Princess Madeleine, Chris O'Neill and Family, General News 2: June 2015 - Sept 2017


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It all seems a bit over the top, Chris is the King's son in law so of course it should have use to the cars from the Royal Mews so long as it doesn't leave a shortage elsewhere.
Not trying to be difficult but there are things that appear worse going on at the Royal Palace with a number of royals having their own companies registered there. Out of everyone I think Chris has probably separated his business links from the Royal Family the most.
 
It all seems a bit over the top, Chris is the King's son in law so of course it should have use to the cars from the Royal Mews so long as it doesn't leave a shortage elsewhere.
Not trying to be difficult but there are things that appear worse going on at the Royal Palace with a number of royals having their own companies registered there. Out of everyone I think Chris has probably separated his business links from the Royal Family the most.

What is the justification for a son-in-law of the king who is not an HRH to use an official car when he is traveling alone on a private business trip ? Is it because of security concerns ? I am afraid the Court's explanation is far from satisfactory.

Changing subjects, do Madeleine and Chris still have a permanent apartment at the Royal Mews ? My understanding was that they had vacated the apartment when they left for London.
 
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It all seems a bit over the top, Chris is the King's son in law so of course it should have use to the cars from the Royal Mews so long as it doesn't leave a shortage elsewhere.
Not trying to be difficult but there are things that appear worse going on at the Royal Palace with a number of royals having their own companies registered there. Out of everyone I think Chris has probably separated his business links from the Royal Family the most.

I think that when it comes to Madeleine and Chris, consistency is one of the main problems, if not the main problem. They often behave in a contadictory manner.
In this case it may be a small thing but Chris has made a point of refusing title and royal treatment and now he is using car service from the Royal Mews.
He should have arranged a private solution for his private business trip.
 
Surely it's not up to Chris to have to explain himself if the King provides him with transportation.

If people have an issue they should go to the 'boss' with their complaints.
 
Sorry but how taxpayers fork out money when the chauffeur gets paid for his working hours no matter whether he drove Chris or someone else or just sitting idle all day long?
There was free car to pick up Chris, so he got a ride. Besides I really doubt that Chris could order the court to send a car to pick him up because he's not the boss. The command must have come from the "boss". But, hey, lets blame Chris for everything. He's the easiest target :sad:
I'm sure Chris ONeill could have had lots of "perks" had he taken a title but he didn't, yet, he supports his wife as much as possible...and only gets flak. I kinda feel sorry for the man.
 
Changing subjects, do Madeleine and Chris still have a permanent apartment at the Royal Mews ? My understanding was that they had vacated the apartment when they left for London.

Yes, Madeleine and Chris have their apartment at the Royal Mews. They stay there when they are in Stockholm.
 
- He is part of the royal family [...] says Margareta Thorgren to Expressen.

Is Ms. Thorgren in error? Christopher O'Neill is not in the listing of members of the Royal House and Royal Family.

Kungafamiljen - Sveriges Kungahus
Royal Family - Sveriges Kungahus

Det Kungl. Huset utgörs av

  • Konung Carl XVI Gustaf (f. 1946)
  • Drottning Silvia (f. 1943)
  • Kronprinsessan Victoria (f. 1977)
  • Prins Daniel (f. 1973)
  • Prinsessan Estelle (f. 2012)
  • Prins Oscar (f. 2016)
  • Prins Carl Philip (f. 1979)
  • Prinsessan Sofia (f. 1984)
  • Prins Alexander (f. 2016)
  • Prinsessan Madeleine (f. 1982), gift med herr Christopher O'Neill (f. 1974)
  • Prinsessan Leonore (f. 2014)
  • Prins Nicolas (f. 2015)
  • Prinsessan Birgitta (f. 1937)
Kungl. Familjen utgörs av Kungl. Huset samt Kungens övriga systrar:

  • Prinsessan Margaretha, Fru Ambler (f. 1934)
  • Prinsessan Désirée, Friherrinna Silfverschiöld (f. 1938)
  • Prinsessan Christina, Fru Magnuson (f. 1943), gift med generalkonsul Tord Magnuson.

    I Kungl. Familjen ingår även
  • Grevinnan Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg (f. 1924)
 
Is Ms. Thorgren in error? Christopher O'Neill is not in the listing of members of the Royal House and Royal Family.[/URL]

Chris isn't a member of the official Royal Family or the Royal House. Yes, Thorgren said that Chris is a part of the Royal Family and married with princess Madeleine. She should have said that Chris is a member of The King's (private) family.
 
