Professor Herman Lindqvist, who has taught history to Victoria and Madeleine, gave an interview to Expressen on Sunday and talked about his new love and his life. Lindqvist has written many books of royals, his new book is about king Erik XIV. But he talked also about Victoria, and a little about Madeleine and queen Silvia.
- Crown Princess Victoria has also received the best possible training for a future monarch of our time. She has a lots of knowledge of our society and history. But she has of course not been educated to believe that she is better than others. Her queen school was more up-to-date.
You had a long period of historic talks with the Crown Princess. How is your relationship after you commented on Victoria's and Daniel's choice of name for the little princess?
- We are in contact now and then, a correspondence, but I'm not employed at the palace and have nothing to do in daily basis since three years we had our conversation and when I wrote the book about the king. We finished our "course" in 2008, the Crown Princess came home to my home in Paris and we toasted with champagne. I also showed her castle in Malmasion where Napoleon and Josephine lived.
What are your impressions of Victoria?
- I started to teach her shortly after she had been treated for her anorexia and I had a person close to me who had been seriously ill in anorexia, I knew the disease and could try to help build up her confidence. The Crown Princess is just like she seems, completely genuine. She thinks things are funny, she is interested, a sentient and empathic person, certainly not self-important or condescending. She also understands the great responsibility she has. During the talks we had about the whole history of Sweden, we also talked about other things, and she said it felt weird that all this (Herman sweeps his hand over the furniture in the Royal Armoury and shows the Palace) could disappear for minimum mistake she did.
What the contact with Victoria meant for you?
- A lot - it gave an opportunity to get behind the scenes of the Palace and get to know her. For the book I wrote before the King's 60th birthday, I got 15 hour of interviews with the King. It was very interesting as a journalist to get such insight.
You write in your memoir that the Crown Princess served up tea to you, but Princess Madeleine was waiting for you to serve her?
- Madeleine has her very own personality. No one can tell her what she should do. This can be seen again and again, from the time she didn't have socks on when she met the Pope as little and now when she had a child and the entire royal family had to go to America to meet the new little princess. Madeleine is very intelligent.
And Queen Silvia saved the monarchy, you said.
- Before she married the king royal family was represented only by the king and Prince Bertil. Gutter press painted a picture of a party king, and it could have gone completely to hell. The first year the King held Silvia as a secret to Gustav VI Adolf, who was a strict and not particularly nice person who had the nickname "Herr Plikten (Mr. Duty)" He disowned the two of his sons for not married royal. Only when Carl XVI Gustaf became King himself, he married the young beautiful Silvia who gave a positive boom for the royal family. The royal family has now received a similar boom because of Crown Princess Victoria and her family.
Herman Lindqvist om samvete och kärlek Nyheter Expressen
Translation
Thank you.... I wonder how Victoria copes with the face blindness, especially in the position she is... It musn not be easy...
..... and it gives me another answer to many of her actions recently.
