From smh.com.au. I detect a slightly edgy Aussie press.
A wedding at last - so how hard is it to say I do in Danish?
By Rachel Browne
March 30 2003
As the bleak northern winter drags on and war dominates the news, one thing warms the hearts of Danes - the prospect of an engagement between their Crown Prince, Frederik, and his Australian girlfriend Mary Donaldson.
The couple have been an item since meeting in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics and the Danes feel a wedding must now be imminent.
With no official word forthcoming from the Danish royal family - the oldest in Europe - the public has been left to speculate on a date.
Now a source close to the palace says the engagement will be officially announced on May 21 and the wedding will take place on August 16.
The engagement must be announced while Denmark's Queen Margrethe is in counsel with the Danish Government, according to royal tradition, and the wedding should then occur within four months.
The marriage is expected to be at Copenhagen's splendid 16th-century Holmens kirke, or Naval Church.
One reason put forward to explain why it is taking so long for Frederik, 34, and Mary, 31, to make it to the altar is that she has struggled with her Danish lessons.
Ms Donaldson has undertaken an intensive 200-session course so she can master the notoriously difficult language before speaking at any public engagements.
Princess Alexandra, the Hong Kong-born wife of Frederik's younger brother, Prince Joachim, won the hearts of the Danish public by learning to speak the language fluently.
Ms Donaldson is determined to conquer it and make her wedding vows in her adopted country's native tongue.
Ms Donaldson was born in Hobart but moved to Sydney where she worked as a real estate agent for Belle Property.
She moved to Denmark in 2001 and now lives in a waterfront apartment in one of Copenhagen's most fashionable areas and works for technology company Navison, a subsidiary of Microsoft.
By all reports, Ms Donaldson has settled in well although she managed to escape part of the dark winter to enjoy a brief holiday in Hobart, in January, where she joined Frederik who was sailing in the Dragon-class world championships.
The following month, Frederik publicly declared his relationship with Ms Donaldson was "serious" when interviewed by Denmark's TV2.
All this has been taken as further proof that the wedding cannot be far away although others believe it might be delayed depending on the conflict in the Middle East, as Denmark is part of the "coalition of the willing".
__________________ It's clever, but is it art? ~Rudyard Kipling
Yep, it seems that the press is as restless ( ) as some of us are at this point. They want a wedding. :)
__________________
Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. -Virginia Woolf
I dont blame them for being restless...lol... That is what the press is good at.... As for Mary and her Danish lessions, I hope that she is working hard, I dont think that Denmark would put up with a half of a job, when they have the lovely Alexandria who speaks 7 languages respectivly....
As for Freddy, I wish that he would make up his mind. It is taking so long, but, I can't blame him for choosing wisly. (sp). She is a pretty girl, but, after the Prince catching spree, I dont know if I like her as the future Queen of Denmark, she is too fishy to me.....
I have had a few problems with Mary along the way as well. I guess that I am no longer that critical of her (probably because we haven't discussed her in detail in a while ), but I still have a strange feeling about her. I guess that only time will tell on this one.
__________________
Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. -Virginia Woolf
The last I heard of Mary and Frederik they were skiing. There were some pictures of them together. I will try and track down some photos for you of their most recent trip.
Great pic, Alexandria! Fred is darling as usual and Mary looks quite pretty. So, my question is....when's the wedding?? :P
It must be terribly frustrating for Mary unless, of course, she is struggling with the Danish language (not hard to imagine...it's tough) and doesn't want any sort of formal announcement until she is completely capable of addressing the Danes in almost flawless Danish. I am going to make a prediction: engagement sometime this summer and a wedding this autumn. Any other bets?
__________________ It's clever, but is it art? ~Rudyard Kipling
Let's hope they don't repeat the November wedding like Alexandra and Joachim did. There was a snow storm so they couldn't ride throught the streets in an open carriage. Also, it's dark earlier in the fall and winter. There wouldn't be a balcony appearance, ride through the streets, etc., since they all get married in the evening in Denmark.
I certainly hope that it will not be a November wedding either. This may sound like a silly question, but does anyone know when the first snowfall usually occurs in Denmark and also what is the annual amount of snow for the winter?
__________________ It's clever, but is it art? ~Rudyard Kipling
Originally posted by Julia@Apr 16th, 2003 - 2:26 am I certainly hope that it will not be a November wedding either. This may sound like a silly question, but does anyone know when the first snowfall usually occurs in Denmark and also what is the annual amount of snow for the winter?
There can be snow in November but usually January and February are the coldest months.
I really think the press are doing their job by being restless....It is better so that the people will know what's on with their princess to be... :(
__________________ Never let go of anyone that you could not go a day without thinking about. There just might be a very good reason why they're always on your mind. Sometimes, it's the brain that knows too well what the heart tries so hard to deny ~ ~ Anonymous ~ ~
10may03
THE Boy Who Cried Wolf is not a Danish tale, but Danes are starting to understand the plot when it comes to Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian girlfriend Mary Donaldson. BRUCE WILSON reports.
In the international league of royal-watchers, Danes just about top the table, leaving behind even the incessant gaze that falls, ever more balefully, on the House of Windsor in the UK.
Australian Mary Donaldson, constant companion of Prince Frederik, is under constant Danish press scrutiny as the will-they won't-they saga rumbles on . . . and on and on.
The question, of course, is will they marry – and when?
A magazine devoted to Mary and the royals has named the date so often one would think it had lost all credibility.
But its readers simply cannot get enough of it – and maybe that's what is giving the Tasmanian woman pause.
