Interviews & Speeches - Princess Caroline

[zembla]

I wish she should do a new interview...on television. Albert usually visits Larry King every few years...she should do the same. Or maybe Diane Sawyer...

 

[iloveroyals]

Continuation of the translation:

For a “ dumb princess” you accumulate diplomas and languages.

But nobody is interested in that. As soon as I have a book under my arm, photographers stop taking my picture, and if I want to lose them, all I have to do is enter a bookstore… (breaks into laughter)

But if you have a man under your arm….

They chase after me. Everybody is in favor of freedom for women but they write about me as if they were Victorian censors. “She is water skiing in a bikini” they say. So what? Or else, “She was topless on the deck of a boat”. So what ? I am out at sea, I am not bothering anybody but they come to spy at me. And they are the ones who bother me. In some African tribes, they refuse to let themselves be photographed, because they believe that the photograph captures the soul. I believe that that must be true.

And to live with the impossibility of having any privacy, that must be unbearable, no?

It is the most difficult thing about the fact of being a princess, and it leaves me with the feeling of utter helplessness, especially in Paris…. Here I don’t have any problems. People are sympathetic about my need for privacy. But in Paris! I leave my home wearing jeans to go to a dance class and photographers crawl alongside me in their cars. It’s horrible! That’s when one regrets being a princess. It’s frustrating too, because when I try to do things, not for glory, because I am interested in it and sincerely care about it, as for example, the handicapped, then they are all gone. They are no longer interested.!

Because there is no sex or scandal?


As if one couldn’t go through quiet periods without any romance! As if all romances should all follow each other. Oh la! la! It is so exasperating ! With the unending supply of fiancés that they pin on me, I wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other! Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve all of this!

Your first fiancé was Prince Charles?


Yes I have only seen him once but they married us before during and after!
He came here for an event for the handicapped and the year of Childhood, and Albert and he and I had spent the day water-skiing, in the cold. It was Easter. At 5, we went home to change, we were soaked, my hair sticky with salt. The hairstylist was waiting for me to make me a chignon and put a ribbon matching my gown, a gown (makes a face)... Because I was not very interested in clothes, or only in what brand of jeans I wanted to buy, maman took care of me for all the big events... and she had chosen this gown (makes a face), like a stick of barley sugar, striped, pink-mauve, pale pink, white pink. I looked like a piece of candy in it with the matching ribbon in my hair (laughter) and my hair done, my make-up. They had put jewelry (gestures to show everywhere).

Where does all these jewels that you wear come from? Are they crown jewels?
Yes some are crown jewels and some are not. When I arrived in the hall in that get-up, Prince Charles said to me (in English) "My God, (reverts to French), whatever happened to you ? You look like a gift package!" I was so ashamed, so ashamed... (smiles) Shall we have coffee in the winter garden?

The lunch was delicious. Only crudités, pretty and fresh, prepared, peeled, and served by the princess who today is speaking without restraint.

Like all young girls, you must have had a first heart-throb?


Yes, I must have been sixteen, on the beach with the same small group of friends that I have had forever. It was typical! Absolutely classic!

 

[iloveroyals]

To orient you, I am about half-way done.
I try to keep the flavor of her rhythm and vocabulary, but it would have to be worked over for a professional-standard translation. Princess Caroline, back then, seemed to speak very fast, with familiar language (not really slang, just a few words), a great sense of humor and self-deprecation, much cheerfulness, and an exquisite, literary syntax. I imagine she looked over the interview on paper and may have changed a few things. But she certainly has a gift for language, which I am afraid I am not quite replicating here.
In later interviews, she doesn't sound the same, has lost that quality of spontaneity and joie de vivre and tends to lecture her audience a bit.

 

[lea]

To orient you, I am about half-way done.
I try to keep the flavor of her rhythm and vocabulary, but it would have to be worked over for a professional-standard translation. Princess Caroline, back then, seemed to speak very fast, with familiar language (not really slang, just a few words), a great sense of humor and self-deprecation, much cheerfulness, and an exquisite, literary syntax. I imagine she looked over the interview on paper and may have changed a few things. But she certainly has a gift for language, which I am afraid I am not quite replicating here.
In later interviews, she doesn't sound the same, has lost that quality of spontaneity and joie de vivre and tends to lecture her audience a bit.

Thanks SO much iloveroyals! Wonderful thread, wonderful reading!

 

[mizzy2006]

Thank you so much iloveroyal

 

[iloveroyals]

Thank you all for your encouragement. It gives me the necessary motivation to continue. (Tonight, I hope, although I should learn not to make promises I don't keep !)

 

[Elspeth]

Depending on the length of the original article, we may already have enough of the translation. The copyright laws apply to translations as well as to original work, and we'll be breaking the law if we post straight translations of entire interviews.

The Royal Forums Member FAQs have a section on copyright, including the following:

I've found an interesting article in another language. Can I post a translation of the entire article?

