Marie: Possible Future Challenges and/or Successes as Princess of Denmark.

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Charlotte1

Even Queen Margrethe isn't a fulltime royal in that she also is able to work as a stage designer and artist, compare her number of public engagements with QEII, Juan Carlos or Emperor Akihito who carried out 1000 last year.

That is a weird statement - not a full-time royal? How did you arrive at that conclusion? Her artistic activities? If she prefers to do stage design, paintings and translations instead of gardening, reading, pursuing interests in horses or whatever other royals do, how does that make her less of a full-time royal?

Originally Posted by Charlotte1

Population wise Denmark is smaller than Norway .....

.

That is not correct. Norway has population of 4.4m (Europæiske lande - Norge) whereas the Danish population is 5.4m (Europæiske lande - Danmark).

[BurberryBrit]

I don't know how well Marie will do to be honest. The videos that I've seen of her show her being somewhat flippant to the press. I think she definitely likes the idea of being a princess but not necessarily the hard work. As we have discovered from her past, Marie did not have a history of having a career (and perhaps not even a degree). I know she worked for her stepfather, but we don't truly know in what capacity and how extensive her duties were. Was she simply answering the phones or was she dealing with corporate real estate?

The degree and job issue might show that Marie may have issues with seeing a post all the way through. One thing Mary had going for her was her work ethic. She clearly had high goals and was working towards them and she came into the role with a notion to work hard. What I'm hearing from Marie is she wants to rest after becoming a princess and figure things out. I don't hear the same willingness to jump right in and prove herself.

[marmi]

This is all very interesting. I agree that "Once a royal, always a royal." The amount of time your royal duties take up is a different matter. I also feel that the reality is that we will never fully know the amount of time and effort the royals (of all countries) put into their duties - how can we possibly know how much preperation they personally put into their engagements and how much an aide (employee) does? How can we know about any "unofficial" visits, meetings etc are attended?

I'm going to allow myself to get slightly further off topic here, and note that many of the Danish royals' "hobbies" and very public, Margrethe's have already been discussed here, and Frederik's sailing elsewhere on the forum.

What I hope will happen is that Marie will take on a small number of patronages, work for and with them for a period while she masters the language and culture, history etc, then gradually take on more patronages (and thus public engagements) (which I think is similar to what others have already done???)

[pamk]

Originally Posted by BurberryBrit

I don't know how well Marie will do to be honest. The videos that I've seen of her show her being somewhat flippant to the press. I think she definitely likes the idea of being a princess but not necessarily the hard work. As we have discovered from her past, Marie did not have a history of having a career (and perhaps not even a degree). I know she worked for her stepfather, but we don't truly know in what capacity and how extensive her duties were. Was she simply answering the phones or was she dealing with corporate real estate?

The degree and job issue might show that Marie may have issues with seeing a post all the way through. One thing Mary had going for her was her work ethic. She clearly had high goals and was working towards them and she came into the role with a notion to work hard. What I'm hearing from Marie is she wants to rest after becoming a princess and figure things out. I don't hear the same willingness to jump right in and prove herself.

Good points!
Four years ago, Mary was so scrutinized leading up to her wedding. Her wardrobe, her hair, her jewels, - I don't know how she withstood the pressure! In 4 years, she has given birth to two children plus seemingly fulfilled her Princess duties. She has also tackled the Danish language and she seems to speak it rather well.
In this day and age, there are so many programs offered to learn a foreign language. The best way is "sink or swim" - she should be spoken to only in Danish while in Denmark. I hope that Joachim tries to speak to her in Danish. She should have a private tutor - whether she is living in Copenhagen or Geneva or wherever. Purchase a good language course on CDs and listen to them night and day. At least make an effort!
At this rate she is not even going to understand the marriage ceremony - can she say her wedding vows in Danish?
Again, I say that she better get her act together or the criticism will surely follow very soon after the wedding.

[princess gertrude]

Originally Posted by BurberryBrit

I don't know how well Marie will do to be honest. The videos that I've seen of her show her being somewhat flippant to the press. I think she definitely likes the idea of being a princess but not necessarily the hard work. As we have discovered from her past, Marie did not have a history of having a career (and perhaps not even a degree). I know she worked for her stepfather, but we don't truly know in what capacity and how extensive her duties were. Was she simply answering the phones or was she dealing with corporate real estate?

