Chateau de Caix, Cahors, France


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Google images of Chateu de Cayz. (Current spelling is Cayz, whatever...).

The current spelling is Cayx according to DRF website, unless of course Henri has changed his mind in the meantime.........:D

viv
 
Hi Everone - I was having a clean out this weekend and came across a magazine that I've had since the late 1990s - for another article - that has an 8 page feature, photos and interview, with Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik about this property - called in this report Chateau de Caix.

I remember thinking when the photos of CP Mary's family holiday at the Chateau last July, 2011, came out - "I wonder what is behind those doors - we'll never know"- so imagine my suprise to find I had photos of the interior tucked away unknown to myself.

This article has 13 interior photos, and 7 outdoor photos.

(I'd looked on the internet previously to see if there were any interior shots, but only found 3 in a Scandanavian publication called "Skona Hem" - from late 2009/early 2010 and I've only had an interest in fellow Tasmanian CP Mary the last year or two, so it was a pleasant suprise to find this amongst my belongings still.)

Following are some points in the article about the property, and how Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik came to aquire it, and what they had to do to bring it up to a liveable standard.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

1) Prince Henrik knew this property from his childhood - his father had brought the nearby manor house "Le Cayrou". Prince Henrick's father tried to buy Chateau de Caix at that time, but the owner, wine-maker Valentin Miran, did not want to sell until 1974, when Prince Henrik's father told him it was available.

2) Prince Henrik managed the restoration himself, with the craftsmen, after earlier having an architiect work on it.

3) The North Wing has the care-taker's flat, the South Wing houses the Royal Family and the Centre Wing is for guests.

4) The towers were converted to contain the bathrooms.

5) The "White Room" in the cooler north-east corner of the Chateau is Queen Margrethe's study. It is hung with several of her own paintings and a mirror Prince Henrik made out of a picture frame. The couch has a leopard skin across it under the cushions. There is a wonderful chandelier hanging here.

6)There are a lot of Oriental touches about - a large golden Buddha, wall hangings and ornaments. One room has a large brown bear rug on the floor.

7) The dining chairs are upholstered in a design of Queen Margrethe's, and the dining table covered in a cloth she embroidered, with plates she painted.

8) The furnishings came from Denmark, and were worked on by the normal upholsterer and sewing lady on the Royal staff.

9) The restoration was not without drama as at one point Prince Henrik's sister - who was keeping an eye on the place - had to ring to let them know there had been a major disaster. The ceiling - in the only part of the Chateau not supported by the vaulting in the cellars - had collapsed through all the storeys. Prince Henrick solved this problem by converting this area, the living and dining room, into a two-storey high open hall, with a gallery running along the top, from one end to the other. In the photo of this room there are several wooden model ships hanging from the ceiling.

10) The were also pleasant suprises during the restoration. An ancient archway that had been bricked up was discovered and opend up again and this is now a cool part of the Chateau during the scorching French summers - it opens into the staircase going to the storeys above and the staricase to the vaults below. The Chateau in fact has thermo-glass thoughout to help with the heat management. Queen Margrethe also says the scent of the fermenting grapes goes up through the house and "bubbles inside you".

11) The swimming pool was a gift from friends for Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's Silver Wedding Anniversary. Before that, taking a swim meant visiting friends or going down to the river or to a small brook.

12) Queen Margrethe shares her joy in this home, explaining about the abundant wildflowers in spring, the nightingales singing along the river, the three different types of vegatation on the property from the river, to the south side of the mountian to the summit, how she and Prince Henrick have their evening coffee in the Temple of Love. They both look happy and relaxed, (and tanned), in the photos. Also, the Chateau is in a valley, so at times severe storms funnel through and can last through the night into late morning the next day.

13) At the time of this article there was no TV, but there was a bridge table.

14) What clinched the deal, for both Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, was the 16 acres of land, half of which was vineyards. Queen Margrethe explains how this allows them to feel part of the community and not just holiday-makers and how important this was to them. The property did/does produce a red wine and also a full-bodied white wine called "La Cigarelle".