Sorry but how taxpayers fork out money when the chauffeur gets paid for his working hours no matter whether he drove Chris or someone else or just sitting idle all day long?
There was free car to pick up Chris, so he got a ride. Besides I really doubt that Chris could order the court to send a car to pick him up because he's not the boss. The command must have come from the "boss". But, hey, lets blame Chris for everything. He's the easiest target :sad:
I'm sure Chris ONeill could have had lots of "perks" had he taken a title but he didn't, yet, he supports his wife as much as possible...and only gets flak. I kinda feel sorry for the man.

So do I. He married a Royal princess, but insisted on maintaining his identity as much as possible. He refused a title for himself and insisted on paying his own way and living as he pleases. For this reason many in the Press seem to resent him, to declare open season him. :sad:
 
Expressen writes that Chris's brother-in-law John Henry d'Abo has helped Wilton Payments in financial troubles.

John Henry d'Abo is the brother-in-law, who saves Chris O'Neill's loss-burdened company, Wilton Payments, from year to year. John Henry d'Abo and O'Neill represent the company together in Britain, but Chris O'Neill controls the company's daily business as a director and is also sole representative of the company's operations in the United States.
In the latest annual account, it is clear that John Henry d'Abo is wholly responsible for funding and the company is dependent on that he continues to pump money into the economically bleeding company. According to the financial statements, Wilton Payments owes to one of d'Abo's wholly owned companies, equivalent to SEK 2.6 million.
"At the end of the year, the company owed 233,370 British pounds to d'Abo Development and Property Management Limited, a company controlled by J H E d'Abo."
The annual account also show promises to continue to cover up the debts:
"Despite a negative balance sheet, members of the Board are satisfied that the company is a running business, due to J H E d'Abo's commitment to continue financing the company. The accounts are therefore made on an ongoing basis."
On the Wilton Payments website, which has been closed for a while, it appears that hotels, shops and restaurants belong to the target group and the company promises: "Our payment management improves cash flow, generates financial reports, forecasts, productivity and customer service."
The information about the Florida branch of the company, a company registered in Palm Beach with Chris O'Neill as sole representative, is scarce. There is no financial statement and the company's business address goes to a law firm in Palm Beach.
The only official office number for Wilton Payments also goes to the United States. There a telephoneist answers that the office is "currently closed" but promises to forward our contact request to John Henry D'Abo and Chris O'Neill. However, none of these have returned for a comment. Expressen has also sought O'Neill through the court where the press director Margareta Thorgren answers on questions about both tax debts and Wilton Payments' financial situation:
- These are questions expressed by Expressen previously and then also explained. Issues relating to private cases are nothing that the court comments on. But so much can I say there are no irregularities and Chris has advisors who handle things properly.
Svågern John Henry D'Abo räddar Chris O'Neills bolag _ Kungligt _ Expressen
Translation

Expressen has also an article about Chris's tax debts
Chris O'Neill has - once again - big tax debts in the United States. Taxes for Florida's luxury house of SEK 354,000 are unpaid, government documents that the Express has taken part show.
A process has been initiated that may end with forced sale if the debts remain unpaid.
Chris O’Neills nya skatteskuld_ 354 000 kronor _ Nyheter _ Expressen
Translation
 
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I feel sorry for Chris. He was a successful hedgefund investor, but had to give that up due to marriage. Running and building a company is quite a different thing than running a hedgefund, hence the financial difficulties of Wilton Payments. IMO, they had a really bad website from the beginning, btw. So bad it would not make an impression on potential customers.
 
fact is that is reflects poorly on the SRF if the son in law does not pay his taxes properly but has no problem using the royal car service for his business appointments in sweden.
when it happened the first time, people said, ok it can happen because tax law can be complicated abroad etc etc but now it has happened a few times, either there is a money problem or chris has really bad tax advisors.
 
