Cruise of the Agamemnon 1954

[JR76]

Originally Posted by Prinsara

So many people... that I can't even find JC or Sofia.



What was Michael of Romania doing there, other than a holiday?

Literally that. He was on holiday with his family.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Prinsara

So many people... that I can't even find JC or Sofia.

What was Michael of Romania doing there, other than a holiday?

The romanian Royal couple have not only been related but also closest friends of King Paul and Queen Frederika. They even married in the greek capital and had their wedding reception in the Palace of Athens. So it was quite obvious they would be invited.

[Marengo]

Today I listened to a podcast about Marie Bonaparte (on Europe 1). She attended the cruise with her husband, daughter and granddaughter Tatiana.

The princess wrote that the atmosphere was joyeus but at the same time she judged it anachronistic and a relic of the past.

[Prinsara]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Today I listened to a podcast about Marie Bonaparte (on Europe 1). She attended the cruis ewith her husband, daughter and granddaughter Tatiana.

The princess wrote that the atmosphere was joyeus but at the same time she judged it anachronistic and a relic of the past.

The Marie who saved Freud and had a very unconventional marriage with George of Greece? Doesn't seem too surprising she would make that call — and she was right. How many of those royals had their thrones then, and how many fewer have them now? There are royal mobs for parties nowadays, and not much else.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Prinsara

[....] How many of those royals had their thrones then, and how many fewer have them now? [....]

No difference between the cruise and now: one European monarchy gone (Greece) and one monarchy returned (Spain). Per saldo the same number of functioning monarchies now as during the cruise.

And maybe the situation even improved since Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria have given access to their former royal families, returned properties, etc. Back then, during the cruise, these three royal families were really exiled and barred.

[maria-olivia]

It was to marry young Royals. it was not to promote the Tourism in Greece.
Only one wedding Maria Pia of Savoie and Prince Alexander of Y. which ended with a divorce !

[Marengo]

A few years after the cruise and on the occassion of a trip to the US, princess Beatrix was interviewed by a group of American journalists. One of them asked about marital candidates, which brought the topic to the cruise on the Agamemnon, where the princess said she befriended many young royals. The princess added: 'I felt that I was among my own people and I could completely be myself'.

The remarks caused an uproar in the Dutch press. What did the princess mean with 'my own people'?
The court quickly tried to de-escalate the situation. Queen Juliana's secretary Jkvr. Catharina (Binebeth) Roëll (the one who was murdered in the 90s) blamed the language barrier and said that the princess had meant to say something different. They were the words of a spontanious 21 y/o girl who was happy to set aside court protocol and was able to move freely among 'collegues'.

She and the princess' secretary were present at the interview. Roëll confessed that the interview was written down correctly but that the princess had not said the words with an hautain or arrogant intonation.

The remark however followed the princess for years. She was known as 'princess smile' in the 50s but among some that changed and she was considered arrogant and aloof. Even in the 90-ties the remark was still used by a certain genre of royalty authors/ journalists.

[Prinsara]

That sounds pretty unfair to Beatrix. Whatever she may have meant, how hard is it to interpret that as "people like me, people it isn't necessary to be working and proper around"?

To that extent, she probably should have clarified herself or even apologized for the misunderstanding, but I doubt royal protocol and PR was the same in 1954.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by maria-olivia

It was to marry young Royals. it was not to promote the Tourism in Greece.
Only one wedding Maria Pia of Savoie and Prince Alexander of Y. which ended with a divorce !

What about Juan Carlos and Sophia?

[Duc_et_Pair]

Not only as a "marriage market" but also learning to know each other, to befriend, to acquaintance.

For an example: at this cruise it was possibly the very first time young Princess Beatrix met her contemporaries Juan Carlos of Spain, Michael of Romania or Constantine of Greece. Since then she has known them for life. So also in this aspect the cruise was very useful.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Prinsara

That sounds pretty unfair to Beatrix. Whatever she may have meant, how hard is it to interpret that as "people like me, people it isn't necessary to be working and proper around"?

To that extent, she probably should have clarified herself or even apologized for the misunderstanding, but I doubt royal protocol and PR was the same in 1954.