15) The Royal Family used to travel to Chateau de Caix by train, and this was an important part of their time there - travelling through the Loire valley, Limoges and onto the Lot area where it is located.
 
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Thanks a lot, Sun Lion :flowers:

Interesting little details.

Allow me to encourage you to do some more clean outs. ;)
 
Sun Lion you are a real treasure for taking the time to type this out for us. How wonderful to make a find like this. I have three pics from the interior from a swedish site not sure if its the same one you mentioned. It would be great if you could scan the pics and post them here. But thanks again for your time and effort, much appreciated.
 
Hi Muhler, Hi Tarlita -

- yes a nice suprise for me too - if I had come across it a year or two ago I wouldn't have paid it much attention, but I developed an interest in this property after seeing all the photos of it, (exterior), during last year's holiday there by the Crown Prince couple with Mary's father and step-mother, the Australian friends and the children. There seemed to be an endless supply of photos coming out from that holiday, but of course, only of the outside areas.

Our local, Australian, womens' magazine even printed some grainy photos of the Chateau from that time, because the twins were spotted there.

The three photos I found on the internet are of the library, and Prince Henrik sitting inside and the living/dining room - so maybe they are the same ones you have Tarlita.

I can certainly scan and post the photos, but is that ok? - this forum has such strict rules about copyright.

I checked the internet before I did my post, and have seen the same magazine is on sale on ebay - a bit of a shock, as I've thrown about a hundred issues of this magazine away lately as I've been de-cluttering my home, and they seem to be worth selling.

I'll keep my issue though - it may be the last time the cameras are let in.

It was a feature from 1998 to "celebrate" the completion of the restoration after 24 years in Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's hands.

Queen Margrethe doesn't look to have changed much in the succeeding years, but Prince Henrik is quite slim, young and healthy looking in these photos - both very happy looking.

Queen Margrethe explains how Prince Henrik likes to do "the furniture waltz", with the furniture "galloping from room to room" pretty often.

Some things were chosen by Queen Margrethe herself alone, some things by Prince Henrik himself alone, but the main rooms, including Prince Henrik's study, and the "White Room", as well as the living room and guest rooms were done by them together.

One wall has a Chinese silk hanging - very large - that has been in Prince Henrik's family for several generations, and another wall has a tapestry by a Danish artist Anges Slott-Moller - (if she is a well known Dane Muhler?).

Parts of the Chateau date back to the 14th Century, but the building is not so unique that the restoration had to be fussed over in every little detail, and so Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik were "radical" in restoring the floors - they all needed doing - and so put down concrete throughout as anything more detailed was more than they thought they could cope with.

The interview ends with Queen Margrethe relating how they both had tears in their eyes when they had their first wine-pressing, that was how important it is/was to them - having their own vineyard.

Cheers for now, Sun Lion.
 
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I've been to this area twice this year - it is very wooded and the autumn was particularly lovely. Going back next year and will try and find the chateau - been up and down the D145 a number of times and didn't know about this.
 
Hi Tarlita - yes the first two of your photos are what I found on Google Images. There was a third photo of Prince Henrik sitting in the living room to the left of the blue sofa in your centre photo.

The white ornaments in your third photo are in my magazine article which says they are an Oriental temple set consisting of vases, candlesticks and a censer, and which was among the first things Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik purchased as a couple together.

The Chinese silk wall hanging that has been in Prince Henrik's family is hanging on the wall behind these items.

They are arranged a bit differently to how they are in my photo, but seem to still be on the same long, narrow, carved Oriental table.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

Hi cepe - yes, good luck with finding the Chateau on your next trip to the area.

You may bump into Prince Henrik in the cellar-door shop.

He seems very enthusiastic about the product calling it the "fortune of Chateau de Caix" and saying "here is yet more gold" pointing to the rows of bottles in my magazine interview.

There are quite a few pictures on the internet of the different items on sale there.

Cheers, Sun Lion.
 
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Thank Sun Lion - we should be in time for the vendage next year - might buy a couple of bottles, maybe!
 
