Shannen Findlay
International Travel

Prince William shows off secret talent! Did you know he could do this?

Prince William, 37, has shown he knows how to capture an audience’s attention, and managed to shock an attendee when he began speaking in Swahili. 

The Duke of Cambridge met with 20 recipients of Princes Diana’s legacy awards for a special tea at Kensington Palace, and left Erick Benant, 25, from Tanzania, “gobsmacked” when the royal began speaking to him in his native language.

The moment was described as “truly special” by Tessy Ojo, chief executive of the Diana Award charity, who suggested the young man felt comfortable and special when the Duke struck up a conversation in his tongue.

“One of the young people is from Tanzania, and he started talking to him in Swahili,“ Ojo told People Magazine. 

“It wasn’t just one sentence. This was not something he had just read out of a book.”

The event celebrated winners of the Princess Diana Awards, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and honours the memory of Prince William and Prince Harry's mother.

Ojo revealed Prince William had “read up” on all of the recipients before the event, and had taken his time to meet and speak with each person at the afternoon tea.

Erick was among a group of young people who are this year’s Legacy Award recipients.

They have come from all across the UK and Commonwealth countries including Canada, Nigeria, Tanzania and India.

Each recipient has received the award on the condition they’ve had a significant impact on society. 

He was awarded after leading a nationwide antimicrobial resistance campaign in 23 administrative regions of Tanzania, which educated over 49,000 students and teachers in 114 secondary schools. 

Ojo revealed that Prince William told the group Princess Diana “would be so proud” of them all and their achievement. 

Diana's brother Earl Spencer went on to present the prestigious awards during a ceremony at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, south-east London. 

While he is not believed to be fluent, The royal taught himself Swahili during his time at university.

Prince William showed off his extensive language skills last year while on a royal visit to Tanzania, where he was spotted on camera speaking the native language with Tanzanian President John Magufuli. 

The Duke of Cambridge is believed to speak five languages in total, including French, Welsh, Gaelic and a little Spanish. 

Scroll through the gallery to see Prince William meeting with winners of the Princess Diana Awards.

Tags:
diana awards, Princess Diana, Prince William, royals, swahili