Costs, Income, Fortune and Expenditures of the Danish RF

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Madame Royale

It does seem that way, and why?

Much talk is made of Mary's wardrobe yet if you look at Maxima's for example, her wardrobe is stacked to high heaven with designer clothing, and much of the time wears a new hat for almost every occasion (Note: I do quite like Maxima and am not speaking poorly of her).


And the undisputed reigning Queen (literally) of fashion, Queen Rania, is not chastised as vigorously as is Mary. If you go through the Queen Rania evening gown threads you will notice how almost everything worn by Her Majesty has been worn only once thus far.

I couldn't agree more Madame Royale IMO Mary could be 'forgiven' for having roughly the same wardrobe as her fellow princesses if only she would have the decency to look like crap in it! Then her adversaries could focus on the numerous ways she re-uses her wardrobe and criticise her for that. Instead she looks elegant and is good at combining her wardrobe pieces in news ways - an unforgivable crime

As to Rania... well, judging from the pictures of her wardrobe - and combining this with the criticism such a wardrobe would trigger had it been e.g. Mette-Marit or - God forbid - Mary! - I must conclude that Rania is the queen of a country which is so rich, stable and economically well-balanced for all that it's citizens must be in a state of near-permanent bless! Otherwise some of Mary's most vocal opponents in the dress department would surely comment on Rania - wouldn't they?

[highpriestess]

Originally Posted by Madame Royale

It does seem that way, and why?

Much talk is made of Mary's wardrobe yet if you look at Maxima's for example, her wardrobe is stacked to high heaven with designer clothing, and much of the time wears a new hat for almost every occasion (Note: I do quite like Maxima and am not speaking poorly of her).


And the undisputed reigning Queen (literally) of fashion, Queen Rania, is not chastised as vigorously as is Mary. If you go through the Queen Rania evening gown threads you will notice how almost everything worn by Her Majesty has been worn only once thus far.

Dutch RF is known to be one of the wealthiest among royals. Rania did get flaks for spending so much on wardrobe in Royal Blue, but this is Mary's forum, isn't it? So why drag other royals into this?

[Madame Royale]

Rania did get flaks for spending so much on wardrobe in Royal Blue

I wouldn't know, I wasn't part of a forum which boasted a malicious reputation.

...but this is Mary's forum, isn't it? So why drag other royals into this?

Yes, last time I 'checked' it was a thread dedicated to Mary. Though in correlation with my point, and addressing the often clear prejudice which takes place amongst such a discussion, I found it pertinent to highlight the argument as not a singular, but collective issue which involves not one, but most European Crown Princesses and even a Queen. If you care to taint one with the brush of frivolity then you (genercially speaking) cannot disassociate one from the other because to do so is particularly foolish and without justification. They all own large amounts of designer clothing and they all spend their government approved remunerations.

[Marengo]

The posts in the thread ´Mary on Magazine covers´ that discuss Mary´s supposed clothing expenses have been moved to a new thread. In this thread ´Costs, Income, Fortune and Expenditures of the Danish RF´ we can discuss all the financial issues concerning the Danish Royal Family.

[Jia]

Originally Posted by highpriestess

But a Danish crown princess doesn't have the drawing power a Hollywood star has. She may be valuable for Danish designers, but international designers such as Prada? I'm not sure. Maxima paid for her Valentino gowns. Why would Prada give something to Mary for free when her name recognition is very limited on the world stage? Plus, royals belong to the small group of people who actually can afford haute culture. If top designers give clothes to these people for free, where do they make money from? BTW, most top designers who give stars gowns to wear for the Oscar actually ask for the gowns back after the show. It's a "loan", not a free gift.

Plus, it's okay for Hollywood actors/actresses to act greedy. Is it really acceptable for royals to accept freebies when they are already on taxpayers' dime? Nancy Reagan's accepting free gowns from designers caused a scandal in the US. Aren't royals in the same boat? Royals, and politians' wives, are held to a higher standard than actresses.

It's true that a Danish crown princess doesn't have the same promoting power as Hollywood stars.
But I want to make it clear that celebrities from other parts of the world, who are usually famous only in their native lands, also get free gifts and loan gowns for free from the top-notch designers like Prada, Valentino or whoever.
Those usually come from the local representatives of the brands, not straight from the designers.
Well, those representatives work to promote and sell the stuffs within a country where Hollywood stars are not THE most popular.

But I agree with you on that these designers make profts majorly from a very small group of people on the top, so they may not want to gift free stuffs too often.

To come back to Mary, I agree with many of you that she dresses very well, but as a tax-receiver, she should be little more careful I think.

[GlitteringTiaras]

The Summary for the Danish Annual Report 2007 is now available. Click here to read it. Yes, there are images within the PDF in case you were wondering.

[beanfoster]

This is my first post so I apologize in advance if this question has already been answered but I was wondering where the the Danish royal family falls as far as wealth among the european monarchies?

[Victoria1999]

Originally Posted by beanfoster

This is my first post so I apologize in advance if this question has already been answered but I was wondering where the the Danish royal family falls as far as wealth among the european monarchies?

I just came back from Denmark where I went to a lot of museums, castles and so on related to to the royal family (including seeing the whole family) and I was told when I visited the royal reception rooms that the family is not rich at all. They are one of the poorest among the royal families in Europe.

[Villemann]

Aha, the royal finances! It is impossbile for the Danes to get ANY clue as to how rich or poor the Danish Royal Family is. The Danish taxpayer foots the bill, but is not allowed access to the royal accounts. Why the secrecy?

