Crown Prince Frederik, Current Events 1: November 2002 - October 2007


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I didn't mean what I said in quite such a harsh way. I should have phrased it differently. What I should have said is that to get where she is, to move to a different country, learn a new and difficult language, put up with lots of criticisim ( ;) ) and get what you want means you've got tough skin and are probably not a marshmellowy kind of person. :)
 
Yes, imho, it is. It's a sign of being capable of doing one's duty. :)
 
http://www.expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polo...p?d=356&a=64932

"The exact date for the wedding has not been decided yet, but it will come up soon," said Ullerup.
The Crown prince and Mary Donaldson met under the OS in Sydney 2000. In small steps, Mary moved closer to Frederik to get a job in London.
Since Mary Donaldson first found Denmark on New Year 2001, she and the crown prince have been favourites of the media.
But not before May 2002 did they catch up to the same picture. Afterwards, Mary read up the crown prince's story after being together at Marselisborg Castle. Crown Prince Frederik had turned 35 years old while Mary was 31.

Nothing official will come for the media before October 8th, a time after the queen will make a formal speech in Copenhagen. But then they will have an official press conference at Fredensborg Palace.
"The wedding will come to be held in Holmens Church in Copenhagen," said journalist Marete Wilkenschildt, who wrote the book, "Royal Weddings."
In the same church, the crown prince's mother married, then Crown PRincess Margarethe, to Henri de Laborde de Monpezat on 10 June 1967.

Mary Elizabeth Donaldson measures up well, she has a degree in economy and jurisdiction from the University of Tasmania. She has also done intensive work since she arrived in Denmark two years ago. The Danish think that she has the right approach with discretion.

Mary Donaldson works at Microsoft in Vedbaek, there she is a project consultant. In the beginning she had to avoid photographers by running away. Her ways have therefore produced elegant and great photos. First she was embarassed at being driven around in Frederik's Landrover, these days, she has attended baptisms, weddings, etc. in comfortable clothes from Copenhagen's best tailor.

Mary's family in Tasmania consists of John Donaldson, her fayther, and her three elder sisters. Her mother died in 1997, John Donaldson lives now with British Susan Moody, whos books can also be found in Danish libraries.

I ommitted some details, they were already listed before. Hmmmm...yea...
 
Looks like its going to be a SPRING wedding, but WHEN ???????

Here is what
http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/article139702.ece
says ....

"Queen of Denmark approves wedding
Tilrettelagt av Carin Pettersson 24.09.03 11:49

The Danish Crown Prince will marry his love, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, according to release from the Danish Royal Court.
Foto: Keld Navntoft (EPA/Scanpix)

Queen Margrethe will officially approve the wedding when the cabinet meeting October 8, according to the statement from Hofmarskallatet at the Danish Court.

Spring wedding

Ove Ullerup at the Court informed the news bureau Ritzau that the date has not been determined as of yet, but it will be a spring wedding.

“We will provide the date well in advance,” Ullerup added.

Prince Frederik, age 35, is the crown price of Denmark. Australian Mary Elizabeth Donaldson is 31 years old, and the couple meet during the Olympics in Sydney in September of 2000. Around Christmas 2001, Donaldson left her job as a realtor and moved to London. Shortly thereafter she moved to Denmark. "
:flower:
In what part of SPRING, is the weather in Denmark the most accommodating?
Should have a lottery/poll for which month: April, May or June?
And which weekend?

What happens if it rains, is windy or both?

I would say the May 16, 2004 weekend, because that is the Victoria Day weekend. :innocent:
 
Current activities http://kongehuset.dk/artikel.php?dogtag=kh_en_ca

Programme for 8 October 2003
9:45 - 10:00 am
Members of the Cabinet arrive at Christian IX' s Palace, Amalienborg.

10:00 am
Ordinary Meeting of the Council of State in Christian IX' s Palace.
Her Majesty The Queen presides over the Council of State which is composed of the members of the Cabinet. His Royal Highness The Crown Prince also has a seat on the Council of State. At meetings of the Council, parliamentary bills to be introduced by the Cabinet in Parliament (Folketinget) are presented. On 8 October 2003, Her Majesty The Queen will upon the Prime Minister's submission and according to the Act of Succession (section 5 subsection 3) give her consent to the marriage of His Royal Highness The Crown Prince to Miss Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.

