Prince Joachim and Marie Cavallier, Current Events 2: May 2007 - May 2008

[norwegianne]

Of course the picture is photoshopped, it says so, right after the picture text. Fotomontage=photoshopped.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

Oh wow, I'm sorry, it seems one learns a new Danish word everyday... like photoshop... which wasn't in my Danish to English dictionary.

 

[lyndaW]

[URL="http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=711611"]Billed Bladet[/URL] published a new article this week, plus a [URL="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k69/KateGT/00000000000002jogge.jpg"]photo[/URL] of Prince Joachim and Marie, during this past holiday season.

Prince Joachim and Marie, looking forward to the new year especially with their May wedding only a couple months away, rang in the new year at home with lots of cheers and champange with friends that included Benedicte and Michael Darsberg.

Last year Marie & Joachim celebrated New Years with the Countess & Martin----did they this year???? Also, who is Michael Darsberg?????

 

[royaltyforever]

I know what you mean...
But in my opinion the Royal House , known as a very tolerant one, behaved in the right way.
IMO Marie would also belong to the Family if she was just Joachim's girlfriend (not officially of course).
But now that they are engaged and going to marry she is officially part of the Family (that's the way I see it).
As Norwegianne said, you can see it as kind of Learning-process...
like the fact that Mary Donaldson has been included into a State Visit when she still was Fianceé of Prince Frederik.
Imo, the Royal House behaved in the right way: not too stiff, modern and tolerant.

I am looking foreward to this wedding. another royal wedding for us fans!

About Marie being part of the family i think it is very normal. Letizia already went with her fiance to a royal wedding althought without tiara, maxima went to a royal wedding when only engaged with a tiara even of the royal family. So i don't see the point of Marie going to church with the family now she is engaged.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

Prince Joachim and Marie attended the baptism for the Jeppe and Birgitte Handwerk's baby, Palma.

To see a series of photos from the baptism, please click here.

Also, this site has tons of older photos (as in last year up to several days ago) so please click here to view.

 

[Primrose28]

gorgeous pics! there is something very approachable and pretty about Marie--I think it's her smile.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

I think so too.

Although I do find her to be very naive. Clearly, she adores Prince Joachim, but when I re-watched the press conference, announcing their engagement, I could help but notice that she may not realize the position she is about to step into.

When asked about what she hopes to accomplish, rather goals and patronages, as the future Princess of Denmark, she noted that she would be satisfied as a housewife for now. Which, I might add is a demanding job especially if one has several kids, but in Marie's case... I don't think so.

If she and Joachim will be recieving an allowance, similar to or smaller than the Crown Prince couple, she better work for it. Why should the people of Denmark pay for her lifestyle if she is content with staying at home doing nothing?

Second, during the press conference a journalist asked the couple what kind of wedding will it be? Big or small? Prince Joachim noted that they did not know at this time. Nonetheless, Marie jumped in and stated, "It will be a private wedding... very private..." My first thought regarding that statement, "Uhhh, honey, that ain't gonna happen."

These are two, of many, examples, of her attitude in regards to her future role as the Princess of Denmark. Mary knew exactly what she was getting into and what was expected of her. As a result, she has done so and then some. Marie, on the other hand, in my opinion, hasn't got a clue what is expected of her. If she did she wouldn't have made such incredible blunders.

Please don't get me wrong, I like her. She seems sweet and Joachim loves her, but when she opens her mouth... oh dear. You can view several versions of the engagement press conference [url=http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f33/marie-agathe-odile-cavallier-biography-14518.html]here[/URL].

By the way, welcome to TRF, Primrose28! Glad to have you here.

 

[norwegianne]

I think so too.
When asked about what she hopes to accomplish, rather goals and patronages, as the future Princess of Denmark, she noted that she would be satisfied as a housewife for now. Which, I might add is a demanding job especially if one has several kids, but in Marie's case... I don't think so.

If she and Joachim will be recieving an allowance, similar to or smaller than the Crown Prince couple, she better work for it. Why should the people of Denmark pay for her lifestyle if she is content with staying at home doing nothing?

I don't think they'd get the same amount as Frederik and Mary. I very much doubt it - as Joachim and Alexandra together got 2,5 mil. Danish kr (roughly $500,000) a year prior to the divorce. (And that still was less than Frederik who was single at the time).