The degree and job issue might show that Marie may have issues with seeing a post all the way through. One thing Mary had going for her was her work ethic. She clearly had high goals and was working towards them and she came into the role with a notion to work hard. What I'm hearing from Marie is she wants to rest after becoming a princess and figure things out. I don't hear the same willingness to jump right in and prove herself.

BRAVO! I couldn't have said it better myself and couldn't agree with you more whole-heartedly!

[norwegianne]

Originally Posted by UserDane

That is not correct. Norway has population of 4.4m (Europæiske lande - Norge) whereas the Danish population is 5.4m (Europæiske lande - Danmark).

The Norwegian population actually counted 4.7 m in January 2008. Slowly inching in on Denmark.

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by norwegianne

The Norwegian population actually counted 4.7 m in January 2008. Slowly inching in on Denmark.

Oh my, the Norwegians have been active lately - you need more television sets instead

[Polly]

As an Australian, I remember, full-well, the vituperative criticisms levelled at CP Mary when she married CP Frederik, some of which were, in my opinion, bordering on sheer spite. Most, I felt, were unjustified and decidely intolerant. Time has shown that Denmark's Crown Princess has embraced her role, her royal duty, and, in short, has acquitted herself very well indeed.

Because of this, I'm more than sympathetic to Marie. Unlike CP Mary, Marie is 'replacing' a much-admired ex-wife and princess, a hard act to follow in any fair minded person's opinion.

Marie, I think, deserves space, understanding and ecouragement and not so much criticism.

[ricarda]

I agree with your last sentence.

But I actually do not agree with what you said before.
Is Alexandra really considered such a hard act to follow nowadays (apart from the language department)? Is she still that much admired in DK?
I think Alexandra nowadays is a well respected person but she is no longer seen as the "perfect princess" Mary was constantly compared with.

I think most of the Danes do not exspect more of Marie than to make Joachim happy (which Alexandra obviously did not - no hard act to follow ), to behave well mannered and look nice and to show interest in her new country (and perhaps to give birth to 1 or 2 more princesses ). In fact I don't think that Joachim (or the Danish taxpayers) would want another ambitious wife who can't stand life in Schackenborg and doesn't share Joachim's interest.

I don't think anyone but scandal mags and trashy newspapers exspect Marie to follow in Mary's or Alexandra's footsteps. Mary is the crownprincess and future queen and Alexandra's marriage ended up in divorce.
But I do think it is exspected that she shows as much interest in her new country and language as Mary and Alexandra did.

[GlitteringTiaras]

Let me reiterate one thing: This is a discussion forum. People are allowed to voice their opinions, including constructive criticism with supported legitimate evidence, even if it differs vastly from your own.

The long undeited version of the engagement press conference. Very telling, very uncomfortable at times, and very different from the edited version we first saw back in October. Enjoy!

[royaltywatcher]

Originally Posted by ricarda

I agree with your last sentence.

But I actually do not agree with what you said before.
Is Alexandra really considered such a hard act to follow nowadays (apart from the language department)? Is she still that much admired in DK?
I think Alexandra nowadays is a well respected person but she is no longer seen as the "perfect princess" Mary was constantly compared with.

I think most of the Danes do not exspect more of Marie than to make Joachim happy (which Alexandra obviously did not - no hard act to follow ), to behave well mannered and look nice and to show interest in her new country (and perhaps to give birth to 1 or 2 more princesses ). In fact I don't think that Joachim (or the Danish taxpayers) would want another ambitious wife who can't stand life in Schackenborg and doesn't share Joachim's interest.

I don't think anyone but scandal mags and trashy newspapers exspect Marie to follow in Mary's or Alexandra's footsteps. Mary is the crownprincess and future queen and Alexandra's marriage ended up in divorce.
But I do think it is exspected that she shows as much interest in her new country and language as Mary and Alexandra did.

Alexandra was married to Joachim, and from that marriage came her title as Princess of Denmark--yes, that was the source of her role as princess.