11:00 am
After the meeting of Council of State, the ministers gather in the Banqueting Hall to greet the engaged couple, HM The Queen and HRH The Prince Consort, Professor John Donaldson and Mrs Susan Moody. Official photographs will be taken.

12:00 am
The engaged couple, HM The Queen and HRH The Prince Consort, Professor John Donaldson and Mrs Susan Moody appear on the balcony of Christian IX' s Palace.

1:15 pm
Family lunch at Fredensborg Palace.

3:30 pm
Photo opportunities and press meeting in the Garden Hall at Fredensborg Palace for accredited journalists and photographers only.

8:00 pm
Dinner at Fredensborg Palace. The engaged couple, the Royal Family, Professor John Donaldson, Mrs Susan Moody, members of the Cabinet, the Speaker of Parliament, Party leaders Representatives of the Home Rules of Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, the President of The Supreme Court and the Royal Household will attend the dinner.

The date of the wedding between His Royal Highness The Crown Prince and Miss Mary Elizabeth Donaldson is expected to be announced 8 October 2003.
 
www.hellomagazine.com

Our Readers' Tribute to Frederik of Denmark

7 OCTOBER 2003
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, whose engagement will be officially announced on Wednesday, has received a special tribute from hellomagazine.com readers – you overwhelmingly voted him Most Attractive Man of the week in our ongoing poll.

And it's not as though there wasn't stiff competition: the popular royal bachelor was up against universal favourite David Beckham. The footballing hero, however, only received some 2,500 votes, while Frederik clocked up a staggering 7,000 plus. This means he now goes forward to the monthly vote, and is in with a chance of making the final 12 for our Grand Finale vote which takes place at the beginning of January.

We hear from our Danish readers that the vote was a special send-off from the women of Denmark to a man who has long been considered a very eligible bachelor indeed. And, far from resenting the lady who has won the country's prince charming, it seems that Danes have welcomed Frederik's fiancée, Australian lawyer Mary Donaldson, with open arms.

Log onto www.hellomagazine.com Wednesday, October 8 to see our special report, including details of the romance, the couple's future life together, and the implications of Denmark's upcoming royal marriage.
 

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Originally posted by Alexandria@Oct 7th, 2003 - 7:52 pm
... and the implications of Denmark's upcoming royal marriage.
Implications?! They make it sound like Mary is some criminal that Frederik is marrying.

... Is it just me or does Frederik's engagement to Mary seem to be getting more attention than Phillippe's to Mathilde? I mean, if this is the attention the pre-engagement discussion is getting, the wedding coverage will be phenomenal!
 
Well, it was different in Philippe and Mathilde's case because no one even knew that Philippe was dating anyone until right before the engagement was announced. Everyone knows about his engagement because it has already been pre-announced. They just all have the engagement tomorrow to look forward to.
 
Yep, I can imagine that the pre-wedding and wedding coverage will be massive.
 
I expect the months following the announcement right up to the wedding to be really massive... this is the acid test for Mary and she'll have to live up to the high standards that Alexandra has set.
All in all, I can't wait for the wedding...I just love a royal wedding! :p
 
According to

http://www.hkhkronprinsen.dk/1000a/GSID/922828

Udstillingsåbning i Tate Modern Museets Turbine Hall, London
Onsdag 15. oktober 2003  kl. 11:00
Til stede ved åbningen af den danske kunstner Olafur Eliassons udstilling i Tate Modern Museets Turbine Hall, London.
Crown Prince Frederik will visit the Tate gallery at 11.00 to open an exhibition by the Danish artist, Olafur Eliassons.

Questions:
1.) Will Mary accompany her fiancee ?
2.) Is this a quick there and back - same day - visit ?
3.) Are there any links to this event ?
4.) Lastly, who is Olafur Eliassons, that he has royal assistance to open his show ?

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/eliasson/


16 October 2003 - 21 March 2004

The Icelandic/Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is to undertake the fourth in The Unilever Series of commissions for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Olafur Eliasson has become known for his installations and sculptures featuring natural materials such as light, steam, water, fire, wind and ice. In 2001 he had a major exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and he will represent Denmark in the forthcoming Venice Biennale in 2003.

