Princess Mabel and Her Future

[Viv]

What's the future situation of Princess Mabel expected to be like, now that she's a widow? I suppose that she'll keep a place in the royal family and that finances have been taken care of, but without her husband she's bound to fade into the background of the public stage .. or what?

viv

[Empress Merel]

My guess is that she will fade into obscurity to raise her daughters and continue her career. I think the most we'll see of her is Kingsday (Queensday), the annual skiing trip and big events like funerals/weddings etc. Her role in the family when Friso was still alive was not a big one, and she seemed content with it.

[Al_bina]

I agree with Empress Merel's point. Princess Mabel's profile was not high while Prince Friso was alive. If she has some charitable causes, she will continue participate in them.

[Marengo]

Since she was never a member of the royal house I do not think it will change very much, also not when she may decide to remarry in the future. She will most likely continue her carreer and keep attending family events for the RF. She has been involved with one or two charities (like the Amsterdam dinner, a charity to fight AIDS), and she probibly will continue to be involved. Neither she or her husband ever received any money from the state (at present only the king, the queen and the former queen do), so also in that respect nothing will change.

[COUNTESS]

I do hope she meets another gentleman, with whom she can share her life.

[princess gertrude]

I'd love to see her go back to work in some capacity for the Elders. It seemed to be very fulfilling for her. But that's my opinion. I'm not sure about her re-marrying while the girls are still young but who knows.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

If Mabel remarries does she keep the title of Princess?

[Viv]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

If Mabel remarries does she keep the title of Princess?

Well, she's not a princess in her own right, the title came with her marriage, so I doubt it! However I suppose it's for the King to decide!

[Marengo]

Indeed Viv, technically she never had a title, but 'used' her husbands one, just as married ladies can use the last name of the husband. But maybe the king will work something out when and if the time comes.

[MARG]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

I do hope she meets another gentleman, with whom she can share her life.

I hope so too. It seems to me that when someone was happily married they tend to remarry, often surprisingly quickly, because that is their "happy" norm.

The DRF seem a pretty close family, moreso since the accident that resulted in the death of Prince Friso. I see her spending more time with the DRF until or if she remarries. There is the life balance of her children to consider in spending time with loving male role models. Spending time with their extended family will help to fill a missing part in their lives.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Since she was never a member of the royal house I do not think it will change very much, also not when she may decide to remarry in the future. She will most likely continue her carreer and keep attending family events for the RF. She has been involved with one or two charities (like the Amsterdam dinner, a charity to fight AIDS), and she probibly will continue to be involved. Neither she or her husband ever received any money from the state (at present only the king, the queen and the former queen do), so also in that respect nothing will change.

All that plus ofcourse she picked up working little by little again,aside from still being an advisor to the Elders,she has aimed at the child-workers of this world and against those who exploid them and focusses on that horrible issue.She already started that while her late husband was still at the Welington and visited,ao,India for the cause.

She is and will be a close family member regardless what the future brings to her and the really close-knitted family our RF is.She is a part of it,and very much so,warmly loved and respected.

[carlota]

i wonder if mabel will go or has been to the funeral or memorial events for nelson mandela, since she was director of the elders, which he was very involved with.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by carlota

i wonder if mabel will go or has been to the funeral or memorial events for nelson mandela, since she was director of the elders, which he was very involved with.

No she didn't attend.

[Viv]

Originally Posted by lucien

She is and will be a close family member regardless what the future brings to her and the really close-knitted family our RF is.She is a part of it,and very much so,warmly loved and respected.

Glad to 'hear' that she's loved and respected! From my vantage point she seems to be quite a character; intelligent and charismatic. She's a princess with an 'edge', not just a pretty-face-clotheshorse-type! That said, I suppose that Victor & Rolf can't complain about the 'product placement' .
Princess Laurentien appears to be another intelligent princess with good causes.
By the way it's interesting that the Dutch princes, except the present King were allowed to marry compatriots. The reason could be that the former Queen had a more pragmatic view on this than her Danish counterpart?? And maybe the size of the population matters too? I mean, the Netherlands is about thrice as big a Denmark, so it could be easier for the Dutch RF to absorb a commoner in their midst?
Whatever the reason, it doesn't seem to be a problem for the Dutch!

