MargreteI said:
The Queen is out of the country, so how do you explain that Prince Joachim is Regnency. Hey where is Frederik ?
Umm, I don't know what you mean, but I guess I'll explain the regency in a nutshell. There is are two explanation as to why a regent would be appointed. First, (this hasn't happened for a long time in Europe, and not for at least a century or more in England), when a king or other ruling monarch dies, and the person next in line to the throne is underage, often under eightteen or sixteen, too young to assume the responsibilities of the crown, a regent may be apppointed. The regent is often the heir's mother (if he is the son of the late king) or a brother or other close relative of the late king. He/she helps fufill some of the duties while the heir grows.
The kind of regency you are talking about is a more ceremonial regency, one that is often used today. In many of the world's monarchies, there are rules that the monarch and his/her son/daughter, the crown prince(ss) cannot be outside of the country at the same time. Whenever the King or Ruling Queen is outside the country, or is for any reason unable to fufill their duties, they often appoint a regent. This regent is usually ceremonial, (when the monarch is traveling) and serves for assurance, if, for example, a national disaster occured, the regent would be in the country and would be able to deal with the problem while the monarch is unavailable. They can also preform ceremonial duties or visits. For example, if King Juan Carlos had been out of the country during the Madrid terrorist attacks, Felipe would have stepped up and started the country's response, internally and publically. If both King JC and CP Felipe were out of the country (which doesn't happen, as Spain has laws against that), Elena would do that, then Cristina. In Denmark, which does permit both Q Margrethe and CP Frederik to leave the country at the same time, if Q Margrethe is out of the country, Frederik takes regency. If they are both away, it then goes to Joachim, which is what is happening here. One of the three is almost always in the country. I can only think of one occasion in recent history when that was not true, which was the night before CP Haakon's wedding, when Joachim was attending the two days events prior to the wedding, Fred was best man and there all week, and Margrethe arrived the day before. Joachim and Alexandra then had to leave and return to Denmark that night, not staying for the wedding. I'm not sure the precedent on that, but I don't recall that they declared a regent. I don't think it could have gone to princess Benidicte, or her other sisters, but I could be wrong. This type of regency can also be declared for health reasons. HM King Harold V of Norway declared his son CP Haakon as regent for several months a year or two ago (after IA was born, before or right around the birth of SM), while he recovered from serious health problems. Many times before surgery, power is transfered for the duration of the surgery, for example, and I'm almost positive that Margrethe has done this before. That's the rambling explanation of regents, so...yeah...
MargreteI said:
Anyway they are not rockstars so playing hide and seek is not very regal in the first place.
No, but they are real people, who are on vacation. Mary is/was a normal girl who happened to fall in love with a famous and important man. Her family is a regular family, who doesn't get to see it's beloved sister/daughter/aunt very often, and has never met her son. Margrethe and Joachim are able to see their grandson/nephew often and in normal, homelike situations, and it is only fair that her family gets the same chance. Sure, Maxima had a small photoshoot in Argentina when she took her little girls there, but then the press left them alone. Why can't Mary and Fred have the same?
My favorite is when a member of the press asked Fred if he felt like one of the animals (in the zoo), and then Mary said that they (the press) were the ones behind the fence!
I hope they can enjoy their trip anyway.