Olafur Eliasson's work considers the boundaries of human perception and the relationship between nature, architecture and technology. The physical environment which surrounds Eliasson is also evident in the work. He has used steam to render the phenomena of natural geysers, created geodesic dome-like installations referencing utopian architecture and imported lava from Iceland's volcanic landscape to present new terrain within gallery spaces.

Combining such elements with modern technology, Eliasson's installations plunge the viewer into a physiological as well as psychological experience. Fascinated by human perception of nature he has said 'I think there is often a discrepancy between the experience of seeing and the knowledge or expectation of what we are seeing'. In 2000 at the Bonakdar Gallery, New York, Eliasson used mirrors to expand the gallery's architecture and the natural space surrounding it and in Green River 2000, Eliasson turned a river in the city of Stockholm luminous green, challenging the viewer's knowledge of the natural landscape.

How the eye reads colour and the viewer's emotional response to different colours is a recurring investigation in the artist's work. In Room for One Colour (Library) (2002), at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Eliasson replaced the lamps in the Institute's library with yellow mono-frequency lights which instantly transformed the books and magazines into monochromatic block-like forms.

The project is curated by Susan May, Curator, Tate Modern. Unilever's support, totalling £1.25 million over five years, allows Tate Modern to commission a new work for the Turbine Hall each year until 2004. Previous commissions in The Unilever Series have been completed by the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (2000), the Spanish artist Juan Muñoz (2001), and the British artist Anish Kapoor (2002).

Olafur Eliasson was born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He attended the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen from 1989 to 1995 and currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He has participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide and his work is represented in public and private collections including the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Deste Foundation, Athens. Recently he has had major solo exhibitions at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, Neue Galerie Graz, Austria and ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany, which confirmed Eliasson's reputation as one of the most perceptive and inventive artists working today.

The Unilever Series: an annual art commission sponsored by Unilever

Ice Pavilion 1998
Installation view: Kjarvalstadir Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland, 1998
Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
 

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Interesting work and interesting questions.

I would guess that Mary would be staying in Denmark. I could be wrong but I think perhaps she is preparing for bigger events?

I would also guess it is a one-day trip for Frederik.

I will do some research to see what connections Eliasson might have with the royal family.

Check out the Book Lounge for more information on Olafur Eliasson.

A bit about the man and the 50th Venice Biennale...


Olafur Eliasson. the Blind Pavilion
The Danish Contemporary Art Foundation, Kopenhagen (Ed.)


The Danish Contemporary Art Foundation has chosen the artist Olafur Eliasson to represent Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in the year 2003. As a crucial link in Eliasson's procession of visions of a total experience at the Venice Biennale, a book is being published which, rather than merely serving as a representative reading of the exhibition, possesses more the character of a parallel counterpart to the exhibition.

In close collaboration with the Danish author Svend Åge Madsen, who has persistently challenged our notions of time and space in his writings, a number of Danish and foreign authors, poets and theoreticians have been invited to contribute texts that explore our constantly shifting and ever-evolving capacity for "orienting" ourselves (psychologically and physically). The texts will serve as contributions to an examination of how we physically and psychologically orient ourselves in the world and of what happens when we are deprived of one or more of our orientation possibilities, for example, our ability to hear and remember, to expect something or to experience the passage of time. The contributions are mutually linked together by the Danish author Svend Åge Madsen, who also shoulders the responsibility of serving as the volume's main author. The book is designed by CYAN, Berlin, and has no beginning and no end.

Edited by The Danish Contemporary Art Foundation, Copenhagen, texts by Svend Åge Madsen, Frederic Brown, Rodney Cotterill, Olafur Eliasson, Karl Holmquist, Frida Björk Ingvarsdóttir, Jakob Jakobsen, Anders V. Munch, Ingo Niermann, Gitte Ørskou, Andrej Przywara & Adam Szymscyk, Israel Rosenfield, Sheena Wagstaff

Published by The Danish Contemporary Art Foundation in connection with the exhibition in the Danish Pavilion on the occasion of the 50th Biennale di Venezia 2003

Exhibition Schedule: Biennale Venedig June 15 - November 2, 2003

Hatje Cantz, 2003, Approx. 240 pp., approx. 130 illus., approx. 55 in color, 22.5 x 32.5 cm, spiral binding

To find out more have a look at his website.
 