A clarification Tarlita - your photo with the blue sofa and piano is called the living room on the website I saw it on, but there is another living room in my magazine article - the two-storey one with the gallery running along the top that is combined with the dining area - so perhaps two living rooms. The one in your photo seems more formally furnished than the one in my magazine.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

Hi again cepe - please post your photos if you get to Chateau de Caix - I'm sure we'd all like to see and hear about a first hand experience of the property,

Sun Lion.

Sorry - one more bit of info I meant to post - (getting late here in Sydney and passed my bedtime - getting a bit dopey.)

There is a photo of the patio also in the "Skona Hem" article on Google Images - (type Chateau de Cayx and see Tarlita's blue sofa photo in the top line and enter there.)

Interesting as the photos we see of the Royal Family are usually taken when they're on this patio, and it is quite wide and has a round mosiac table which has a grill in the centre.

Cheers Again, Sun Lion.
 
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Why do royal families have personal properties - in their own countries and abroad? (real state, jewels, works of art). Because they are wise. What would happen if the Danish decide to abolish the monarchy? Frederik should have means to support himself despite eventual compensation offered by the State. The abolisment of the monarchy in Denmark is very much unlikely to happen in our life time but not an impossible event. Royal know much better than us that History repeats itself and that you should not put all your eggs in the same basket.
 
Some Photos of Interior of Chateau de Caix

Hi Again Everyone,

About a year ago I described these photos in a post earlier in this thread.

I've just learnt - !!! - how to scan and attach them.

They were published in a magazine fifteen years ago, that I had put aside for some other reason - now forgotten - and came across when I started a clean out last November.

I thought it should be okay to share them, as there is a thread regarding CP Mary on magazine covers - current magazines.

I know I was interested in the interior of this building when we all saw the summer holiday photos of CP Mary and family, with the twins as little babies, on the outside terrace the year they were born. (This was before I rediscovered this magazine in my cupboard - bit funny to think I had an eight page article, not found until months later.)

This first photo is of the hall. It had been bricked up at some stage, and then rediscovered when the Chateau was restored.

The obelisk on the table is a model of one standing in the grounds that was presented to Prince Henrik on his 60th birthday.

Cheers Sun Lion.

P.S. - I'll be back with more.


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I have spend 3 holidays near the Chateau. It is the most beautiful countryside - it is set in a wide valley of a winding river with high land around it. Truly wonderful place to visit.
 
I have spend 3 holidays near the Chateau. It is the most beautiful countryside - it is set in a wide valley of a winding river with high land around it. Truly wonderful place to visit.

Hi cepe,

I remember a post from you earlier in this thread saying you had been in this area - have you called in yet to buy any wine from the shop there?

Cheers, Sun Lion. :flowers:
 
To be honest, I dont like Cahors wine. I'm sure the fault is mine.
 
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This second photo is of the two-storey great hall with gallery - (see the model ships suspended at the top).

This was the solution to a major ceiling collapse during the restoration - creating the gallery.

Also note the Oriental touches everywhere throughout the different rooms - and the animal hide on the lounge/settee.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

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This third photo is of Prince Henrik's study, which was formerly the kitchen.

The fabrics are French and the furniture is Danish.

The tapestry is by a Danish artist, Agnes Slott-Moller.

(This room also has an animal hide on the floor - to the right in the photo.)

Sun Lion.

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The fifth photo is of one of the bathrooms that were placed in the towers of the Chateau, by the Royal Couple, during the restoration.

The mirror was a gift from Queen Margrethe to Prince Henrik during a trip to the Far East.

Sun Lion.

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The fouth photo is of the "White Room".

The paintings on the wall are by the Queen herself, and the mirror was made by Prince Henrik from an old frame.

Animal hides on the lounge and floor.

(Another photo has Prince Henrik standing on the other side of this room, by the look of it, and the hide on the floor is from a large, fluffy brown bear.)

Sun Lion.

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The wall plaque, in the sixth photo, which was a gift, is placed above the winery, which is built into a cliff below the Chateau.