Copenhagen newspapers insist Frederik and Mary will announce their engagement on May 26 to coincide with the future king's 35th birthday. This will open the way for Mary to join Queen Margrethe II and her consort, Prince Henrik, on their annual June-July sojourn in their French palace and slip quietly into palace life.
The wedding would be in August. Or maybe not.
Danish journalist Elisabeth Ruhne, whose newspaper Berlingske has been about as accurate as any on this prolonged love story, believes there are certain signs in place.
For a start, Queen Margrethe is now conceding that Miss Donaldson exists.
The affair dates back to the Sydney Olympics, in which the Prince was a competitor and Miss Donaldson an avid onlooker at the yachting.
But three weeks ago Queen Margrethe and her husband had never met Mary – at least officially. Asked last year about Mary, Margrethe affected never to have heard of her.
All this changed at Easter when the royals traditionally took "family time" together at Marselisborg Castle in northwest Denmark. It was then, keen palace watchers say, that Mary, 31, was presented to Queen Margrethe.
The almost mediaeval ceremony made Mary the first of the modest chain of young escorts to be formally presented at court. It was a huge breakthrough, even if the Danes still harbour some doubts about Mary.
The Danish royals take their duties very seriously and, while just about every Dane seems to speak perfect English, Mary will need perfect Danish if she is to be an acceptable Queen.
But on the other hand, Margrethe's husband is French (he was Henri) and Frederik's brother Joachim is married to Alexandra, of mixed Hong Kong Chinese-European blood, so the Danes are not against foreigners per se.
They just want to know them really well in advance.
Since Easter, Mary and Frederik have been travelling openly together, attending family gatherings – a friend's wedding, a Christening.
But there is little doubt the public is getting impatient.
The trouble is, nobody is quite sure who is holding back. The leading tip is that it was Queen Margrethe herself.
While she was quite happy for Joachim, her younger son, to take a fairly exotic wife, it is Frederik who will be king and his wife queen.
In that spotlight, Hobart is a long way from Copenhagen.
The Crown Prince's 35th birthday would seem to be too good a chance to miss if the two are to become betrothed.
If not, doubts will arise about the affair that started by Sydney Harbour going much further.
Rumours fly over Royal's girlfriend
Friday 9 May 2003, 8:05 AM
Denmark's royal palace again denied persistent rumours that Crown Prince Frederik will marry his Australian girlfriend this year.
Speculations that Frederik and Mary Donaldson will marry this summer surfaced this week after an announcement that the senior member of the queen's household will retire in August.
"A royal wedding is such a big task that you don't let a new man handle such a large event," said Claus Bjoern, a Copenhagen University historian who specialises in Danish royals.
But Frederik's private secretary, Per Thornit, called news reports about a wedding proposal this month "pure fantasy".
"It takes up to eight months to organise a wedding and nothing is in the works," he told The Associated Press.
Lord Chamberlain Ian Soeren Haslund-Christensen will retire on August 31 and be replaced by Ove Ullerup-Petersen.
Haslund-Christensen, who has overseen the conduct of the royal household since 1989, could not be reached for comment. The 69-year-old former army major general is the longest-serving Lord Chamberlain under Frederik's mother, Queen Margrethe.
Frederik, the 35-year-old heir to the throne of Europe's oldest ruling monarchy, met Donaldson, 31, during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Originally from Hobart, Tasmania, Donaldson has been living in Denmark since early 2002. She has met Margrethe at least once when she spent Easter 2003 with the royal family.
The couple have often appeared together at private events. They cannot appear at public events together unless they're engaged or married.
Margrethe ascended the throne in 1972 after the death of her father, King Frederik IX. She repeatedly has denied she would abdicate in her son's favour.
www.polfoto.dk - Kronprinsen er landet i Nuuk - Grønlands Hovedstad - hvor vejret ikke vistesig fra sin pæneste side. Det blæser en stiv kulling og den planlagteankomst var 30 minutter forsinket pg.a. blæsten.Som det ses på...
(Not quite sure what this translates to in English, but it's Frederik and he's out and about and not looking too shabby, either!)
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Prince Henrik and crownprince Frederik, dragonboatracing in France - 20030508 Douarnenez, Bretagne, France - Dragonboatracing at the Grand Prix Petit Navirein, in Bretagne, with the royal danish boats "Najade" (princeHenrik) and "Nanok" (crownpwinceFrederik) taking part. Photo: Peter hauerbach / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Some additional pictures from the tree planting event with Frederik that were posted previously.
www.ibl.se - Some additional pictures from the tree planting event with Frederik that were posted previously.
From Billed Bladet Online. Father and son sailing.
www.ibl.se - Crownprince Frederik and Pele - 20030515 Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmarks crownprince honoured brasilian soccer-legend Pele with the title HC Andersen-embassador. Photo: Michael Stub / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Crownprince Frederik and Pele - 20030515 Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmarks crownprince honoured brasilian soccer-legend Pele with the title HC Andersen-embassador. Photo: Michael Stub / Colourpress
www.ibl.se - Crownprince Frederik and Pele - 20030515 Copenhagen, Denmark - Denmarks crownprince honoured brasilian soccer-legend Pele with the title HC Andersen-embassador. Photo: Michael Stub / Colourpress
You're most welcome Fred. Henrik and his son seem to get along very well and the whole Danish royal family seems to be very close. Nice to see a functional and happy royal family!
) as some of us are at this point. They want a wedding. :)
), but I still have a strange feeling about her. I guess that only time will tell on this one.
:flower:
Henrik and his son seem to get along very well and the whole Danish royal family seems to be very close. Nice to see a functional and happy royal family!
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