It's a copyright violation to post translations of entire articles. You can post a link to the article, along with a short English summary, in your own words, of the article. If you find a full translation online, you can post a link to it. If you have your own website or blog and wish to post the translation there, you can add a link to it here. However, your provider will probably also have copyright rules, and you may be infringing those rules by storing copyrighted material.

 

[Tosca]

How ironic is it to read Caroline's response about being lucky not to be married to a prince

It's said the only the stupid never change their minds, and surely Caroline is not! Although I do not like Ernst, but that's her choice, and none of my business.

Anyway, thank you so much, Iloveroyals! Do not worry about the translationyou have conveyed the idea perfectly!

 

[iloveroyals]

I am sorry I didn't reread that FAQ question/answer. Please delete the translation if it is an infringement of copyright rules. I thought it wouldn't be a problem because the RF had a link to the interview following the trip to Africa, and I was able to translate the whole article without any problem. But now I realize it was a much shorter interview.
Is it all right if I give a summary of the rest of the interview ?

 

[zembla]

I like her so much after reading this interview...

 

[Ianna]

I'll say only this - You made my day, iloveroyals! Thank you so much!

 

[giov]

Iloveroyals, thanks so much for the interview!
I really enjoyed reading it.
In my opinion Caroline should give interviews more often as she turns out to be definetely nicer than she looks in the pics.

 

[maya35]

Thank you very much, iloveroyals! Great job with translation

 

[lea]

I am sorry I didn't reread that FAQ question/answer. Please delete the translation if it is an infringement of copyright rules. I thought it wouldn't be a problem because the RF had a link to the interview following the trip to Africa, and I was able to translate the whole article without any problem. But now I realize it was a much shorter interview.
Is it all right if I give a summary of the rest of the interview ?

I don't know if this is a legal solution , but perhaps you could delete the portion already posted and then post another portion of the translation?

 

[iloveroyals]

I don't know if this is a legal solution , but perhaps you could delete the portion already posted and then post another portion of the translation?

That'd be fine with me. Let's see what the moderators say.
I must say that I too, when I reread the interview, was surprised at how natural and unpretentious, and "young" she turned out to be. She seems so animated.
At any rate, I hope I can make a summary, because it continues to be really interesting, and she has a personality all her own, more complex and even contradictory than we thought : compassionate, intellectual, gregarious yet seeking solitude, clever, funny, astute, and mostly, seeking to live life "at full throttle".
Thank you all again !

 

[Sira]

That'd be fine with me. Let's see what the moderators say.
I must say that I too, when I reread the interview, was surprised at how natural and unpretentious, and "young" she turned out to be. She seems so animated.
At any rate, I hope I can make a summary, because it continues to be really interesting, and she has a personality all her own, more complex and even contradictory than we thought : compassionate, intellectual, gregarious yet seeking solitude, clever, funny, astute, and mostly, seeking to live life "at full throttle".
Thank you all again !

First, I would like to congratulate Iloveroyals for the excellent translation which contains all the ideas of the interview that I read myself in June 1982.

 

[iloveroyals]

First, I would like to congratulate Iloveroyals for the excellent translation which contains all the ideas of the interview that I read myself in June 1982.

Thanks mucho ! Do you also have the original interview ?
By the way, the reason I know it was a 1981 or 1982 interview is that she was already divorced but Princess Grace had not passed away yet. So we are probably talking about the same interview.
I also have the very first one she gave (either Jours de France or Match) when she was 16. Her mother was present and added her own comments.
And there is the one she gave when her children were little, describing the family routine.
I wish there was a way we could share all this and remain within the legal bounds.

 

[mizzy2006]

iloveroyals.. I think you maybe interested to build up your own blog and link to us. I think that is quite fine than place directly to forum ? than we will all be happy reading it!

 

[iloveroyals]

Yes, I could learn how to do that, but as Elsepth observed, there may be restrictions there too.
Could the moderators tell me what I can do (like erase the first segments?)

 

[sebastian]

Monaco Info News with a short statement of Princess Caroline ( 3rd story )

: Centre de Presse

I hope the entire interview will be available soon.

 

[rosana]

Thank you so much Sebastian, i can´t wait to see the whole interview.

 

[HRH Abigail]

Monaco Info News with a short statement of Princess Caroline ( 3rd story )

: Centre de Presse

I hope the entire interview will be available soon.

Could you tell us please when (what minute and second mark?) , in the streaming video, Caroline appears to talk? I tried using the video slider to go to where I thought she'd be, but I kept missing her. Thanks so much!

 

[La Bouche d'Or]

^^ It's 8:41. Can anyone tell me what is Princess saying? Thanks

 

[HRH Abigail]

^^ It's 8:41. Can anyone tell me what is Princess saying? Thanks

Oh, thanks for giving us the specifics, here.

