The Staff (& their work) of the Royal Family

[mixer2002de]

Vic gets an own household? What for?

[GrandDuchess]

The Royal Court has wanted to establish an own and traditional household for Crown Princess Victoria since she left Yale University years ago. And after she had been home for a while, she did get her own little “household” (which didn’t get an official position in the Court organisation), but it was merely an office that is integrated with the Court.

But now with this press release, they seem to have finally taken the full step to realizing a more traditional household for the Crown Princess, which will also care for her siblings.

And as Dennis said, this is also a final step to breaking loose the business of Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip from HM The Queen’s Household, which has so far taken care of their arrangements. Now all three of them stand a little more on their “own feet”….

[robby86]

Originally Posted by GrandDuchess

The Royal Court has wanted to establish an own and traditional household for Crown Princess Victoria since she left Yale University years ago. And after she had been home for a while, she did get her own little “household” (which didn’t get an official position in the Court organisation), but it was merely an office that is integrated with the Court.

But now with this press release, they seem to have finally taken the full step to realizing a more traditional household for the Crown Princess, which will also care for her siblings.

And as Dennis said, this is also a final step to breaking loose the business of Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip from HM The Queen’s Household, which has so far taken care of their arrangements. Now all three of them stand a little more on their “own feet”….

What is a "household" and what does it do? I don't know much about the Court yet. :)

[GrandDuchess]

Today was ETW's first day on her new job! She is now a Marshall, and has taken on a new role withing the Royal Court as the head of H.R.H. The Crown Princess' Household!

To inform on this, and "honour" her years as the Director of the Royal Information Department - SVT's news programme "Rapport" today aired a story on her. I highly recommend it - you must see it! In it, you can among other things see her as a younger woman, spelling out the name of Princess Madeleine after her birth! Go here: http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=1803 and then click on "Tarras-Wahlberg lämnar sin post" under the word "video" a bit further down the page. Hurry, cause I don't know for how long it'll be there!

[Lena]

Thank you for the link GrandDuchess. OMG in this picture ETW looks like "Ronja Rövardotter"...a Ronja, who has gotten too much sun

[Lena]

And then this radio-moderator, who´s imitating her...very amusing.

[Lena]

This is the direct link to the video...maybe it will stay on longer:
http://svt.se/content/1/c6/26/36/47/tarras1930.ram

[GrandDuchess]

Is there any other country that you feel treats royal worse than others?
- Yes, right now Princess Madeleine is experiencing a tough time in London with the paparazzi’s hanging after her. She hates when the photographers come out and sticks the camera in her face. And it’s a shame, says Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlbergs with compassion, because it will be with her in the future. I guess it’s the same group that chased Princess Diana in her time. Unfortunately it’s impossible to help one self from them. They live off of it and there’s no one who carries the responsibility. One can’t call the magazine, editor or agency because these photographers are freelancers. Then we have the German press who writes the most terrible things. Made up things from page to page.

Do you confront things like that?
- Yes, we try to. Unfortunately we’ve done so many times, and know that it mostly doesn’t change anything. It’s about the same things that apply to the photographers. The magazines say that they’ve bought the article, it’s a pseudonym and then there’s no one to answer for it.

Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg shows us a German weekly magazine with faked nude pictures of Crown Princess Victoria. These, the magazine had gotten from the Internet.
- We intervened via lawyers and the magazine has paid a fine. At the same time the magazine has fired the journalist who wrote the article. Or so they say. Often it’s private citizens that call in and tells about things they’ve found on the Royal Family online. We have regular contact with our lawyers when it comes to matters of this kind. They make sure things like this is take off the Internet. But mostly you fight pretty defenceless. And when it comes to the Internet, it’s pretty hopeless.

Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg thinks Internet is a practical and great mean of communication, but that there are backsides. Do you think they should tighten the law when it comes to the Internet?
- There is no reason that either paper magazines, TV broadcasts or radio should have more restrictions than other media does. It’s just different channels.

Don’t you, as a public person, get more toughened when it comes to all lies that are written?
- I don’t think so. I think that you might develop some kind of shield, but you are after all, a normal human being with feelings.

Do you often have conflicts with journalists?
- Yes, it happens, but most of all I think they have conflicts with us – even though not very often. But there are journalists who miss-use the trust and that’s hard for the Royal Family to take. They are welcome to write critical articles and make sharp interviews, but it has to be fair and true.

Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg tells us that when they royal children where young, mother and father said: “Okay, we want our children to be left alone from the press photographers. Don’t chase them at kindergarten and playgrounds when they are with friends. Instead, you’re invited to us a few times a year to take pictures”. With times, these occasions came to be The King’s birthday, the Crown Princess’ birthday and before Christmas.
- But now they are grown up, so it’s hard to gather them more than maybe 2-3 times a year. But the Swedish photographers has actually respected The King and Queen’s wishes and did really leave the children alone, with the exception of a few times. But those few times have been hard to melt. Nordic press, included photographers, have another respect for privacy than others. It can be because they live under different commercial terms. The danger today is that the other countries don’t respect this and then the risk is that the Swedish press and photographer will be considered as dorks if they don’t do the same things.

How will the work as the Crown Princess’ advisor affect your other tasks?
- Well one is not alone in this job, we are a department of four persons, so I guess the other poor things will have to work more, says Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg and laughs. I put about fifty-fifty on the two jobs, but sometimes one of them takes more times. Like for example now that I’ve been travelling with Crown Princess Victoria for three weeks.

Which newspapers and magazines do you have here on the palace?
- We’re one organisation, but we sit spread across the palace, and different department subscribes to different newspapers and magazines. Here at the Information Department, we have for example Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Expressen. In the next corridor they have Dagens Nyheter. The Royal Collections has cultural magazines. And also weekly magazine. But then we have a press clip service, which covers everything of interest for us.

Do you have any foreign magazines at the palace?
- No, that’s why we rely on our embassies being nice and sending them home.

How does the private Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg relax?
- I have been here for almost exactly 25 years now and it took 23 years before I learned not to wake up with the job. I like to read books and cook. And I also like to be with family and friends. It’s nice to be at our place in Dalarö (archipelago island). There you can really relax in the summers.

What are you most proud of in your professional life? And is there anything you regret?
- Often you look at things that are close in time, and I’m incredibly proud to have gained the enormous trust to be the Crown Princess’ adviser. It’s a challenge and it means a lot of responsibility but is in the same time very stimulating. To help her, the Princess also has two very wise parents. And the rest of the organisation as well, even if I’m the one who’ll be keeping it all together. If I regret something? Well, it would be that I foremost was a very tired person and in second hand a professional woman when I on the evening of 12 May 1979 decided to put the telephone receiver aside to get some sleep. And then it turned out that is was that night that Prince Carl Philip was born. Since then I’ve never put the phone receiver aside. But we once had a Kobra telephone. And those can be a bit tricky if you don’t put them down thoroughly. Then they can end up on the slope and not get the signal through. The night Olof Palme was murdered, it had ended up on the slope, and the First Marshall of the Court tried to phone me.

How often do you have meetings at the palace?
- Once a week we have planning meetings. At those times, The King and Queen gathers the Marshall of the Realm, the First Marshall of the Court, the Lady of the Court, the Chief of Staff, the Court Superintendent and me for a discussion on incoming things. It can be about questions to take part in things that The King and Queen has to decide on, and how to schedule for example State Visits.

Can it not be sensitive to choose among companies?
- Yes, it can be very sensitive. But that’s why we have this mix in the group. The Marshall of the Realm is an academic. The First Marshall of the Court is a lawyer, the Lady of the Court is a cultural (vetare), the Chief of Staff is a military and I represent the information side. It’s a consciously chosen group with people of different backgrounds to get a balance in the advising.

Do you ever get critique for your choices?
- Oh yes, the last time we received critique was when the Crown Princess was a godmother for “Team SEB”, who takes part in Volvo Ocean Race and is sponsored by SE-Banken (bank). But we had really gone through this really carefully. Okay, the boat was sponsored, but it was about sports, and tell me one team that is not sponsored. It was about “Sweden propaganda” on a rather high level and it was our country that the Crown Princess supported.

Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg also tells us that there’s a group where the directors of all the deparments and offices meets every other week under the management of the Marshall of the Realm. At those meetings they go through organisational issues, like for example the preparations for the work with the budget every year. It then goes to The King’s Council, which is a third forum.

[GrandDuchess]

My translation of an interview with ETW from a company magazine, December 2001:

25 Years in The King’s Service!

Short Facts – Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg
Born: 15 September, 1950
Family: Husband Björn, daughters Filippa, 17, and Louisa, 13
Lives: Lidingö
Career: Information and Press Secretary at the Swedish Institute 1973-1976, Press Assistant at the Secretariat 1976, Press Secretary at the Office of the Court Marshall 1979-1987, Director of Press for the Royal Court since 1988, Director of Information since 1995, advisor to Crown Princess Victoria since 2001
Car: Mercedes A160 Avantgarde and Volvo V70
Drinks: Water and red wine
Smokes: Never
Likes: Chocolate, preferably dark
Dislikes: Gossip

The Royal Court’s Director of the Information Department, Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg, is the Royal House’s face to the outside world and in that role she often stands in the limelight behind the Royal House. And now she has also become the Crown Princess’s personal adviser. Among her many other tasks, her work means frequent contacts with the media. On good and bad.