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Julia  Posted: Oct 13th, 2003 - 8:03 pm

To find out more have a look at his website.
Now ... that's my type of art ... geometry, colours, patterns, bright.

Thank you, Julia, for finding the link.

A question,
did anybody from the Royal Family open the Danish Pavilion at Venice on June 15, 2003?

(there is this figment in the back of my mind, that suggests Queen Margrethe attended?)
 
Hmmm ... I wonder if my work would spring for a trip to the Tate for their Museums & Galleries editor? I could cozy up to Frederik and ask him a few questions about Mary. Of course, I would "review" the artwork, too! ;)
 
Just use the argument of craftwork , er .. kraftwerk. The Tate Modern is apparently an old powerhouse. B)

I am AMAZED, that the Site Moderators have found NOTHING in the various media sources that covered off this event.

Given that this is CP's first outing away from Denmark, since the engagement announcement, I would have expected the British media to "go crazy" !!!
 
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Polfoto 15-10-2003 The Danish Crown Prince Frederik (centre)meets artist Olafur Eliasson (right) at Eliasson's installation entitled 'The Weather Project' in Turbine Hall inside the Tate Modern on the Southbank in London, Wednesday October 15, 2003. The installation is the fourth commission in The Unilever Series at Tate Modern. Taking our relationship with the weather as a starting point, Danish/Icelandic artist Eliasson has used mirrors, light and mist to create an extraordinary sensory environment in which viewers are refelcted in a mirror running the length and breadth of the hall while a large yellow arc of light is suspended and reflected in the mirrored ceiling to create a 'sun'.

Polfoto 15-10-2003 The Danish Crown Prince Frederick (left) meets artist Olafur Eliasson at Eliasson's installation entitled 'The Weather Project' in Turbine Hall inside the Tate Modern on the Southbank in London, Wednesday October 15, 2003. The installation is the fourth commission in The Unilever Series at Tate Modern. Taking our relationship with the weather as a starting point, Danish/Icelandic artist Eliasson has used mirrors, light and mist to create an extraordinary sensory environment in which viewers are refelcted in a mirror running the length and breadth of the hall while a large yellow arc of light is suspended and reflected in the mirrored ceiling to create a 'sun'.
 

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Thank you Alexandria for finding and posting the pictures.
:rolleyes:
 
http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english

DENMARK:
Danish Crown Prince insults Americans
Av Hedda Flatø og Carin Pettersson 17.10.03 10:26, ny 17.10.03 11:32

“In order to be direct, they are often simple, for not to mention one-sided”, said the Danish Crown Prince when talking about the Americans.

Etienne de Monpezat, the Crown Prince’s uncle, got an exclusive for the French magazine Piont de Vue to interview the Crown Prince and his fiancée Mary Donaldson at the Fredensborg Castle.

Crown Prince Fredrik explained during the interview that when he as a young man worked in the United States, he admired the country for its drive, dynamics, and vitality, but after been in contact with other counties he changed his view.

“Simple and one-sided”

“I have gotten a more nuanced view after I realized that there is something wrong with Americans’ qualities. In order to be direct, they often become simple, not to mention one-sided,” Fredrik said to the French magazine.

The controversial comment was made in connection with questions about what the Crown Prince was going to do until the wedding. Fredrik, who is an expert on international relations, said he would continue to teach courses on the subject. He states that when it comes to international relations experience is better than theory, and as an example he mentioned his view of Americans.

“The Danes are slow”

It was not only the Crown Prince who made surprising statements during the exclusive interview. Australian Mary Donaldson, whose picture covered the entire cover, came with a statement which will probably not be appreciated by her new countrymen. She bluntly claimed that the Danes were slow.

On the question of what hit her the first time she visited Denmark, she nicely mentioned the Danes human warmth, the beautiful landscape, the water and the snow.

“Nothing negative?” Etienne de Monpezat asked.