[Marengo]

Well, isn't their own fortune their own business? AFAIK the private finances are private for everybody, so also for royals.
Their dotation from the state is known I believe, and the court has an annual report. At least that is said here in my country, where parlament uses the Danish (and Norwegian) monarchy as an example for clear finances (and they push the Prime Minister to do the same here).

[auntie]

Originally Posted by UserDane

I couldn't agree more Madame Royale IMO Mary could be 'forgiven' for having roughly the same wardrobe as her fellow princesses if only she would have the decency to look like crap in it! Then her adversaries could focus on the numerous ways she re-uses her wardrobe and criticise her for that. Instead she looks elegant and is good at combining her wardrobe pieces in news ways - an unforgivable crime

As to Rania... well, judging from the pictures of her wardrobe - and combining this with the criticism such a wardrobe would trigger had it been e.g. Mette-Marit or - God forbid - Mary! - I must conclude that Rania is the queen of a country which is so rich, stable and economically well-balanced for all that it's citizens must be in a state of near-permanent bless! Otherwise some of Mary's most vocal opponents in the dress department would surely comment on Rania - wouldn't they?

I hear what you are saying, and am amused by your sense of humour. One thing that I am aware of since joining TRF is that Mary seems to attract alot of criticsm (incl my own) as she seems so unnatrual and always tries to better others. And that is why Maxima and Rania get away with it as they are not percieved by the public in the same way. It could all be rubbish, and Mary is probably a wonderful person, yet even looking at a clip of her from news yesterday, there seems to be something very fake about her manner. The only time she revealed her proper self was when she spoke about her late mother on the pre wedding documentary. Maxima, Rania, Mette Marit all have something refreshing about their manner, so they get bashed less!

[Tricota]

Originally Posted by Victoria1999

I just came back from Denmark where I went to a lot of museums, castles and so on related to to the royal family (including seeing the whole family) and I was told when I visited the royal reception rooms that the family is not rich at all. They are one of the poorest among the royal families in Europe.

Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that the Queens personal fortune is somthing like 15 million Danish Kroner (about 2 million euros)

They dont really that much in tearms of houses or palaces, Marselisborg and Château de Cayx being the only once, and they really are not that rich in tearms of fortune.

[Villemann]

Originally Posted by Tricota

Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that the Queens personal fortune is somthing like 15 million Danish Kroner (about 2 million euros)

They dont really that much in tearms of houses or palaces, Marselisborg and Château de Cayx being the only once, and they really are not that rich in tearms of fortune.

Well, we don't really know, do we? I am in favour of far more transparency, when it comes to royal finances. Not to pry, but to get a fair picture of what a monarchy costs and how best to spend the money. If we had transparent royal account maybe we could also get rid of also those wealthy parasites, who pay for access to the Danish Royal Family?

[Villemann]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Well, isn't their own fortune their own business? AFAIK the private finances are private for everybody, so also for royals.
Their dotation from the state is known I believe, and the court has an annual report. At least that is said here in my country, where parlament uses the Danish (and Norwegian) monarchy as an example for clear finances (and they push the Prime Minister to do the same here).

We could let their personal fortune be their own business by clearly SEPARATING their civil list annuities from ther personal expenditures, BUT as you will se in the annual report from the palace in Copenhagen, there is a post devoted to "personal expenditure." The palace is clearly not making that differentiation. I am shocked to hear that your parliament uses ours royal finances as a example to be upheld. The perception is that the Danish monarchy is SO modern. It is far from the truth. Actually our recent monarch and her family is further removed from their people than the family was a generation ago...but thats a discussion for another thread!

[Tricota]

Originally Posted by Villemann

Well, we don't really know, do we? I am in favour of far more transparency, when it comes to royal finances. Not to pry, but to get a fair picture of what a monarchy costs and how best to spend the money. If we had transparent royal account maybe we could also get rid of also those wealthy parasites, who pay for access to the Danish Royal Family?

Whatever they get from the state is already public, so I dont know what more you want. We are talking about their personal fortune, and that is private, just like it is for everyone else.

As for those who pay to get acces; it has always been that way and always will be. Without the contribution of private and corporate money, it would be much more expensive for the state. I honestly have never understud what the problem is with that. Even the royal family knows that too much of that, may leed to criticism and newspaper articles, mainly from those who both believe the cost for the state is too high, and that they should not reseve any favors from companies...

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by auntie

I hear what you are saying, and am amused by your sense of humour. One thing that I am aware of since joining TRF is that Mary seems to attract alot of criticsm (incl my own) as she seems so unnatrual and always tries to better others. And that is why Maxima and Rania get away with it as they are not percieved by the public in the same way. It could all be rubbish, and Mary is probably a wonderful person, yet even looking at a clip of her from news yesterday, there seems to be something very fake about her manner. The only time she revealed her proper self was when she spoke about her late mother on the pre wedding documentary. Maxima, Rania, Mette Marit all have something refreshing about their manner, so they get bashed less!

I tend to disagree with you about Mary. I don't think that she is fake in her manner in any way -- in fact I can sympathize with her nature as held that same "quietness" in public when I was young. It was not false; just not flamboyant and attention seeking. Didn't need it. Clothes and looks did it quietly and got the same results without ourwardly trying. It is her personality and nature (quite different from her M-I-L in looks and dress) so I think she is just going to be fine. She is still feeling her way in a strange country, remember. I am living in a different section of the USA from my origions and still can't adapt to all their odd customs here! I hope that she doesn't change just because others find her too "quiet and reserved" for their taste. Believe me, in the long run, her decorum will shine through -- just like the class that Queen Elizabeth II did when she was young and people thought she should "loosen up a bit like Margaret" -- how wrong they all were!