Magazines this week:

Hänt i Veckan
Million debts lead to forced sale
Madeleine suffers from Chris's business
Chris O'Neill is going through a desperate battle for the summer house in Florida. Nobody wants to buy the villa and the tax debts are growing.
https://d3ry4o1su9a59w.cloudfront.n...0003c/590928e0e2b2cafb3b015d45/1/432-0004.jpg
https://d3ry4o1su9a59w.cloudfront.n...0003c/590928e0e2b2cafb3b015d45/1/432-0005.jpg

Aftonbladet Klick!
Breaking News
Chris again criticized
Missed to pay taxes - again
Chris O'Neill's debts can end to forced sale of luxury house in Florida.
https://d3ry4o1su9a59w.cloudfront.n...000d4/590ad7f5e2b2cafb3b01614b/1/432-0006.jpg
https://d3ry4o1su9a59w.cloudfront.n...000d4/590ad7f5e2b2cafb3b01614b/1/432-0007.jpg
 
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I feel sorry for Chris. He was a successful hedgefund investor, but had to give that up due to marriage.

Aren't husband of princesses not allowed to run hedge funds? If he was so successful in that, and if he planned to have a private life, then why did he quit that? It was fully his own decision. They even stayed in NYC.. So there is no need to feel sorry. It's not like he sacrificed something for her sake

I mean it's just a bad phase, happens a lot especially in business and finance. Things will brighten up..
 
Aren't husband of princesses not allowed to run hedge funds? If he was so successful in that, and if he planned to have a private life, then why did he quit that? It was fully his own decision. They even stayed in NYC.. So there is no need to feel sorry. It's not like he sacrificed something for her sake

I mean it's just a bad phase, happens a lot especially in business and finance. Things will brighten up..

Either way, it doesn't look good when the press is basically painting Chris as a bankrupt businessman who owes millions in taxes and is about to lose his Florida house. All that press negativity and Chris' financial troubles must be also putting a strain on Chris' and Madeleine's marriage even though she obviously denies it.

Personally, I've always thought that Madeleine rushed to marry Chris at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable. I hope the marriage continues to work out well for them, but they are having to cope with pretty tough circumstances.
 
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Aren't husband of princesses not allowed to run hedge funds? If he was so successful in that, and if he planned to have a private life, then why did he quit that? It was fully his own decision. They even stayed in NYC.. So there is no need to feel sorry. It's not like he sacrificed something for her sake

I mean it's just a bad phase, happens a lot especially in business and finance. Things will brighten up..

There was a lot of articles at the swedish press about Chris working for hedgefund Noster Capital, that Noster Capital had it's base at tax havens like the Cayman Islands.
 
Personally, I've always thought that Madeleine rushed to marry Chris at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable. I hope the marriage continues to work out well for them, but they are having to cope with pretty tough circumstances.

I think the opposite. Chris rushed to marry her. It simply put a lot of strain on him, not getting anything in return. This is what happens when they come from two completely different backgrounds. Defaults, losses are all pretty common in finance and business.They will eventually bounce back.

OTOH, royals behave as holier-than-thou paradigms of virtue, though almost every royal house has its own black sheep doing more than their share of shady deals. The press mostly ignores them (to not to embarrass the monarch etc.), but hounds successful, outspoken in-laws in their bad phase.

No one wins here, papers sell more copies.. Hope they still are tight together.
 
This is what happens when they come from two completely different backgrounds.

And they still are. Chris chose to be a private person (in theory) but is married to a Princess of Sweden and both his children are HRH's. This is an impossible situation to find common ground.
 
And they still are. Chris chose to be a private person (in theory) but is married to a Princess of Sweden and both his children are HRH's. This is an impossible situation to find common ground.

If I may say, I think you make of the titles too much. :flowers: They love each other. They have children. They have a home. They share a life that no one can take from them or intrude upon. Chris has his career. Madeleine has her 'career', which winds up being something called 'being royal'. 'Being royal' is a career that has a job description similar to several career paths, though the difference for Madeleine is that it is a family business, something she was born into, that has a few unique (and possibly unfortunate) wrinkles.

The negative is a very intrusive public imagining stuff. That's what I see.
 
If I may say, I think you make of the titles too much. :flowers: They love each other. They have children. They have a home. They share a life that no one can take from them or intrude upon. Chris has his career. Madeleine has her 'career', which winds up being something called 'being royal'. 'Being royal' is a career that has a job description similar to several career paths, though the difference for Madeleine is that it is a family business, something she was born into, that has a few unique (and possibly unfortunate) wrinkles.

The negative is a very intrusive public imagining stuff. That's what I see.

I meant it in the way that three of the family are public figures and the one who is not cannot escape the usual negative implications of being a public figure with - on the one hand - enormous privileges, eg press intrusion, scrutiny, slander.

