Solskinsdronningen – The sunshine queen.
Excerpts from interview in Billed Bladet #10, 2011.
Interviewer: Annelise Weimann.
The 71 year old QMII is currently on her annual skiing holiday in Gausdal in Norway. Together with her LiW, Annette de Scheel, and a Norwegian female friend, Eleonora Sibbern, and two anonymous gentleman from PET and the Norwegian security police.
QM: “I ski every day, a nice little trip for three-four hours. Yesterday we managed five, but it’s not like in the old days, where we went really far”.
Q: How is your shape?
QM: “Oh, it could be worse. But the times when we went from cabin to cabin and brought at lunch pack with us are over. That I always had in the bottom-slapper”. (A bag).
QM: “Isn’t it beautiful here? Let’s walk a bit further, so that we can enjoy the beautiful view. We are fortunate with the weather; it’s been good since I arrived”.
They are close to a mountain called: Skeikampen.
Q: Have you ever been up there?
QM: “Yes, for many of the Lords years ago, (*) when we were children. I was almost fourteen and my sisters were correspondingly younger. Back then there was no ski lift, but we did reach the summit. We didn’t think it was strenuous, it was just exiting”.
Q: Were you here with your parents?
QM: “Father didn’t ski and mother was only up here a couple of times. We were sent up here along with our nannies and mother’s LiW, Awa Armfeldt, who died a couple of years ago. She was familiar with Norway and thought Skeikampen would be a good place to ski. It was in 1954 that we were here the first time, it’s really incredible. And fun to think about”.
Q: How is your health?
QM: “Excellent”.
Q: You no longer have problems with your knees?
QM: “Nope, I don’t notice them at all. Imagine, after having skied that long, I don’t notice I’ve got them. It’s probably four years ago that I had my surgery and ever since I’ve been fine. I have to think a long way back, in order to remember how it was, when I had problems with my knees”.
Q: How do you stay fit, when you don’t ski?
QM: “I’m so fortunate as to live in some big houses with many stairs, and I walk up and down the stairs many times during the day. And from October to May I attend ballet (lessons) once a week. But I’m not a kind of exercise geek, you could hardly say that”.
Q: Will your friend, Queen Sonja come up here?
QM: “Yes, we are going to meet at some point. She is skiing like I don’t know what. She’s not born with skis on, I rather believe the skis were born on her”!
(I’ve omitted a part of QMII telling about how she introduced Frederik and Joachim to skiing, but that they prefer alpine skiing. And also why QMII see absolutely no reason to change her ski suit, why, it’s hardly worn)!
Q: Next month your twin-grandchildren are going to be christened. Do you know their names?
QM: “No, I do not. I didn’t want to ask. I don’t find that courteous. I don’t even know whether they have made up their minds. They should be allowed to keep that to themselves”.
Q: Will you be told about the names, prior to the christening?
QM: “Yes, I’m certain of that. I’ve been told the other times and from both sides”.
Q: How are the twins?
QMII: “They are sweet, really sweet”.
Q: Is there a difference between them, apart from being a boy and a girl?
QM: “Yes, I think so, you can tell from the pictures as well. They are not like two identical little eggs. They each have their own little looks and they are also different internally. They are after all very new, but their mother says, she can feel a distinct difference in how they react and behave. That’s very funny”. (**)
Q: Is it different to have twin-grandchildren? (***)
QM: “Not for me. But I can tell how much it means for the family it afflicts, if I may say so. There is after all twice as much all the time; it’s very strenuous. I have the impression that it’s sleeping, eating, breastfeeding. Sleeping, eating, breastfeeding”.
Q: Are Prince Christian and Princess Isabella jealous?
QM: “Not at all. They find it exciting with the little boy and the little girl. They are very proud of them and their parents are very good at showing the children that they don’t take the back seat just because twins have arrived”.
Q: Princess Isabella has started to attend dancing (lessons)?
QM: “Yes, she has something she has to do, and which she finds funny. And the Crown Prince is taking so good care of his big boy. It’s very good and both children are fine”.
Q: “Do you see them regularly?
QM: “Yes, but we don’t see each other every other day. We are all very busy. I also believe that when you have two children to breastfeed at the same time, you shouldn’t have your mother-in-law knocking on your doors all the time, or whoever it is. I think it’s pretty strenuous to have twins and one shouldn’t be there at all hours”.
Q: You have had many official travels this year and you have just been to Bahrain. Have you regretted going there?
QM: “Nom I certainly couldn’t. I’m after all not psychic. The situation was simply not how it became later on. Hindsight is, as you know, the highest form of wisdom. You can of course say that it was very unfortunate that events went the way they did, but when we planned the trip and went, there was no reason to believe that we shouldn’t go. It would have been most discourteous if one had said that due to unrest in Egypt, we couldn’t go to Bahrain. Try take a look on map of the world, to see how far there is from one place to another”.
QMII: Also talks about the advantages of sailing with Dannebrog during the summer cruise this year: “(Having) Dannebrog on the journey makes a huge difference. When we come onboard after long days schedule, there may be something in the evening as well, you feel at home at once. You sleep in your own bed, have your own cupboard, where the things are and you know what way to turn the taps in the bathroom, to get the right temperature. When you change from hotel to hotel, you almost need a drivers license for the fittings in the bathroom each time”.
QMII also went to Holmekollen to watch the world skiing championships, along with the Norwegian Regent Couple and the CP-couples from Norway and Sweden.
(*) An expression. Used to emphasize how long ago it is. It has no longer any connection with religion. Not for several centuries.
(**) One of QMII’s favorite expressions.
(***) QMII must have been in a good mood, she has been known to squash a question like that before. – Of course twins are different!
