Britain's Prince William Is Learning Swahili Thu May 29, 2003 09:49 PM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William says he is he trying to learn Swahili after being inspired by a trip to Africa. In a wide ranging interview with Britain's Press Association news agency published on Friday, William, eldest son of the late Princess Diana, also revealed he had thought about dropping out of university.
William, second in line to the British throne after his father Prince Charles, said he had starting learning Swahili following a trip to east Africa during his gap year between school and university.
"It's because of my love for Africa," he said. "It's an odd language to learn but I wanted to do something that was very specialized. I love the people of Africa and I'd like to know more about them -- and to speak to them.
"I've got a book and a book-tape...I have them in my room and they're collecting dust quite rapidly but I am trying to make progress."
Speaking just weeks before his 21st birthday, William said starting university at St Andrews in Scotland, where he studies history of art, had made him "a little uneasy" and it "crossed his mind" not to go back after the holidays.
"My father was very understanding about it and realized I had the same problems as he probably had. He was very good about it and we chatted a lot and in the end we both realized, I definitely realized, that I had to come back," he said.
While most art students have to content themselves with studying old paintings from books, William revealed he had been able to see some of the masterpieces first hand.
"I did do my A-level history of art dissertation on Leonardo da Vinci's drawings which are in the Royal Collection, so I was very lucky," he said.
He also spoke surprisingly kindly of the British media, saying that during his time at university it had not subjected him to the intense scrutiny it paid to his mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
"The media have been pretty good up here and I hope that continues," he said. "It's probably because of the media's considerate attitude that I've been able to have such a good time."
