Christian, Isabella, Vincent and Josephine, News 1: February 2011 - January 2013

[grevinnan]

Originally Posted by Rebafan81

Fred and Mary's children always look so happy, I am glad to see "royal" children act like normal children. Great pictures!! Thanks everyone for posting

And what is a "normal" child. Children have as wideranging personalities as adults.

[polyesco]

Originally Posted by Archduchess Zelia

Wonderful pictures, Mary is a really good photographer (come on Mary, how about you take Frederik's picture too?) and it indeed looks like they've been taken in Trend, weren't Isabella's pictures taken there too? Christian is a beautiful boy, he looks like Mary but has Frederik's gorgeous, blue eyes.

I agree with your request

than i remembered the pictures published around Mary's 40th birthday that she took herself (which Roskilde posted in this forum)
one was of Frederik

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I see a strong resemblance between Christian and Frederik (2nd picture)
TV 2 Gallery

[Carminha Stalker]

The photos are wonderful. Princess Mary is a good photographer.
I think Christian looks like her but has his Daddy´s blue eyes.

[kathia_sophia]

when i saw the pictures for the first time i screamed MARY!!!! he is absolutely like his mother, even the eyes format except they're in blue like his father Frederik

[Rebafan81]

Originally Posted by grevinnan

And what is a "normal" child. Children have as wideranging personalities as adults.

What I meant was they are always so wonderfully normal, not posed like you see sometimes with the released pictures. I love their personalities!!

[Muhler]

Billed Bladet this week has an article devoted to the pics, and the journalist Ulrik Ulriksen has written a mini portrait based on the photos.
However there are a few interesting observations which I will quote from the article:

Excerpts from article in Billed Bladet #42, 2012.
Prinsen med de klare blå øjne - The Prince with the clear blue eyes.
Written by Ulrik Ulriksen.

Christian is in many contexts surprising in the sense that he leaves an impression of being a boy who reflect on most things....

Christian is also so fortunate and skilled that he today, as barely seven years old, master two languages fluently. Not just Danish but also English.
When Billed Bladet recently met Prince Christian in Sweden he was engaged in a good conversation with his English nanny. In English naturally. And the sentences which Christian flung across the table were certainly not the short ones. Christian spoke in fluently English, extremely well articulated and precise about this and that.
Christian also master the Danish language better than average. The pronounciation, the vocabulary and the structure is spot on, which you also experience when you as a royal reporter are close to Christian and his parents.
A couple of months ago that was very evident when Prince Christian was with his father and little sister to an orienteering in a forest near Birkerød (a town). Christian talked a lot and clearly about the event and about the fun of orienteering and Frederik listened proud and a little impressed to his accomplished son.

Christian also play soccer in a club after school.

- Well, it seems like he has inherited Mary's skills for being articulate and perhaps his dad's pondering nature as well.

[polyesco]

thanks Muhler. It seems Christian will be good at languages. We can clearly see how Frederik is proud of his kids.

[Carminha Stalker]

It´s wonderful when children have the chance to learn two or more languages whilst very young. My own grandchildren speak fluent French, Portuguese and English and now, as they are living in Argentina, starting their Spanish.

[Artemisia]

Muhler, thanks a lot for posting the interesting article about Christian and his interests.
He appears to be an inquisitive, diligent and quite smart boy; the Queen and Prince Frederik could have hardly wished for a better successor!

And please, keep posting the articles and translations: your work is greatly appreciated!

[Muhler]

You are welcome, Polyesco
And thank you for your encouraging words, Artemisia. I shall endeavor to oblige you when possible.

[Daria_S]

Muhler, I'm adding my 'thank you' to the list of others on this forum. I love your translations, and have enjoyed the latest one, dealing with Christian. He's definitely a child with a quick mind, and I love that he can converse (and well) in two languages. That's something a future monarch (as well as someone who wants to be considered 'cultured') definitely needs to be able to do.

[Frelinghighness]

Good idea to have an English nanny for his english. I just love that little boy!

[Tiggersk8]

Wow...Is he ever growing up fast!! Mary's got an excellent eye for photography and she's done wonderfully w/both Isabella and Christian's Birthday pictures.