Viv

[Empress Merel]

Originally Posted by Viv

Glad to 'hear' that she's loved and respected! From my vantage point she seems to be quite a character; intelligent and charismatic. She's a princess with an 'edge', not just a pretty-face-clotheshorse-type! That said, I suppose that Victor & Rolf can't complain about the 'product placement' .
Princess Laurentien appears to be another intelligent princess with good causes.
By the way it's interesting that the Dutch princes, except the present King were allowed to marry compatriots. The reason could be that the former Queen had a more pragmatic view on this than her Danish counterpart?? And maybe the size of the population matters too? I mean, the Netherlands is about thrice as big a Denmark, so it could be easier for the Dutch RF to absorb a commoner in their midst?
Whatever the reason, it doesn't seem to be a problem for the Dutch!

Viv

The DRF has always been the more ''relaxed'' of all Royal Families and we're open minded, sober people. That mindset is the same in a certain extent for the royals. Act normal, and you're already acting crazy enough, as the saying goes.

[Marengo]

I don't think Queen Beatrix was more relaxed than her counterparts elsewhere. I believe it was her (former) Swedish counterpart that let it slip that he found Beatrix very ambitious. To which Queen Silvia added that that was meant in a positive way. I think she has done a good job in pushing her sons to become succesful in their own right and do something useful with their lives. A Laurent/Carl-Philip scenario would have impossible for her sons. I also think she did have high requirements for her daughters-in-law. All her sons married rather forceful, intelligent and ambitious carreer women. I can not imagine her ever accepting a Sofia Hellqvist for example. Former PM Ruud Lubbers said that she disapproved of all of WA's earlier girlfriends, most notably Emily Bremers. Mostly because she found them not strong enough for the job.

[Viv]

I didn't use the word 'relaxed', but 'pragmatic' regarding Queen Beatrix, that's not necessarily the same thing! It was mentioned somewhere that because of his future position Queen B. preferred WA to marry a foreigner, whereas this apparently! was no requirement for her two younger sons. She must have weighed the pros and cons at some stage and concluded that the inclusion of Dutch commoner wives need not jeopardize the Royal Family and the Royal House of Oranje.

By the way apart from the lack of government approval, it is known whether Queen Beatrix ever disapproved of the Mabel - Friso union?

[Lee-Z]

Originally Posted by Viv

By the way apart from the lack of government approval, it is known whether Queen Beatrix ever disapproved of the Mabel - Friso union?

Afaik quite the contrary... Beatrix has always been very fond of Mabel, the fact that Mabel wore Beatrix' old dress for her engagement (i think it was the engagement..) says it all...

[carlota]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I don't think Queen Beatrix was more relaxed than her counterparts elsewhere. I believe it was her (former) Swedish counterpart that let it slip that he found Beatrix very ambitious. To which Queen Silvia added that that was meant in a positive way. I think she has done a good job in pushing her sons to become succesful in their own right and do something useful with their lives. A Laurent/Carl-Philip scenario would have impossible for her sons. I also think she did have high requirements for her daughters-in-law. All her sons married rather forceful, intelligent and ambitious carreer women. I can not imagine her ever accepting a Sofia Hellqvist for example. Former PM Ruud Lubbers said that she disapproved of all of WA's earlier girlfriends, most notably Emily Bremers. Mostly because she found them not strong enough for the job.

well, she clearly succeeded and got herself some accomplished daughters in law! maxima, laurentien and mabel are all rather impressive ladies.

[rchainho]

anyone has news about Prime-Minister Rutte and her?