Joachim's allowance for 2008 was meant to be 2,1 mil. DKR - but that law was sent to approval prior to the knowledge of his new marriage. I think that how much the PM/Cabinet decide to set aside for the two will depend much on how much they, and the royal house, decide to let Marie into the spotlight. The allowance (which isn't all that much, really, given Joachim's activity level) is more about the representative aspect of it.

I believe that 10% of the allowance is meant to go to the spouse, as is the case with Margrethe & Henrik and Frederik and Mary.

I think it also depends on how she views the "for now" scenario. I'd much prefer her to get gradually into things - none of the royal wives, as far as I can recall, have taken up a full work load straight after the wedding. She is getting used to a new country, a new language - and a new marriage. Lady of the manor at Schackenborg is one of her principal roles, given that Joachim does run it as a farm.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

I think it also depends on how she views the "for now" scenario. I'd much prefer her to get gradually into things - none of the royal wives, as far as I can recall, have taken up a full work load straight after the wedding. She is getting used to a new country, a new language - and a new marriage.

And that's what bothered me... the "for now" term. The way I percieved it, she came off as not really bothering (in the future) to take on a charity either one or two. To me she came off being more than content with sitting at home doing heaven's knows what. Of course, no one expects her to tackle ten new patronages a week after her marriage (nor three for that matter), but to be so incredibly non-chalant about it and note "I'd rather be a housewife..." Pfft... come on.

Second, I don't know how she can get used to being in a new country when she is not even there nor attempted to live there (like Mary did prior to her marriage.)

As for the language, as you have seen with my failed attempts at grasping the Danish language fluently, Marie is far from being comfortable with it (as noted in a Billed Bladet article released over the Christmas holiday) which I understand. But apparently she has been taking intense Danish lessons for months now (from the same source previously noted) since October. It is now February. How much more time does she need in order for her to say "Hi" and "Thank you" "I'm pleased to be here." It took me less than a day to learn three sentences. I'm sure Marie has private tutors and practices several hours a day, several days a week. She was recently filmed leaving the Hardwerk baptism, and several photographers were speaking to Joachim in Danish; he responded in Danish, of course. Not Marie. It was in French.

Sorry to be so hard on her, but she has had plenty of time to immerse herself into the Danish culture and language... even if it is a simple word such as "Hello."

Lady of the manor at Schackenborg is one of her principal roles, given that Joachim does run it as a farm.

Which includes... what on her part? Helping wth the accounting books?

If she is just the "Lady of fthe Manor", similar to Prince Gustav's life companion (as the German newspapers refer to her as) Carina, with little or no official duties four months after her marriage, why should Danes pay for her lifestyle even if it's at the min. amount? Just because she is an HRH? Sounds like a raw deal to me.

 

[norwegianne]

How much more time does she need in order for her to say "Hi" and "Thank you" "I'm pleased to be here." It took me less than a day to learn three sentences. I'm sure Marie has private tutors and practices several hours a day, several days a week. She was recently filmed leaving the Hardwerk baptism, and several photographers were speaking to Joachim in Danish; he responded in Danish, of course. Not Marie. It was in French.

Sorry to be so hard on her, but she has had plenty of time to immerse herself into the Danish culture and language... even if it is a simple word such as "Hello."

Given the difficulty and complexity of Danish pronunciation - as well as how her future father-in-law is still being somewhat criticized for his lack of Danish pronunciation, not to mention her future sister-in-law for hers, I can well understand the desire to avoid speaking in it on public occasions until she masters it. And no, it is not simply a matter of just knowing the three terms you mentioned to succeed, even though they might be easy. Actually saying them correct can be difficult. On public occasions, small talk is expected, and can complicated.

Danish pronunciation is all about getting rødgrød med fløde right, skipping letters in the middle of words (honestly, it took me a couple of weeks to learn that it was Ama'r and not Amager) and "mumbling" words. Lesson to Marie - the most important Danish words you'll ever need - nå ("really", used as a filler when people talk) and hvad? (what). Those'll practically run a conversation, and you won't have to know much at all

Of course, it probably doesn't help her learning Danish that French is Joachim's second language and that they started out communicating in it (as Frederik and Mary communicated in English). QMII pointed out in interviews that her husband's Danish troubles in the beginning could be attributed partly to her, because she knew French, and it was much easier to speak French between them. I sincerely hope that Marie and Joachim will learn from his parents who have been almost in the same situation.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

And no, it is not simply a matter of just knowing the three terms you mentioned to succeed, even though they might be easy. Actually saying them correct can be difficult. On public occasions, small talk is expected, and can complicated.

