Prince William knew from his very early childhood that he was destined to be given the title Prince of Wales and now destined to become King.

What an opportunity he missed, after marriage, not to have employed a Welsh speaking nanny for his children instead of a Spanish nanny.

The British Press is now making a big thing that his daughter Princess Charlotte, now aged eight, could speak two languages, English and Spanish, at the age of two, as if she were a child genius.

Many thousands of Welsh two year olds are bilingual, Welsh and English, as soon as they can talk.

Indeed Prince William’s ancestral monarch, Queen Elizabeth I was cared for by Welsh speaking women after her mother Anne Boleyn was executed by her father Henry VIII - firstly by Lady Troy and then a surrogate mother and nanny Blanche Parry who later became a life long confidant.

Both these caring women were fluent Welsh speakers, so whilst there is no written record I know of, there can be no doubt that Welsh would have been spoken with the the young baby Elizabeth by both Lady Troy and Blanche Parry.

The latter was a key figure in the Royal Court throughout Queen Elizabeth the First’s whole lifetime.

What an opportunity the present Prince of Wales has lost with his children. It would have given a bit of credibility to his gifted title. It was Elizabeth I who was mainly responsible for getting Welsh language Bibles to parish churches throughout Wales, albeit to replace Latin masses and politically to avoid any reversion to Catholicism, but her close knowledge of Welsh must surely have played its part.

The Welsh Bible undoubtedly became a saviour for the Welsh language’s survival partly thanks to the now forgotten Blanche Parry.

I Richard, Swansea