But having said that, Alexandra was a remarkable princess. (How soon we forget.) Not just because she learned the language, but because she understood the role. I used to love looking at the pictures of her events, because she seemed to take it so seriously and to be so genuinely interested. She just seemed like a real princess. Not to compare the two, but I still get the feeling Mary simply tolerates her events. (I know, I could be wrong, but it's the feeling I get.)

Yes, Alexandra's marriage failed, but she and Joachim had some happy years and produced two beautiful children. Nobody really knows what happened, and whose "fault" it was, although since Alexandra had the most to lose, I suspect it was more on Joachim's side.

I agree that the Danish people probably don't expect anything more of Marie than that she make Joachim happy. A very wise Danish person once wrote a few posts in the infamous "What's wrong with Mary" thread explaining what the Danish people expect from their royal family (not much).

I also agree with your statement that she should show as much interest in her new country and language as Mary and Alexandra did--you kind of put your finger on what seems to be missing with Marie so far.

[Mandy]

Even though we're tempted to talk about Mary and Alexandra, let's try to remember that this discussion is about Marie.

Thanks and have fun!

Mandy

[Aotearoagal]

I think Marie will be a fabulous princess. Being French, polished, assured, and from a good family, she will fit right in.

She will know she's very lucky NOT to be the Crown Princess - she'll have more freedom, fewer duties - and she'll actually be wealthier than Mary.

She has the advantage of already having a second language, so she will probably learn Danish more quickly than Mary.

She is blessed to have such an utterly delightful ally in Alex, who is sure to smooth the path for her.

She is also blessed to be step-parent to two incredibly gorgeous, princely boys ...

Aotearoagal

[sgl]

Aotearoagal-you make a good point. I was thinking the same thing-fewer duties=more freedom. I do have one question though. How will she be wealthier than Mary? I don't know much about how the royal family lives (as far as actual money goes).

[katie1001]

Originally Posted by GlitteringTiaras

Let me reiterate one thing: This is a discussion forum. People are allowed to voice their opinions, including constructive criticism with supported legitimate evidence, even if it differs vastly from your own.

The long undeited version of the engagement press conference. Very telling, very uncomfortable at times, and very different from the edited version we first saw back in October. Enjoy!

To be fair, I think we need to take into account the fact that this was her first offical
appearance.

[GlitteringTiaras]

Yes, I know that dear, thank you.

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by GlitteringTiaras

Yes, I know that dear, thank you.

GT, thank you for this link. Really interesting, yes. I had the feeling when I saw the interviews and the documentary shortly before the wedding that both Marie and Joachim had done their homework and actually reflected on the questions and points of view directed at them in the media during their courtship and engagement. I like the way Marie tried to be polite and honest duringt eh engagement interview even though she had already burned her hands with the media (she told in the documentary how hard that was on her) and I really think she is serious about her dealings with the media as representatives of the people and she tries her best on being both open and still be private.

Saying that, I believe Marie will be a successful princess as she obviously takes traditions, appearances and duties very serious (the upper and upper middle class in France - la Bourgeoisie still takes these things very serious).
And Marie is successful in presenting a positive and approachable image - I don't think people believe her to be a golddigger or a bad stepmother or a false friend to Alexandra, me included.

We'll see what kind of public role she will find but I'm sure she will do a good job for the RF and for the country. I found the commenaries in the German language newspaper of Southern Jutland/Northern Schleswig interesting, as the German minority hopes that with the move of prominent "European" princess to their area the climate of inter-cultural and inter-language so important for this border region will even get better. AFAIK Marie speaks a bit German, so this might help to endear her to the German minority in the area around Mögeltondern (as the Germanic Danes use to say).

[Exlibrarian]

It's very interesting reading all the different opinions about Marie and her future challenges. I have only one thing to say - only time can tell.
We have seen with our own eyes princesses like Diana and Alexandra who carried out their duties splendidly and whom people adored but they were big failures because they couldn't please their princes. On the other hand, Sarah, wife of Prince Andrew couldn't cope with palace life and duties and opted out. The one who has my most sympathy is Princess Masako, who was dubbed ' Prisoner of the Chrysanthenum Throne'. I'm sure all these young women entered into royal marriage with the intention of doing her job successfully. But due to circumstances beyond their control, they couldn't.