Relationship between Mary and Alexandra

[Liva]

Originally Posted by Alexandria

Alexandra actually faced some racisim because of her heritage and background. Even though weddings are always exciting, Alexandra was not so completely and warmly welcomed by the Danish people because she would be marrying into the royal family.

Even though Alexandra is greatly appreciated and loved by the Danes now, when her engagement to Joachim was first announced, the fact that she would be the first woman of Asian blood to marry into the Danish royal family was a very big deal.

Really. I did not see or hear anything about that. I remember that there was only positive comments about her in the media.. Do you have any links that shows the problems you are referring to. I remember people, including myself was very fascinated by her and very impressed by the fact that she learned danish so fast. She was the darling in the media, as I remember it:) I cant imagine that I would have missed it, if it was as you say, "a very big deal" that she was marrying into the royal family. Even the hardcore editor-in-chief of se and hør has called her one of the best in the royal family and an exemplary/ideal princess..

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by melissajames

BTW, do you think Princess Angela has to face a lot problems too?

As she only spends one day a year in Liechtenstein, I think that she has less problems with it, although I do not know what the attitude of people in NYC is...

[Alexandria]

Originally Posted by pollyemma

well, Claire Coombs is usually referred to as a "british born belgian."

Just as Mary is referred to as the Danish-born crown princess or Maxima as Argentinian-born.

The issue for me is the added reference that Alexandra is Asian. To identify in which country she was born is no big deal -- it is a fact that is undisputable.

The implication that Alexandra is "a British-born Asian" implies (to me) that:
1) Asians are not commonly born in Britain and that to some extent Asians are an anamoly in Britain, making the fact that Alexandra, someone of Asian descent, a rareity.
2) It's required to identify Alexandra as being of Asian descent from all the other British-born individuals who are not Asian. How often do you hear someone say that someone is British-born but of Canadian/Indian/French/Mexican descent? Nobody says that Claire is a British-born Belgian princess of Scottish descent. (I don't know if that is the case; I am just making it up as an example.)

It can be deemed (and to me is) a subliminal racial comment.

[eireann]

I don´t know a lot of the facts about Alexandra so apologies if I´m wrong on some things. To my knowledge, one of her parents is Asian, or part-Asian? And so I think the statement that she is Asian is just stating the obvious (no racial intent)...eg. if a European married into the Japanese RF I´m sure there would be references to their origins, just like there is for Rania...As for the "British-born" part, IMO the British media are always happy to find a way to link Britain to those people who have achieved more than your average joe. For me the comment is not racial...it is an expression of pride...one hears often of the problems of integration of some Asians into a different society..isn´t it nice to hear something positive for a change...someone who has made a huge success of her life? If the British or other press want to make her into a positive role model by emphasising her background, what´s wrong with that?

[pollyemma]

Originally Posted by eireann

As for the "British-born" part, IMO the British media are always happy to find a way to link Britain to those people who have achieved more than your average joe. ?

I agree. those brits are so self obssesed. they're always looking to claim some succesful person for themselves

[melissajames]

Originally Posted by Alexandria

Just as Mary is referred to as the Danish-born crown princess or Maxima as Argentinian-born.

The issue for me is the added reference that Alexandra is Asian. To identify in which country she was born is no big deal -- it is a fact that is undisputable.

The implication that Alexandra is "a British-born Asian" implies (to me) that:
1) Asians are not commonly born in Britain and that to some extent Asians are an anamoly in Britain, making the fact that Alexandra, someone of Asian descent, a rareity.
2) It's required to identify Alexandra as being of Asian descent from all the other British-born individuals who are not Asian. How often do you hear someone say that someone is British-born but of Canadian/Indian/French/Mexican descent? Nobody says that Claire is a British-born Belgian princess of Scottish descent. (I don't know if that is the case; I am just making it up as an example.)

It can be deemed (and to me is) a subliminal racial comment.

Thank you! That is my point exactly!

Why is it necessary to called her 'Asian'? She is not Asian!

What's wrong with just 'British born princess' or 'hong kong born princess'? No one has ever called Mary 'an Australian born Scott' which is what she is actually. So why add racial implications???

And I am so sick of all these little comments about her race.

Going back to what I said already, if hypothetically speaking she was 1/4 Austrian instead of 1/4 Chinese, no one would ever call her an 'Austrian lady'.

But in reality she is only 1/4 Chinese, people feel they have the need to emphasis in their ignorant little minds that this incredible woman is "Asian", therefore hinting that she is lower down then the rest of Europe who are 100% white.

What a load of rubbish!!! I would have thought that Europeans would learn to be more tolerant after enduring 2 world wars.

[melissajames]

Originally Posted by pollyemma

I agree. those brits are so self obssesed. they're always looking to claim some succesful person for themselves

hehe! That is true.

They (Hello Mag) claims that Alex is "British born" because she was born when HK was a British colony.

Ironically, these 'British born' HK citizens have no right to live in the UK!

Totally utterly ridiculous!!!

[pollyemma]

Originally Posted by melissajames

hehe! That is true.

They (Hello Mag) claims that Alex is "British born" because she was born when HK was a British colony.
Ironically, these 'British born' HK citizens have no right to live in the UK!
Totally utterly ridiculous!!!

indeed! though i've heard english is her first language...