Well, I don´t know what she would have to apologize for!?
Royal life, especially that of a reigning monarchy with their members being under constant observation and scrutiny, is a completely different one than the one we live. That´s a fact whether one likes it or not.

Once Prcss Martha L. of Norway said in an interview it was nice to be among other people who share the same experiences and know what it is like to live a "royal life". She, and perhaps Beatrix back in 1954, didn´t claim royal persons around them are better or standing above the rest of society, but that it is important for them to be amongst others who understand their situation by own experience and know what they are talking about. Isn`t that something everyone of us knows also?! I can completely understand that and there is nothing bad or to be ashamed about it. All of us live in our own circles and social backgrounds and we don`t deal with everyone who doesn´t share our way of living and approach to life. As long as nobody claims his/ her life is any "better" more "valuable" than that of other people, this person says nothing but the truth.

Nowadays constant calls for "apology" occurs pretty annoying and self-satisfying to me...! And yes, luckily for those living in the 1950s, royal protocol and PR was completely different back then.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Today I listened to a podcast about Marie Bonaparte (on Europe 1). She attended the cruise with her husband, daughter and granddaughter Tatiana.

The princess wrote that the atmosphere was joyeus but at the same time she judged it anachronistic and a relic of the past.

A "relic of the past"??? How many royal cruises had been done before the one in 1954? As far as I know on that particular scale it was the very first one and nothing "of the past"! Before that, royal meetings on yachts have been done in the context of state visits. But that was something completely different.
Marie Bonaparte was a very, how can I put it, "colourful", quirky old lady who even found parts of the 1953-coronation "boring" and "psychoanalised" a young man sitting next to her, later known as President Mitterand of France, during the ceremony. I`m not sure how balanced and valuable her observations on things really were... It`s interesting that she always gave her consent to take part in events like these..!

What about the royal cruise with King Harald and Queen Sonja as hosts in 1993? That, I can recall, was a very relaxed and down-to-earth affair and one cannot blame royal people to have some other "Royals" as friends (In fact, some of them are even related to each other). "Commoner" friends have also joined in, but the media, of course, focuses only on members of the royal families.

[Prinsara]

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

Isn`t that something everyone of us knows also?![...]And yes, luckily for those living in the 1950s, royal protocol and PR was completely different back then.

Apparently not, if Beatrix was able to offend so many people with a banal remark, not be able to rectify it, and develop an elitist image from it she couldn't shake.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Prinsara

Apparently not, if Beatrix was able to offend so many people with a banal remark, not be able to rectify it, and develop an elitist image from it she couldn't shake.

Queen / Princess Beatrix has never topped the popularity polls, has always been seen as a distant, elevated personage. But this image also helped her to have fulfilled her position which was, by friend and by enemy, classified as excellent, dignified and conscious.

So, yes, that innocent remark about the cruise ("it was lovely to be amongst our sort of people") marked her image as hautain and aloof but at the same time this image helped her to become a most respected Queen indeed.

[stef]

The Agamemnon cruise was an excellent idea to promote tourism in Greece, with this cruise our main source of income, tourism, begins in Greece. Nowadays, most of the tourists who come to Greece are through cruise ships. And the greatest proof that it was a success is that 67 years have passed and we are still talking about that cruise, and sharing black and white photos, of the royals visiting, Santorini ... and of course it was, the first meeting of European Royal Houses after the Second World War. King Simeon always says that it was a great idea.
Finally, I always remember that in 1997 King Harald tried to make a similar cruise, to promote tourism in his country, in which European princes/princesses of marriageable age were present, and I think that this could have been described as a "love cruise", Also, and with much more reason by the marriageable ages of the guests.
It was a success, King Harald tried to repeat it

[Blog Real]

The royal families of Europe on the deck of the Agamemnon.
https://c1.quickcachr.fotos.sapo.pt/...114_4QDbZ.jpeg

[Blog Real]

Spanish historian Ricardo Mateos Sainz de Medrano wrote an article about this cruise for "Vanitatis":

https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial...sofia_3577337/

https://www-vanitatis-elconfidencial...T&_x_tr_pto=sc