How did you really end up on this unusual job?
- Via contacts as it’s so popularly called. I was working as an information secretary at the Swedish Institute in the Sverigehuset (former headquarter for tourism). I started there as a “summer kid” as they said (summer job), and got to help out with foreign study visits that were always many more during the beautiful half year than the dark one. At the Swedish Institute, I had a working partner in the Head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Information Office, Jan Mårtenson. He moved to the palace in 1975 and became the Head of the Secretariat. And the experiences after the wedding between The King and Queen, when the media practically stormed in with all sorts of requests, made it so that he needed help.

And you don’t regret it, do you?
- No, absolutely not, but it wasn’t like I left my very nice job at the Swedish Institute just like that – I took a leave of absence first for a year.

Media lives off of news about celebrities and the Royal Family. But doesn’t the Royal Family also need the media?
- Of course the Royal Family needs the media. Everyone who works with some sort of representational PR or symbol like organisation needs channels to reach out with their work. And at that point, media is an important channel.

“For Sweden, With the Times” is The King’s motto. Does The King adapt his profile on the basis of the motto, and do you conduct any surveys about what people thinks and feels, to adapt the Royal Family’s profile in public?
- Of course The King lives according to his motto. It is often brought up in our internal discussions when decisions is to be made about saying yes or no to various engagements, and how to schedule various engagements. The motto is something that is a guiding star for the both the Royal Family, but also for us who works here. We never do surveys. But then again there are other who do that. It’s also a principle- and policy issue. I think it would bring a lot of attention if we did do surveys.

The debate about abolishing the monarchy seemed to have been toned down by politicians and public during the last few years. During which years do you feel they have been the most intense?
- First of all, I don’t agree. I think that during the last year, there’s really been a discussion about this in the media – in all ways and directions. Last time at the Social Democrats Party Congress. In Västerås (where the congress was held), there were several wishes of Parliamentary Bills. And in the Parliament they have written bills on it. I think it comes and goes, so I think it’s been discussed pretty intensely. I have no personal memories on how it was in the late 60’s, but I’ve read that it was Herbert Tingsten who initiated the debate. The debate was hot in those days, and they re-wrote the Act of Succession and the Constitution. It was the one that came into effect in 1974. The King got a new job and all the political power was removed. There must’ve been a lot of discussion about Gustav V’s courtyard speech. At least measured in the terms of those days. Today, the media has a much broader range and more channels, like the Internet, radio and TV. But at the same time, one could say that the popularity of the Royal Family has never been as big as it is now.

How did it start with the programme about the Royal Family that is aired every year around Christmas and New Year? Who took the initiative, the Royal Court or the media?
- Being 90% sure I say it was pretty much SVT that took the initiative. Since then it’s become a tradition. It was one of my first assignments, in December 1976. Sven Lindal interviewed The King and Queen at Tullgarn Palace where they cracked nuts and played filipin. It has in a way become an annual report, besides the written one we have. The programme shows the year that has passed. And a lot that they from TV’s side doesn’t feel they can have in the news, is shown there instead.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST..... >>>>>

[GrandDuchess]

More on our idol:

ETW 2004 - Current Facts:

Name: Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg (born von Engelhardt).
Has been called: Iron lady, strict, armoured tank, queen-like, disciplined, unmistakably loyal
Profession: Marshall, head of H.R.H. The Crown Princess’ Household
Family: Daughter Filippa, 20, and Louisa, 16. Divorced from Björn Tarras-Wahlberg
Born: 15 September, 1950 in Kristianstad
Lives: House on Lidingö, summer house in the archipelago island Dalarö
Drives: Mercedes 160
Earns: 40,000 SEK/month (= $5,380, €4,341)
Fortune: 6,5 million SEK (= $874, 337, €705,448) (tax assessment 2002)
Study background: Two year on an all-girls college (Barnard, I think) with political science as a major. Has also studied law and economics. Had the highest grade in everything but gym in school
Speaks: French, German, English and Spanish


And some pictures of our idol:

Taking part in the programme "Agenda" this spring
With her ex husband
Lady in red
Close up
Let's party
Lovely picture
With her protegé
Another lovely picture
Looking thoughtful
Standing before her boss
Close up again
At a conference
Walking toward the Opening of Parliament 2004
Carrying gifts

[Lena]

Thank you for this great reports and pictures on her highESTness, GrandDuchess

Has been called:... queen-like...