Well, that's obvious. The point is, she should have said something, anything, in Danish when spoken to by someone who happens to be speaking to her in Danish. It's like here in L.A., if you go East L.A. or Downtown where the language is prodominently Spanish (or Spanglish) and someone speaks to one in Spanish or Spanglish it would be wise of one to respond in, you guess it, Spanish or Spanglish.

Of course, it probably doesn't help her learning Danish that French is Joachim's second language and that they started out communicating in it (as Frederik and Mary communicated in English). QMII pointed out in interviews that her husband's Danish troubles in the beginning could be attributed partly to her, because she knew French, and it was much easier to speak French between them. I sincerely hope that Marie and Joachim will learn from his parents who have been almost in the same situation.

Something tells me that isn't happening at the moment. And if my gut is correct, she'll fail in the end. Joachim isn't helping her by speaking French (if that's the case), and as you noted Margrethe made that mistake as well as the CPC.

Yes, I am hard on those when it comes to languages, but it is my firm belief that if you are in a foreign country, one should speak the langauage, or at least attempt to, even if one messes up the pronunciation, at least one tried instead of being completely and utterly lazy. Or if you live in the US, where we don't have an official language, one should know at least Spanglish... at least here in L.A. one should know it.


Meanwhile, HELLO! magazine has posted some images of Marie and Joachim at the Handwerk baptism party later that evening. Marie is wearing, of all things, a catsuit.

 

[biboquinhas]

Not very fun of the outfit!!!Neither the one she use in the day or this one that she use during the night event.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The point is, she should have said something, anything, in Danish when spoken to by someone who happens to be speaking to her in Danish.

Yes, I am hard on those when it comes to languages, but it is my firm belief that if you are in a foreign country, one should speak the langauage, or at least attempt to, even if one messes up the pronunciation, at least one tried instead of being completely and utterly lazy.

I completely agree with you GT. In my personal opinion it's respectless and not a good start for a princess who needs to win over the hearts of the danish public. The fact that the family communicates a lot in french or that Henrik hasn't got it right either should not be a point, in contrast, it's rather embarrassing.

Meanwhile, HELLO! magazine has posted some images of Marie and Joachim at the Handwerk baptism party later that evening. Marie is wearing, of all things, a catsuit.

Sorry but this looks a bit like daddy (very conservative) escorting his daughter to her first girl's night out. They are quite an odd couple, I wonder how it will work out.

 

[Madame Royale]

I'm not sure what I think about Marie. I'm in two minds, but we'll give her a chance (not like I have a right not to) and in say a year from now, shall have hopefully established a better idea of who she is or what she's about.

Looking forward to the wedding though (only for the pictures, I won't lie.lol.)

 

[princess gertrude]

I have to totally agree with many of you, if she is going to be a Danish princess, she is going to have to speak the native language. I also agree that trying is much better than speaking in another language, at least that shows some initiative. I too am anxious to see how these two work out. I still think it is wierd how much she resembles Mary, for goodness sake, they could be sisters, that in itself is creepy. And Joachim seems so reserved next to her. I guess we'll just have to see.

 

[Amelia]

I have tried very hard not to judge Marie until till after the wedding, when she begins her official royal life, but I’m not sure I am succeeding. I just always remember her being so open and talkative with the press, I found something very off-putting about that. I am hopeful, however, that once she begins her royal life and begins working for her new country I will find her as charming as the other European princess. Although I really hope that she is not constantly compared to Mary. I absolutely hated it when Mary was endlessly compared to Alexandra after her wedding, they are two very different women, as are Mary and Marie, it is so unfair to pit them against each other but I’m sure that won’t stop it from happening.

 

[Heike]

I have tried very hard not to judge Marie until till after the wedding, when she begins her official royal life, but I’m not sure I am succeeding. I just always remember her being so open and talkative with the press, I found something very off-putting about that. I am hopeful, however, that once she begins her royal life and begins working for her new country I will find her as charming as the other European princess. Although I really hope that she is not constantly compared to Mary. I absolutely hated it when Mary was endlessly compared to Alexandra after her wedding, they are two very different women, as are Mary and Marie, it is so unfair to pit them against each other but I’m sure that won’t stop it from happening.

You are right. That won´t stop happening, especially when they have so similar appearance and their birthdays are so close. However, I agree completely that Marie and Mary are two completely persons. Just see how differently they behave during the pre-wedding days.