“The Danes are without a doubt a little slow, and the winter seems really long,” Donaldson answered.

Donaldson is engaged to marry Crown Prince Fredrik this spring, and she will become Denmark’s new queen if everything goes according to plan.
 

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To think that Frederik and Mary were the sweethearts of Denmark just last week, and now these comments. Mary has probably not endeared herself to those who are not won over by her yet with these comments, and possibly alienated the opinions of Danes to her. But Frederik has certainly not fared any better with his criticisms of Americans - however true I think they might be. But he's in a position in which he must maintain diplomacy.

The "if everything goes according to plan" makes the relationship and eventual marriage seem like it could be on the ropes or something!
 
Crown Prince Frederik's uncle apologizes for Point de Vue article

http://members3.boardhost.com/scandinavia/msg/57251.html

According to The Scandinavian Royals Message Board of
17/10/2003, 17:52:35

Crown Prince Frederik has denied that he and Mary Donaldson made comments attributed to them in the recent Point de Vue article.

The journalist involved was the CP's uncle, Etienne de Monpezat. His excuse was that his English skills are not great & that the conversation (not an interview) was conducted in English; that he was up against a deadline & not careful enough.

And then a kicker of a question
What is [Etienne's] journalistic experience (or perhaps inexperience)?
 
Originally posted by Alexandria@Oct 18th, 2003 - 4:42 pm
“In order to be direct, they are often simple, for not to mention one-sided”, said the Danish Crown Prince when talking about the Americans.

“The Danes are slow”

Some Americans can be one-sided and simple -- at least on the surface. It's alarming how some traits can be so contagious. When I worked in Philadelphia, most of my colleagues were from other countries -- Australia, Britain, Sweden, Greece, Germany, France and Iran. It seems that their general idea on Americans were that they were the teenagers of the world. Oh Well, you have to admit the USA is a lot younger than these other countries.

As far as Danes being slow, my mom is all Dane, and although she was born in the US, she is unusually slow. She's also about the smartest person I've ever known.

The journalist who wrote up this interview must be Prince Henrik's brother? Is this perhaps the first sign of the family war for power that "King Christian" mentioned? :huh: :evil:
 
Sorry ... thissal  Posted: Oct 18th, 2003 - 9:04 pm

Some Americans can be one-sided and simple -- at least on the surface. It's alarming how some traits can be so contagious. When I worked in Philadelphia, most of my colleagues were from other countries -- Australia, Britain, Sweden, Greece, Germany, France and Iran. It seems that their general idea on Americans were that they were the teenagers of the world. Oh Well, you have to admit the USA is a lot younger than these other countries.
I was just in New York the other weekend, and what struck me again, is how little in the way the Americans are 'fed' foreign news. It is very much imo an inward facing society, and as such, their views of what the outer 'world' is an unknown for them.

As far as Danes being slow, my mom is all Dane, and although she was born in the US, she is unusually slow. She's also about the smartest person I've ever known.
Nice to know that Mom takes the time to think through an issue before replying. I would like to have her as a mentor.

The journalist who wrote up this interview must be Prince Henrik's brother?
Yes, the journalist is Prince Henrik's brother.

Is this perhaps the first sign of the family war for power ....
I think its a case of Etienne blowing it (on his first time?), and being relegated to the "no interviews with this individual" pigeonhole.
 
Well, no one ever said the truth felt good.

"The Danes are slow", uh huh, there are obviously some individuals who are DAnish whom will be invariably slow..I'm assuming she means "dumb" in that sense, it wasn't too wise of her to make so general a statement.

"Americans are one-sided", look at Bush, now try to repute his statement. The truth doesn't feel very good. Frederik might have avoided saying that, but in all sense, his statement wasn't a lie.

Overall, Etienne might have avoided publishing those particular words, but his English must have been sufficient enough. Anyways, Frederik & Mary were to fault for this. :rolleyes: Since they're royal, they obviously have a reprieve, and Etienne will take the bulk of the blame.


"Everything goes according to plan", :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: It sounds like it's Mary's grand plan/plot/scheme to take over Denmark (which it very well could be, *poke*)...Hahahaha!
 