Yes, yes that´s it. She´s by far the most Royal person in Sweden, and that without being Royal

And so dutiful...since Carl Philips´s birth she hasn´t switched off the phone! I mean she´s not a firewoman or an emergeny physician!
On the other hand...€4,341 isn´t that, what we would call a "starvation wage"

[mixer2002de]

Originally Posted by Lena

On the other hand...€4,341 isn´t that, what we would call a "starvation wage"

Well its an public employer. So 52092 € per year is not that bad! Anyway as a private company they might pay much more of course!

[GrandDuchess]

All journalists who have called for Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg, knows that she is constantly engaged in meetings. Or business trips. But she is also a single mother.

Doesn’t you daughter ever object to the Crown Princess taking so much of your time?
- They can dislike the fact that I’m away so much. But they don’t take that out on the Crown Princess. They rather see her as a kind of extra sister, if you understand what I mean. Besides, we shouldn’t forget that they have a father. When I’m away, he can come home and live with them.

There’s also Gunvor, who the family has names their “survival help”. She was once hired to take care of the children, but now she’s more of a family member. When Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg recently came home from a long journey, there was a pile of newly baked buns and walnut bread in her kitchen. Like a note from Gunvor.

The fact that she herself has stopped baking is more maturing that lack of time. It wasn’t until she was 50, that Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg understood that she doesn’t have to be good at everything. She could allow herself to enjoy things a bit more and look after her own needs. Maybe the divorce played a part in this; we don’t even bring it up as an explanation. Instead she talks about the necessity of stopping to pause. If only for a few minutes. That’s why the car tide every morning between the villa on Lidingö and the Palace is so important.
- That’s where I get time to thing, to contemplate.

We take another de-tour to Skåne, where she was born and grew up. Father Bendt von Engelhardt was a vet. Mother Astrid was a housewife. Herself, she was good in school, shy and a slight tendency to stammer.
- Early on, I realised that with good grades, I could make something of my life.
Besides, there weren’t that many options. I once went to a school dance, it was horrible. It was better to do homework and watch “Röda Fjädern” on TV.

She never dream of becoming a princess. Never read about royals in the newspapers/magazines. She didn’t even have the Haga princesses as bookmarks. With some effort, she manages t o remember once when the old King and Queen Louise visited Kristianstad and she got to hand over a bouquet of flowers..
- Otherwise, I don’t think we ever talked about the Royal Family in my childhood home.

With excellent high school grades, she went the US, determined to become and interpreter. After two years in college she came home and moved to her grandmother in Stockholm. We pause here, grandmother Brita need her own space. She grew up in Åbo, moved to what is now Estonia where she married the German-Baltic baron who became Elisabeth’s grandfather.
- Grandmother is my biggest female role model. During the World War II, she escaped via Finland to Sweden. I remember that grandfather had a big moustache and that he used to take me to Bergs Café. According to grandmother, she was an aristocrat who rather showed himself at Skeppsbron, not interested in having a normal job. It was grandmother who supported the family. Among things by starting a milk store.

Elisabeth herself gave up the idea of becoming an interpreter and instead started working for the Swedish Institute, where she met Jan Mårtenson. The one who hired her for the Palace. The year was 1976 and they needed more manpower.

So if The King would not have married Silvia Sommerlath, you probably wouldn’t have ended up at the Palace?
- Probably not.

The most burning issue is when the Crown Princess will be seen with her boyfriend openly, which will be interpreted as a matter of time before an engagement.

When will she get engaged to Daniel Westling?
- I have absolutely no idea. There are no, if there ever was any, signs of a coming engagement. The Crown Princess keeps that secret to herself, possible together with her family.

Will Daniel Westling be the one?
- I don’t want to speculate on that.

Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg knows that some questions have to be answered. And she does, even if desperate journalists call in the middle in the night. Once, when her daughter was young, she put the telephone receiver aside.
- It was the night when Olof Palme was shot.

According to Victoria, it’s her job to be the “bitter almond”. Other can see her as strict and authoritarian.
- I know. But I also know that insecurity can have a price. If I doubt a second, you journalists will have much more easier time to “nail me”, which is the goal of many journalists. That’s why I try to be exact and clear in my answers. I think that’s what is misinterpreted.

Maybe it’s about age too. Today, Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg is less eager to please. She eats the final pieces of chicken, discretely take a small stain away from her jacket, and states that the next visitor is coming.

There are many things we haven’t had time to talk about. Like her love for beautiful things and clothes. Gladly purchased on sale. Plus the fact that she collects hotel signs, like the ones you have on the door. From her last trip she have “I am relaxing”.
- But I haven’t dared to hang that up, yet.