user disputed this, saying: ‘He did okay in terms of attempting a speech in Welsh for the first time in public.
‘Him actually showing some willingness to learn the language is long overdue.’
In July last year, the couple was looking for a new Assistant Private Secretary, who is based in London.
However, the job specification did highlight that the royal couple are looking for an assistant private secretary who can ideally speak fluent Welsh.
It concluded: ‘Conversational Welsh is essential, and fluent Welsh, both written and spoken, is desirable.’