IMO the court does nothing to defend Chris, probably because he chose to remain a private person.
 
IMO the court does nothing to defend Chris, probably because he chose to remain a private person.

Margareta Thorgren said to Expressen about the financial troubles of Chris's company "Issues relating to private cases are nothing that the court comments on. But so much can I say there are no irregularities and Chris has advisors who handle things properly." I think there is some defending at that statement.

What more the court can do? Especially if all the articles are telling the truth? Chris could do himself, his family, the royal family and the royal court a lot of good if he would pay his taxes in time. Because the press wrote about his unpaid taxes when it happened for the first time, Chris should know, that the press keeps constantly eye on his taxes and businesses.
 
thanks but in this case the court gives a statement that is obviously not true (if Chris had advisors who know what they are doing he would not owe taxes, again), in this case it would be more clever not to comment at all.
Taxes are a hot topic and if Chris moves from one loophole to another it might not be the best tactic.
I think there are other issues with slander apart from taxes where the court could have put a foot down as it did with Sofia (I don't want to get off topic with her past) but she's a Princess of Sweden.
 
I think there are other issues with slander apart from taxes where the court could have put a foot down as it did with Sofia (I don't want to get off topic with her past) but she's a Princess of Sweden.


What are the other issues?
 
What are the other issues?

for example the constant speculation about the state of the marriage, suggesting that Chris is broke, rude and has a problem with alcohol, aggressive paparazzi.

but on the other hand, very often the court that proven as incompetent, causing more damage when commenting as when not commenting.
 
I think people also need to bear in mind that CP and Sofia engaged their own PR people who probably did most of the 'hitting back' for them that people now expect the Royal Court to do for Chris and Madde.

In some way the most simple thing would be for Chris to get a job with a financial company in London and thus take a salary which could have taxes deducted in the usual way, from source. However thats obviously not what Chris wants for his career and may not even solve all the problems in the first place.
 
I think people also need to bear in mind that CP and Sofia engaged their own PR people who probably did most of the 'hitting back' for them that people now expect the Royal Court to do for Chris and Madde.

In some way the most simple thing would be for Chris to get a job with a financial company in London and thus take a salary which could have taxes deducted in the usual way, from source. However thats obviously not what Chris wants for his career and may not even solve all the problems in the first place.

Christina Saliba and her PR-agency was hired by the court to help Carl Philip with the scandal with his designs and did a great job with that. Saliba doesn't work for the court and Carl Philip's and Sofia's PR anymore, it ended in January 2016. Saliba still takes care of Bernadotte & Kylberg's PR, and has helped Project Playground.
 
for example the constant speculation about the state of the marriage, suggesting that Chris is broke, rude and has a problem with alcohol, aggressive paparazzi.

but on the other hand, very often the court that proven as incompetent, causing more damage when commenting as when not commenting.

But what if there is something to these other issues? The court actually went to bat for Chris over the tax issue and you dismissed their action stating that "the court gives a statement that is obviously not true" and said it would have been better for them to not comment at all. I am not trying to put you on the spot and I definitely feel that the media can blow things totally out of proportion and/or use dubious sources but I can believe that he has been in public places and had too much to drink and became rude and boisterous, again the actual events may have been tamer than what was represented but I don't believe that he was out in a restaurant or pub behaving quietly and soberly and someone assigned completely different behavior to him. By the way I was someone who thought the drink off with Madeleine's former fiance was more amusing than anything.

Chris encountered an aggressive paparazzi and reacted strongly, that was a few years ago but it happened.

The allegations about his finances and marriage can go either way. Tabloids do like to report that marriages are in trouble based on the flimsiest evidence, same with a public figure being in financial trouble. Sometimes it's a cyclical thing that gets blown out of proportion and sometimes it does fall under, "where there's smoke there's fire." For things like that my response is "time will tell".

I see why the SRF's press relations team is seen as not always getting it right, but I don't think that their credibility will be strengthened if they start responding to articles, especially articles in Stoppa Pressarna and the like.
 
My point was that the court did step in either by commenting or hiring PR for other family members. But I don't want to blame it on the court.

What I do think is that Chris & Madeleine are in need of serious PR handlers, not only because of Chris' tax problem but also of his rude or drunk image (true or not). Their PR has been badly handled from the start and still is being handled badly or they are immune to professional advice.
 
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