Princess Beatrice’s stepson is being taught how to speak fluent Chinese by a nanny after his motherDara Huang says that it is important for him to ‘appreciate his roots’.
Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London, was with Princess Beatrice‘s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzifor three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017.
The pair welcomed Wolfie – whose real name is Christopher – into the world nine years ago. Since they split and his father Edo married into the royal family, Wolfie has been warmly welcomed into the Firm and appeared alongside them at key events including the Christmas Day walkabout.
During an interview with content creator World Microphone, which was filmed in February – Dara apologised for ‘butchering’ her Chinese and said that she had hired a nanny to teach Wolfie the language.
She said: ‘His Chinese is better than mine. I think growing up Chinese in America is very hard. You have to pass down your identity and culture to your kids.
‘He has an Asian face so he should speak and he should understand [the language].’
Dara also said that she was taking nine-year-old Wolfie toTaiwan, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong this year ‘to experience it all’.
She added:’I want him to appreciate and absorb the culture.’
Dara apologised for ‘butchering’ her Chinese and said that she had hired a nanny to teach Wolfie the language
Dara also said that she was taking Wolfie, nine, to Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong this year ‘to experience it all’
The architect said her parents are from Taiwan but moved to America because her father got a high-flying job at NASA, where he worked for 40 years.
She said: ‘When I was little my dad always told me “You are an American but you have an Asian face, you need to be more hard working than everyone else”.’
Every year, Dara throws Wolfie a big party to celebrateChinese New Year, adding: ‘All of his friends come over and they wear traditional Chinese outfits.’
She added that Wolfie has immersed himself in the food and beverages from East Asia and particularly enjoys drinking bubble tea and tucking into noodles and dumplings.
Dara captioned the clip: ‘Remember kids! Appreciate your roots, it will help you in your future.’
She posted the clip on her Instagram page which racked up thousands of views and comments from fans who were impressed with her bilingual skills.
One wrote: ‘Wow. Your Chinese is awesome Dara,’ while another penned: ‘Love what you’re doing to pass the culture to your son.’
A third said: ‘My parents said the exact same thing to me growing up!’
Princess Beatrice,Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Wolfie are pictured together at a Christmas carol service in 2023
Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London , was with Princess Beatrice ‘s husband Edo for three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017
Dara decorates their house for Chinese New Year every year with vibrant red wall hangings and throws Wolfie a party with his friends
This comes as Dara awkwardly dodged a conversation about the Royal Family while an estate agent showed her around a £60million London penthouse.
Constance Cunningham took her onto the balcony to show her the views where she pointed out three visible landmarks from the Bayswater property – the Shard, London Eye and Royal Albert Hall.
But Cunningham then drew her attention to Kensington Palace Gardens in front of her, which led Huang to say ‘Kensington Palace’. Cunningham said ‘the Royal Family’, before Huang added ‘right’ – and Cunningham gently said: ‘Who we love so much…’
The exchange happened during a tour of the property in an upcoming episode of Britain’s Most Expensive Houses which airs on Channel 4 this Wednesday at 9pm.
The two women were looking at The Penthouse at the Park Modern development on Bayswater Road, which is one of London’s most expensive new properties.
Cunningham is given the chance to sell the home which boasts impressive views of Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park and would be her biggest deal yet.
She believes the property would particularly appeal to US buyers keen on investing in London, and therefore turns to American interior designer Huang for advice on how to sell to Americans and how to convince a Miami-based agent contact to take a look.
Christopher ‘Wolfie’ Mapelli Mozzi was born in March 2016, with his parents splitting up two years later in 2018 before Edo then married Beatrice in July 2020.
Beatrice and Edo have two daughters together – Sienna, who was born in September 2021, and Athena, who was born in January this year.
Wolfie has since made appearances at royal engagements, including at the Together At Christmas carol services at Westminster Abbey.
Harvard-educated Huang was born and grew up in the US and was granted British citizenship in 2022.
Speaking to Tatler in January, Huang referred to Wolfie as her ‘little man’ and revealed he likes to paint and that she once sold one of his paintings for £40,000.
Dara said she felt like it was important for her son to ‘appreciate’ his roots and wants him to experience his culture
She shares joint custody of Wolfie with Edo but said: ‘If I had all the money in the world, I would probably build a commune for single parents, because it’s so nice to be able to put children together.
‘I feel like I spend most of my life looking for single mums to hang out with.’
In May, Daramade a wry comment about her dating life following the news that she has split from her former partner.
The 42-year-old Chinese American architect, who now lives in Chelsea, was previously dating London-based financier Filippos Kodellas de la Morena in 2020, the Royale’s Richard Eden revealed.
However, it has since come to light that the pair went their separate ways because the investor last month announced he is engaged and set to tie the knot this summer with his new partner, Sofía Marti Marti, a businesswoman and dentist, according to Spanish magazine El Confidencial.
Dara appears not to have taken the news too heavily and is back on London’s dating scene, making a humorous comment to apparently confirm this.
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Dara wrote, ‘Just a small note for all you single ladies out there.
‘Go to Mayfair on a Friday at around 5 pm because it’s 99 per cent men flooding pubs’.
She accompanied the comment with a photograph of a London pub brimming with punters enjoying a pint in the sunshine.