The text is in Latin and reads - "The Queen and the Prince undertook this restoration thinking of those who lived and built here before".

Sun Lion.

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The seventh photo is of the dining area.

The Queen designed the fabric, incorporating her and Prince Henrik's monograms, and it was then woven in India.

The light fitting seems to be of a crown.

This is the other end of the two-storey great hall, the above second photo.



These Oriental temple vases, candlesticks and censer, in the eighth photo, where among the earliest things the Royal Couple bought together.

The Chinese silk wall hanging has been in the Prince's family for generations.



Miniatures of the Queen, her husband and her two sons hang by this doorway, in the ninth photo



How do you like the creepy crawlies in the tenth photo - the Queen doesn't - they're from Malaysia.

That is an arrow slit, from the olden days of the Chateau, in the wall.

This is in one of the bathrooms.


A piece of furniture the Queen loves, in the eleventh photo.

(I've mis-labelled this photo "Danish Furniture, but it is actually based on a design by an Austrian architect, Joseph Franck.)


And the little "Temple of Love", where the Royal Couple often enjoy their after-dinner coffee, in the moonlight, in the last photo.

(And yes, that is a cannon sitting in the temple. Remember the other cannons we've seen in photos of the terrace. No tresspassing or else!)

Cheers, Sun Lion.

P.S. Being kicked off the computer again by a busy husband, so see you all sometime later. :flowers:
 
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Thank you Sun Lion, that is one very beautiful place to be.
 
the place is beautiful. thank you Sun Lion for sharing
 
Thank you, Sun Lion. :flowers:

Don't be too harsh on yourself, Cepe.
It may not be wholly unjustified that PH's wine in DK is also known as Chateau de Rævepis = Chateau de Fox Piss. :D

To be honest, I dont like Cahors wine. I'm sure the fault is mine.
 
Wonderful photos thank you so much for sharing. We should all have a clean out now & again and hopefully find these sort of treasures. They scanned really well too.
 
So nice to see pictures of the inside............thank you
 
Amazon is already selling the book - for $58.93 - of this lovely looking place.

Prince Henrik must be looking forward to the official presentation on January 8th.

I hope there is an English edition - I'm tempted to get a copy for myself.
 
Just saw this thread with all your great pictures, Sun Lion! :flowers: Lovely. Thank you!
 
I'm sure the new book will have some stunning photography Lady Nimue.

I can only see the French edition for sale at the moment - and I expect there will be a Danish version - but I'm really hoping there will be an edition in English, as these are the sort of books I now buy.

(I have a couple of books showcasing the grand and historical houses of Tasmania - some open to the public, but most privately owned and in the same family for generations.)

There is something about a wonderful building in a wonderful setting that is worthy of being recorded and shared.
 
I'm sure the new book will have some stunning photography Lady Nimue.

I can only see the French edition for sale at the moment - and I expect there will be a Danish version - but I'm really hoping there will be an edition in English, as these are the sort of books I now buy.

(I have a couple of books showcasing the grand and historical houses of Tasmania - some open to the public, but most privately owned and in the same family for generations.)

There is something about a wonderful building in a wonderful setting that is worthy of being recorded and shared.

I know what you mean! :flowers: I feel the same way.
 
Well, it seems like PH is getting older.
Prins Henrik dropper karrieren som vinbonde | Nyheder | DR

The court has announced that PH will lease away the sale and production of wine at Chateau Cayz.
Sale of wine on a souvenir scale will still continue and so will the name of the wine.

This would IMO indicate that PH now feels too old to be more directly involved with the production of wine there and also that none of his children realistically are expected to take over, nor his grandchildren.
PH has a brother nearby who has helped looking after the wine production.
The logic choice to take over the overseeing of the wine production would be Joachim but I guess he has declined.
I feel tempted to speculate more, but that would be pure speculation.

Basically the same thing from BB: http://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelige/danmark/prins-henrik-bortforpagter-cayx
And from BT: http://www.bt.dk/royale/midt-i-krisen-prins-henrik-opgiver-sit-livsvaerk
The group of co-operations PH has leased the production to also involved his father.
 