As a young, educated woman, who holds dual American and Norwegian citizenship - I am offended. Many of my countrymen here in the United States are one-sided and simple. Just as many of my fellow countrymen in Europe are the same way. I have spent much of my young life striving to understand the ways of the world for myself - not what is "fed" to me through journalists. I spent months in Jerusalem, Hebron and Cairo following the second intifada in the fall of 2000 studying Arabic, history, and religion so as to decide for myself what the "situation in the middle east" is - NOT what I'm being fed. Many of my friends from University have done similar things. Many of us have traveled the world together to find answers for ourselves. Americans are smart, saavvy, and yes - often opinionated - but so are my Norwegian friends and family. They may just be different opinions. Please, don't be so quick to generalize about people you don't live amongst. If you want to understand Americans or America - come spend some time with me. Sit in with my classmates (I'm in medical school the states) and hear the intelligent, diverse, and open discussions that occur daily. Until then...please, don't be too quick to judge us by our government leaders or by Hollywood. They don't define me or the vast majority of my millions of neighbors.
 
Originally posted by holly*anja@Oct 18th, 2003 - 10:33 pm
Until then...please, don't be too quick to judge us by our government leaders or by Hollywood. They don't define me or the vast majority of my millions of neighbors.
They may not define you or millions of other Americans, but our "leaders" and Hollywood have a vast influence on those who can't or won't think for themselves.
 
I agree with you, thissal, but I also think it's important for people to know that not all americans are defined by the unfortunate choices of some of the most public faces of America - ie. Hollywood and the Bush administration.

I, for one, am not. It seems you are not either. I was only trying to remind people that generalized statements about the people of any country are usually not accurate and do more damage to friendships between nations than good. :flower:
 
Netty from Royal Blue Forums typed out the whole Point de Vue interview, as follows.

http://forums.rbhq.net/index.php?showtopic=268&hl=

"Well I typed the whole thing, I don't know enough French to make a good translation. It looks like it was put together from some personal knowledge of Frederik's uncle and some questions and answers from the press conference. I think it is funny that Frederik is addressed very polite (Monseigneur, Prince Frederik) and that Mary isn't Miss Donaldson, but plain Mary, thus very informal."

Point de Vue interview

Mary, par quoi avez-vous été frappée, lors de votre premier séjour au Danemark?
M.D.: Par la beauté des paysages, l'acceuil aussi. Je me suis fait des amis très vite et des amis très sûrs. J'ai apprécié la chaleur humaine des Danois, leur humour, en tout cas pour ceux que j'ai rencontrés. Et puis l'eau, partout. Plus tard, enfin, la neige. J'avais l'impression de vivre un conte de fées ... Je parle du décor.

Rien de négatif?
M.D.: Les Danois sont sans doute un peu lents. Et l'hiver ici peut paraître trop long parfois.

Et les qualités du prince Frederik?
M.D.: Il est très intelligent, très gentil, et d'une grande douceur. Il se révèle aussi très drôle dans la vie de tous les jours.

Prince Frederik, qu'aimez-vous le plus chez Mary Donaldson?
F. de D.: Son allure, son élégance ... Sa franchise aussi et le fait quee, dès le début, nous ayons pu échanger tant de choses, y compris parfois des désaccords ...

Selon vous, quel est le secret d'un couple pour réussir?
F. de D.: Suis-je qualifié pour répondre? Je pense que l'essentiel est d'avoir la faculté justement et le désir de dépasser les désaccords et les malentendus ... De pardonner, pour mieux aller de l'avant.

Mary, comment avez-vous réussi à être si discrète?
M.D.: Je crois que c'est ma nature. J'agis selon mon coeur, sans me soucier du jugement d'autrui. Bien sûr, notre décision fut parfois un long 'voyage'. Mais dès lors que vous êtes sûr de vous, que vous importe le regard des autres?

Comment réagissez-vous, lorsqu'on évoque à votre sujet un conte de fées?M.D.: Objectivement, quand j'essaie de regarder la chose de l'extérieur, mon histoire relève évidemment de l'impossible, ou plutôt de l'irréel. Très souvent, j'éprouve le sentiment étrange qu'il ne s'agit pas de moi. Mais toute histoire d'amour n'est-elle pas un conte de fées?