I still can't get over much he's grown this past year. It also looks as Christian's lost that "baby fat" look as well. He's such a cutie!! :)

[Muhler]

You are welcome Stellad & Polyesco

He seems to me to be a child who is talking with adults and who is challenged, which is in line with what Mary talked about recently.

Perhaps someone can answer this:
I began to learn foreign languages myself in school about the age of ten.
Is there a general tendency for children who are brought up bilingual, from infant and pretty intensively, to have a better grasp of the subtleties and nuances of both languages enabling them to master both languages better than average?
I mean, Christian has presumably never been in the situation where he (initially at least) had to mentally translate before speaking. And I assume he can switch between thinking in Danish as well as English at the blink of an eye.

Or do you think it has more to do with him being stimulated, having conversations with adults, being encouraged to form an opinion and think about things. The PlayRead technique.

Or is he simply gifted with a talent for being articulate coupled with him clearly being self-confident?

It will certainly be interesting to compare him with Isabella and also bette Henrik and Athena, who are also brought up bilingual.

[AnnaNotherThing]

I think lille Henrik and Athena may well be trilingual - Danish, French and English - which brings me to the question: have the Fredmary Four learnt French yet? With a father, both grandparents, uncle and aunt being fluent you would have thought they would have given it a go anyway...

[mellie]

@Muhler: I don't think children at Christian's age realize the subtleties or the nuances between 2 languages yet. He just uses either language because of the need, i.e. to the nanny who only speaks English, the only way to communicate is English. Children are not self-concious like the adults, they utilize whatever they know when they need, and non-threatening corrections will improve their language skills overtimes; and they learn very fast. I'm always amazed about their capabilities. BTW, I'm a language teacher.
@AnnaNotherThing: eventually, Mary&Fred's brood will be multilingual as they live in Europe where being multilingual is valued and necessary.

[Charlotte_Aster]

I was brought up bilingual (and I'm grateful for that). In retrospect I never realized which language I was talking or whether I switched languages. I just responded. According to my mother, I never mixed languages either. Of course that might be because each of my parents spoke with me in their own mothertongue. But mellie is correct, the children's brain is a marvel.

[fandesacs2003]

Originally Posted by Charlotte_Aster

I was brought up bilingual (and I'm grateful for that). In retrospect I never realized which language I was talking or whether I switched languages. I just responded. According to my mother, I never mixed languages either. Of course that might be because each of my parents spoke with me in their own mothertongue. But mellie is correct, the children's brain is a marvel.

Right. Psychologists say that kids can be brought up bi/multi languals without problem. The important point is that each parent should choose and keep the same language while talking to the kid, and it is exactly what your parents did, with success. The problem could arise if each parent mixes languages with kid.

[polyesco]

Originally Posted by AnnaNotherThing

I think lille Henrik and Athena may well be trilingual - Danish, French and English - which brings me to the question: have the Fredmary Four learnt French yet? With a father, both grandparents, uncle and aunt being fluent you would have thought they would have given it a go anyway...

I love the nickname you gave to C, I, V and J
I think the twins might still be too young to know three languages
Isabella is probably on the same path of knowing Danish and English a bit.
Christian just turned 7 but he might start learning French at school ( i dont know the danish school system, so i dont Know)

I was brought up bilingual (Spanish and English) and i think its definitely easier when you are learning it young. it becomes part of your life to communicate in 2 languages you really dont think much of it, it becomes natural (at least to me).

but also, some people are just more gifted with languages. My siblings and I (4 all together) were born and raised in the US, but to Spanish speaking parents. Same circumstances, but yet some of us have an accent when we speak Spanish (even though we are fluent).

[kathia_sophia]

unfortunately i wasnt brought up bilingual, but as a child and teenager i always loved languages so i'm able to speak Portuguese, Spanish, English and Japanese. im also able to understand a bit and speak some words and phrases in French, Italian and Korean.
i had classes of Chinese Mandarin and Russian before, but i skipped them because it didnt fit my taste, so i didnt learnt much and i dont know nothing now.

i think Isabella and Christian speak english to each other at times, i remenber they spoke in english in the winter/snow photosession earlier this year.