[melissajames]

Originally Posted by pollyemma

indeed! though i've heard english is her first language...

Yes it is.

It is more common for children of multi-national backgrounds to attend international schools then local Chinese schools in HK.

English is also the 2nd language there, most educated people with good careers can speak English quite well so it made a lot of sense for her parents to choose this as her mother tongue.

[Mandy]

Originally Posted by Alexandria

Alexandra actually faced some racisim because of her heritage and background. Even though weddings are always exciting, Alexandra was not so completely and warmly welcomed by the Danish people because she would be marrying into the royal family.

Even though Alexandra is greatly appreciated and loved by the Danes now, when her engagement to Joachim was first announced, the fact that she would be the first woman of Asian blood to marry into the Danish royal family was a very big deal.

She had it easier than Mary in some respects that she was marrying the second brother and would not have to be queen one day, but facing racist comments and comments about how you're not "good enough" because you are of a mixed/Asian background can't compensate for marrying "only" the second in line to the throne.

Alexandria, I found this post written by H.M. Margrethe regarding the racism faced by Alexandra and her family during the early years in Denmark.

Princess Alexandra, Current Events 2: May 2005 - April 2006

[melissajames]

Originally Posted by Mandy

Alexandria, I found this post written by H.M. Margrethe regarding the racism faced by Alexandra and her family during the early years in Denmark.

Princess Alexandra, Current Events 2: May 2005 - April 2006

I think Alex has been extremely lucky that the Queen and the immediate family seemed to have been so supportive of her.

Fred seems to be quite close to Alex, esp before he got married and had a baby

The Queen seems to be proud of Alex and have been generous to her in the divorce and not assigning any blame during the divorce (at least not in public)

[pollyemma]

Originally Posted by melissajames

I think Alex has been extremely lucky that the Queen and the immediate family seemed to have been so supportive of her.
Fred seems to be quite close to Alex, esp before he got married and had a baby
The Queen seems to be proud of Alex and have been generous to her in the divorce and not assigning any blame during the divorce (at least not in public)

absolutely, even if there were some fringe groups against her because of her race she has always had the royal family behind her 100% and she has proven herself completely worthy of their trust.

[Avalon]

That's great her family is so supportive. And I think Alexandra will always be part of the Royal Family, even in spite of the divorce. I alwayes admired greatly the way she handled her divorce. Just a quiet separation and she will be princess of Danes even if she will marry someone else (maybe not by title but in hearts).

[royaltywatcher]

I think people mention Princess Alexandra's 1/4 Asian ancestry not so much because they believe she is less than a person that appears to be 100% Caucasian, but because she has an Eurasian beauty that makes her seem exotic in the context of a European royal family. People like that she is unusual in that respect (as well as in others) so it comes up a lot. No one is going to bring up a person's 1/4 Austrian ancestry, because in Europe, that is ordinary and who would care?

And, of course, Mary's Austrailian/Scots background does come up a lot, too. Let's face it, when you marry into a royal family, people are very very interested in where you came from, in the immediate sense and in the dynastic sense.

[bbb]

Originally Posted by melissajames

hehe! That is true.

They (Hello Mag) claims that Alex is "British born" because she was born when HK was a British colony.

Ironically, these 'British born' HK citizens have no right to live in the UK!

Totally utterly ridiculous!!!

i'm with you, that's just stupid!!!
PA is so classy and above labels- i'm sure she's proud of her heritage and loves all aspects of her parents and family (as she should). Its the small minded who have to put individuals in their assigned "boxes", so i'm not surprised the DRF love and respect PA and supported her from the beginning.

i think the correct lable should be "gracious hong-kong born princess"

[BeatrixFan]

Technically, anyone born in the colonies at the time of British rule is British because they were born on British soil. However, when the Empire was breaking up, it was clear that people who no longer wanted to be British subjects were still claiming that they had a right to live in the UK. Margaret Thatcher put a stop to it in the 80s. She said that if the colonies wanted to be independant then they could truly go it alone and wouldn't be entitled to residency here in Britain. It applies to Princess Alexandra in that she was born in British Hong Kong and so is by birth British, but because of HK's independance she doesn't have a right to live here. Strangely, this also applies to Australians and Canadians.

[Daneborn]

Originally Posted by bbb

i'm with you, that's just stupid!!!
PA is so classy and above labels- i'm sure she's proud of her heritage and loves all aspects of her parents and family (as she should). Its the small minded who have to put individuals in their assigned "boxes", so i'm not surprised the DRF love and respect PA and supported her from the beginning.

i think the correct lable should be "gracious hong-kong born princess"

''Hong Kong born princess'' will do nicely.

gracious is a word with a value.

it's not neutral, and not everyone will agree.

[Sira]

Seeing prictures of Princess Alexandra makes me say that her divorce is such a pity. Fortunately, the DRF do always consider her as a part of their family.

[bbb]

just so my intent is clear this is the definition in my english dictionary

gra'cious(adj) kindly; courteous, charming, attractive

but hong kong born princess will do nicely i agree.

[politikgirl]

Originally Posted by Sira

Seeing prictures of Princess Alexandra makes me say that her divorce is such a pity. Fortunately, the DRF do always consider her as a part of their family.

Agreed. I hate to compare them, but Joaquin's new girlfriend Marie just doesn't seem right after Alexandra.