Vous avez dû vous pencher sur l'histoire du Danemark. Une souveraine vous inspire-t-elle plus qu'une autre?
M.D.: J'aime beaucoup l'Histoire et je lis nombre de romans historiques mais je n'ai pas encore assez de connaissances pour faire mon choix. Actuellement, je me consacre à l'étude de deux très grands rois, Christian IV et Christian IX, le 'grand-père de l'Europe'. Mais de toute façon, il n'est pas dans mon caractère de chercher à imiter un personnage, si grand fût-il.

Vous avez la réputation d'être très sportive ...
M.D.: Comme mon père. A l'école, j'aimais le basket, le cricket, l'équitation qui correspond aussi à une tradition en Australie. Aujourd'hui, je continue: concours complet, dressage, et l'un de mes bonheurs ici consiste justement à monter à cheval avec Frederik, dans la forêt.

Vous aimez aussi le rugby?
M.D.: Bien sûr, mon père y jouait et je regrette même de ne pouvoir suivre la Coupe du monde, à cause des horaires difficiles et parce que les Danois n'y connaissent rien.

Monseigneur, garderez-vous une activité jusqu'à votre mariage?
F. de D.: Je vais continuer à donner des cours de relations internationales, à ce qui correspond à votre Ecole de guerre. Un sujet qui m'a toujours passionné et où l'expérience compte finalement plus que la théorie. Quand j'ai travaillé aux Etats-Unis, j'étais beaucoup plus jeune et très admiratif de ce pays - son enthousiasme, son dynamisme, sa vitalité. Et puis, au contact d'autres pays, la France en particulier, j'ai nuancé ma position, après avoir réalisé que les Américains avaient les défauts de leurs qualités: à force d'être directs, ils en deviennent parfois trop simples, simplistes mêmes. Mon expérience à l'ambassade du Danemark à Paris s'est avérée très enrichissante. Mes collègues du Quai d'Orsay ont été formidables avec moi et j'ai découvert les subtilités de la diplomatie: d'abord l'analyse précise des situations et les raffinements de la langue française qui permettent de tenir tête sans rien céder, tout en parlant. J'ai trouvé cela fascinant.

Une sorte de privilège?
F. de D.: Peut-être. Encore faut-il se méfier. L'abus des privilèges, vous le savez en France avec la Révolution, peut conduire à la suffisance, le dernier pas avant l'insuffisance.

Mais je suppose que l'amour va perturber votre travail jusqu'en mai. Je me trompe?
F. de D.: Tout à fait. L'amour n'est pas le contraire de la vie. C'est la vie. Il la magnifie, il l'explose, il l'épanouit ....


Propos recueillis par Etienne de Monpezat/G World

http://www.nettyroyal.nl
 
Originally posted by holly*anja@Oct 19th, 2003 - 12:33 am
As a young, educated woman, who holds dual American and Norwegian citizenship - I am offended. Many of my countrymen here in the United States are one-sided and simple. Just as many of my fellow countrymen in Europe are the same way. I have spent much of my young life striving to understand the ways of the world for myself - not what is "fed" to me through journalists. I spent months in Jerusalem, Hebron and Cairo following the second intifada in the fall of 2000 studying Arabic, history, and religion so as to decide for myself what the "situation in the middle east" is - NOT what I'm being fed. Many of my friends from University have done similar things. Many of us have traveled the world together to find answers for ourselves. Americans are smart, saavvy, and yes - often opinionated - but so are my Norwegian friends and family. They may just be different opinions. Please, don't be so quick to generalize about people you don't live amongst. If you want to understand Americans or America - come spend some time with me. Sit in with my classmates (I'm in medical school the states) and hear the intelligent, diverse, and open discussions that occur daily. Until then...please, don't be too quick to judge us by our government leaders or by Hollywood. They don't define me or the vast majority of my millions of neighbors.
Hold on to yer knickers! Those two statements were very generalized, they could be taken both ways. HOwever, they should both have been avoided. Aaaaaah, typos...it's coooooold. Besides, it's good that you're defending your American friends, however, most Americans are one-sided and patriotic. B)
 
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