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Well, it seems like PH is getting older.
Prins Henrik dropper karrieren som vinbonde | Nyheder | DR

The court has announced that PH will lease away the sale and production of wine at Chateau Cayz.
Sale of wine on a souvenir scale will still continue and so will the name of the wine.

This would IMO indicate that PH now feels too old to be more directly involved with the production of wine there and also that none of his children realistically are expected to take over, nor his grandchildren.
PH has a brother nearby who has helped looking after the wine production.
The logic choice to take over the overseeing of the wine production would be Joachim but I guess he has declined.
I feel tempted to speculate more, but that would be pure speculation.

Basically the same thing from BB: Prins Henrik bortforpagter Cayx | Billed Bladet
And from BT: Midt i krisen: Prins Henrik opgiver sit livsværk - Royale | www.bt.dk
The group of co-operations PH has leased the production to also involved his father.

That all makes imminent sense. It will be difficult for Fred & Joachim to manage this from Denmark.
 
A few more details. Opgiver sit livsværk: 'Det har været op ad bakke for Henriks vine' | Opgiver sit livsværk: 'Det har været op ad bakke for Henriks vine' - Royale | www.bt.dk

Now, bear with me. I like a wine once in a while but my knowledge of wine is virtually nonexistent.
According to the article the wines from the Cahors district haven't been commercially successful in recent years. The competition is fierce
And as such a small wine-chateau lik Cayz haven't got the means to go really professional.
By leaving the wine production to a co-operation or rather co-operative it may turn out to be commercially more viable for PH's wine. Even though the grapes may changed for a sort that is easier to sell.
So Ph is now saying goodbye to 40 years of work, albeit on a semi-hobby scale. - So perhaps he needed that break to Venice?
 
I have a feeling that the chateau will be sold in the future...maybe not while Prince Henrik is alive, but eventually!
 
BT has more on Cayz and it's pretty interesting!
Opgiver sit franske vin-paradis: Prinsgemalen laver Joachim-finten | Opgiver sit franske vin-paradis: Prinsgemalen laver Joachim-finten - Danmark | www.bt.dk

The head of the DRF economy, Søren Kruse, speaks out. (Søren Kruse handles the economy of the DRF, and he is the one who has negotiated the lease deal with the French wine production co-operation).

Basically PH has done a Joachim. I.e. build up an estate and then sold off, or in this case leased off, the production part.

And quite remarkably Søren Kruse is pretty open about it: "Without me comparing to Prince Joachim, the Prince Consort has in reality used the same option as with Schackenborg. So one might well inspire the other, without me knowing how much thay have spoken about it between themselves.
But Prince Joachim has also had to realise that when you have obligations elsewhere, it can be difficult to manage. That's why this model is easier.
We are preparing a generation-change, in the sense that when you have an overseer, then you don't have to be hands on every day, nor in the daily production as well as in the sales. That makes it easier for both the Prince Consort and for those or the one, who at some point will take over.
That's why we for a period have discussed what the easiest way to run a wine-production company over a long distance would be".

PH has previously spoken about Frederik inheriting Cayz, because Joachim already had an estate, but now it seems more open who will actually inherit Chateau Cayz. Frederik once he becomes king certainly won't have time to run Cayz as well!

- So will Cayz become a family business? with say a share for each of the grandchildren?
Perhaps with Joachim as manager, because he has the education, the experience and the contacts? - Not to mention that Cayz is close to our Marie's family.
Or will Cayz simply be reduced to a summer residence? With the DRf members having nothing to do at all with the production.
This IMO smells of a Fritz Schur. The businessman Fritz Schur advise the Regent Couple in regards to their personal investments and he is very unsentimental! A typical tactic of his is to build up a business and then sell it, or alternatively, cut a non-viable business loose with minimum costs.
Now, we can always speculate as to why PH decides to lease off the wine production now. Why he doesn't put in Joachim as a manager, but your guesses would be as good as mine.
 
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