I love your Screen Name, Golden Mouth!

^^ It's 8:41. Can anyone tell me what is Princess saying? Thanks

Afraid I can't, sorry. The French, & her dialect (of it) went right by me.

 

[pamk]

She is talking about someone - I don't know who - boy, I'm not a big help!
She looks really tired and older - no make-up - she sounds weary.

 

[HRH Abigail]

She is talking about someone - I don't know who - boy, I'm not a big help!
She looks really tired and older - no make-up - she sounds weary.

I also thought Caroline looked not her best here.

Very haggard, care-worn, and older than her real age.

This is just my opinion.

 

[iloveroyals]

Princess Caroline is talking about the former (deceased ?) vice-president of l'AMADE, Jacques Danois (sp ? Donois ?). She starts out by saying that he couldn't sit still, and explains that she does not mean by that that he was unfocused, but that nothing for him was ever completed, won, that there was always another fight to embrace. It was a joy being with him, working with him, because he was so rich as a human being and kept those around him always attentive, on the alert, always awake. He never stopped being interested in new ventures, was always cheerful, with keen intelligence. He remains an example, a model to follow.

I had some trouble registering to get the link from the Centre de Presse, so I registered twice, just to make sure, and both times it ended up in my spam box (as often happens whenever images are being sent, for those who are not aware of this.) Fortunately, I didn't empty out my spam box without looking , though expecting the usual trash...

Princess Caroline did seem tired, searching for her words, but that may be her perfectionism at play here. I have always noticed that she lends much importance to her choice of words, her phrasing. She never seems in a hurry to make a point, preferring to get it just right. Perhaps, to an American audience used to the quick pace of programs like "The View", it may be slow, but she is making a public statement honoring an official. She still has that beautiful smile, which she uses sparingly and almost to punctuate her utterances, an interesting trick if that's what it is, or indiosyncrasy, for I don't mean to belittle it.

Her enumeration of qualities of M. Do(a)nois (sp?) is an interesting reflection of the qualities she admires in people, the people she likes to be around and who influence and motivate her in her own work.

 

[HRH Abigail]

Princess Caroline is talking about the former (deceased ?) vice-president of l'AMADE, Jacques Danois (sp ? Donois ?). She starts out by saying that he couldn't sit still, and explains that she does not mean by that that he was unfocused, but that nothing for him was ever completed, won, that there was always another fight to embrace. It was a joy being with him, working with him, because he was so rich as a human being and kept those around him always attentive, on the alert, always awake. He never stopped being interested in new ventures, was always cheerful, with keen intelligence. He remains an example, a model to follow.

I had some trouble registering to get the link from the Centre de Presse, so I registered twice, just to make sure, and both times it ended up in my spam box (as often happens whenever images are being sent, for those who are not aware of this.) Fortunately, I didn't empty out my spam box without looking , though expecting the usual trash...

Princess Caroline did seem tired, searching for her words, but that may be her perfectionism at play here. I have always noticed that she lends much importance to her choice of words, her phrasing. She never seems in a hurry to make a point, preferring to get it just right. Perhaps, to an American audience used to the quick pace of programs like "The View", it may be slow, but she is making a public statement honoring an official. She still has that beautiful smile, which she uses sparingly and almost to punctuate her utterances, an interesting trick if that's what it is, or indiosyncrasy, for I don't mean to belittle it.

Her enumeration of qualities of M. Do(a)nois (sp?) is an interesting reflection of the qualities she admires in people, the people she likes to be around and who influence and motivate her in her own work.

This is very, very helpful! Thanks, for the synopsis, iloveroyals

-- Abbie

 

[iloveroyals]

Abbie, you are very welcome. The anchorman is very difficult to understand (it occurred to me I should go back to France more often, I am losing my ability to understand my native language), he speaks too fast and garbles his words. I was reassured that the woman commentator following him had a very clear and perfect enunciation, as any TV professional should. So Princess Caroline was indeed speaking about Jacques Danois, who had just passed away. They were announcing a longer interview (or was it a longer tribute ) in another half-hour, but I don't know how you can get that.

Did you notice that Princess Caroline appeared in a few second segment, just before the interview, attending a Lanvin collection, to honor, and again I didn't catch the name. I assume it must be the Lanvin designer. She certainly looked more glamorous for that event. I wonder if both events took place on the same day.

I also wondered something. Does Princess Caroline have a tendency to stutter, like her brother ? Is it something that runs in families ? Or is it, again, just an idiosyncrasy to repeat a word or a consonant or syllable as you search in your head for the best way to phrase something ?

 

[La Bouche d'Or]

^ I doubt the slutter thing. Sluttering often comes from shyness, low self-confidence or some (social) fears, and people tend to have it from childhood. I'm pretty sure Princess Caroline is trying to make her speech much more eloquent and proper by using the right words. IMO, it's just the way she speaks.