 

[biboquinhas]

Their physical appearance is obvious and they are both Danish princess so they have to be compared and they will be compared always, I don't think that is bad beeing in mind that they are two individual women of course!

 

[Madame Royale]

I just always remember her being so open and talkative with the press, I found something very off-putting about that.

I thought her to be a fool, myself. How indiscreat she was. First impressions really determine how you perceive someone and I, myself, am trying to view Marie in a more understanding light though I'm not sure if that will hold out. I hope it does and I hope she proves me wrong, but if she doesn't then I won't be much surprised.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

Perhaps she had too much coffee and thus it made her a Chatty Cathy.

On a serious note, please don't get me wrong, I do like Marie. She is good for Joachim, and ever since they have been together he has never looked better... he's always smiling, looks proud to be with her, and so forth.

I'm sure once she steps into her role as HRH Princess Marie of Denmark she'll be fine. However, I do hope she actually does something with her time... one or two patronages is fine as long as she does something to earn her keep.

 

[RubyPrincess168]

Or if you live in the US, where we don't have an official language, one should know at least Spanglish... at least here in L.A. one should know it.

I agree that if she is to become a member of Danish Royal Family and live in Denmark, she should certainly learn the language and make some effort to show that she's learning it. Likewise, if a spanish speaking person moves to the US to live and work here, they should make an effort to learn the English language. It may not be the "official" language, but it's been the common language for the duration of this country's existance.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

Ladies, I get the impression you take all this much to serious. Marie will be the second wife of the second son of the queen, that's all. I personally liked how she appeared so demure and not ambitious in their engagement interview - her predecessor Alexandra has been very popular and possessed a very public profile, so Marie and Joachim knew that she would be compared to Alexandra if she did not appear to be a completely other personality.

As it is, it seems Joachim asked her to marry him and she said yes because she loves him, but she feels his position obviously as daunting, otherwise she would not have ended the relationship after her first mishaps with the media. Well, she decided to give it a try and IMHO it's a good idea to start out as housewife at Schakenbourg - there are possibilities to do all kind of volonteer work in that corner of Denmark if she needs time and opportunity to find what it is she likes to do. Plus I believe she will accompany Joachim on his trade promotion tours. All in all she will start out living a life she has been well trained for in her education as she was raised like a girl from the French upper class. I'm looking forward to that and as long as Joachim is happy I have no problem with a "private" princess.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

No, it's not that serious on a whole, we're just having a fun yet simple discussion.

However, I am serious when discussing her language skills... second wife, second son of a monarch or not.

 

[Sybilla]

From HOLA: EL PRÍNCIPE JOAQUÍN Y SU PROMETIDA, MARIE CAVALLIER, SE QUITAN EL ESTRÉS PRE-NUPCIAL EN LA NIEVE

They say that Joachim and Marie are holidaying in the Swiss Alps with Felix and Nikolai.
They are staying in a property that belongs to Marie's mother and step-father in Villars-sur-Ollon (the same place they went last winter).

 

[galatea_12]

article and pics from hellomagazine

Royal lovebirds Joachim and Marie on ski break with his boys

 

[bbb]

very nice photos thanks for the link- joachim looks so happy and so do the boys, it's lovely to see, i'm looking forward to the wedding.

 

[sgl]

In the second picture from the Hello article, the oldest son looks kind of annoyed by her presence. I wonder if he is just making a wierd face, or if he truly doesn't care for Marie.

 

[dazzling]

In the second picture from the Hello article, the oldest son looks kind of annoyed by her presence. I wonder if he is just making a wierd face, or if he truly doesn't care for Marie.

I dont think we can judge from that picture, I would assume he would rather want to ski or play in the snow than have to sit for photographers. You know how children get. In the past, he seemed to be "okay" in presence of Marie.

Lovely gateway for the family. It sure will get the boys to get to know Marie more. They look like they are her own boys. Nice to see...

 

[sgl]

Good point, Dazzling. When I was young, I was always annoyed when ever anything stopped me from playing and having fun. You are right, they do look like they share a slight resemblance.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

[url=http://www.seoghoer.dk/Royalt/webtv%20joachim%20i%20sneen.aspx]Here[/URL] is a video clip from Se og Hor. Ah, a nice ski holiday with the press following them around. Marie looks very annoyed. Poor girl... she better get used to it because from now on this is her life.