General News about Frederik, Mary and Family 10: December 2011 - January 2013

[madrid]

Originally Posted by iceflower

__________________


Mary has been pictured shopping with her stylist Anja Camilla Alajdi in Copenhagen on January 2, 2012.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** gallery **

OMG, Anja changed a lot. She looks so old now.

[missjane]

Thanks for the pics Iceflower! I do hate watermarks though.

[Viv]

Here, on the brink of the 40th jubilee of Queen Margrethe Kjeld Koplev a former journalist of Radio Denmark has launched a scathing attack on the crown princely couple in a letter published in the daily Politiken. Mr. Koplev seems to pick up the criticism where Ms. Trine Villemann left it some time ago.
In a country with freedom of the press and freedom of expression people are of course free to voice their opinion on e.g. the monarchy and the royal family. I only wish that the detractors at least would try to get the basic facts right. This piece should be read with 'Find five errors ' in
mind!
For the record: Mr. Koplev, who is a former communist and thus hardly a hard core royalist, is publishing his letter in a republican newspaper. It has triggered a barrage of comments pro & con the DRF (and Koplev himself!) on the newspaper's website! Billed Bladet then picked up the story, using the heading 'Frederik and Mary are irresponsible', a word never used by Koplev!

Here's my translation of the breaking news from the 'most royalistic nation in Europe' - with my comments in red :

Immature and superficial Frederik and Mary!
Neither Frederik nor Mary are realizing the gravity of the recession raging throughout Europe and in the wider world
By Kjeld Koplev ( in a letter published in Politiken , the Danish equiv. of the Guardian. )
Am I the only person thinking that it would be a disaster should Queen Margrethe abdicate in favour of Crown Prince Frederik? The Crown Prince is still an immature young man without depth and regrettably devoid of any cultural and social understanding.
He has repeatedly told in several interviews how much he appreciates family life. In fact he is worshipping it to the extent that those in the know figured out that he was only working forty days a year (source?). It’s not much for a young, hale and hearty man (erm, young??). Neither has Crown Princess Mary gained any royal momentum. She is apparently going light-heartedly through life on killer heels, with a gracious smile on her lips.
In spite of the recession and the meager times she’s constantly haunting fashion temples – like the emperor in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale - only to appear in increasingly grand and expensive outfits for the benefit of a fawning royalty press (yeah, well Mary is not the only contemporary princess to do so and maybe Koplev forgets about her two fashion patronages?)
I can’t find any examples of the crown princely couple sympathizing with (the problems of) the outcasts and the vulnerable of our society ( strange, it’s fairly easy to find evidence to the opposite ) - contrary to the Norwegian and English (sic!) crown princely couples (sic!). Their Norwegian equivalents are constantly highlighting social causes.
English Prince William is speaking the cause of the homeless, in fact he has even been sleeping rough together with the homeless in London (OK, so Frederik never did the same to my knowledge. According to the context Koplev seems to believe that Prince William is the ‘English Crown Prince’!) .
Does our Crown Prince have any idea whatsoever about the homeless in Denmark? Neither Frederik nor Mary have expressed any understanding of the recession raging in Europe. When William married Kate last April they declined wedding presents; the English (sic!) were requested to donate to charities. The wedding presents of Mary and Frederik took up three floors in Amalienborg (well, there was no recession back then!) .
This is about holding on to Margrete (sic!) and Henrik for as long as possible - if we are to remain a monarchy at all!
When young the Queen was very much engaged in archaeological excavations, she’s always been drawing and painting and we’ve seen her scrambling on the floor in a pair of dungarees.
And while we may smile at the Danish of Prince Henrik he’s never- the-
less been translating and writing books and poems, qualities lacking in Frederik and Mary (Koplev forgets the fact that Frederik is very much interested in modern art!) .
It takes culture (sic),depth and social understanding to take over in a modern monarchy (it seems that the social engagements of the CPly couple until now have been to no avail!). Family idyll, parties and fancy clothes do not stand alone!

Viv

[grevinnan]

The author may be way to the left but the lack of depth in your responses to the various claims leads one to perhaps think that the Queen may have a problem on her hands. Unless someone can provide the readers of the "Politiken" with some substantial re-buttal the criticism may have some relevance.

[Muhler]

Let's take this "attack" with a grain of salt or two.

Whenever there is a big event in the DRF, someone inevitably write something critical about the DRF.
Okay, in this case the attack, for whatever reason, was launched against M&F. The problem with this article is that the author hasn't bothered to check his facts. The basis for his article appears to be not only faulty but also taken from the tabloid Ekstra Bladet and the magazine Se & Hør. Both have time and again been caught distorting and twisting facts.
The "work year" of 40 days. is something that is taken from Ekstra Bladet. They have counted how many engagements Frederik had in a year, and reached a (by the way incorrect) number of him working for 40 days in total.
Preparations, meetings, briefings and administration of his own court, not to mention quite a few engagements were not included.
It's a bit like walking into the office of your boss and say: "If you are not away on bussiness travels, conventions or are having business lunches, you are not working". I think the response would be pretty sharp!

Anyway, back to the article. When ever there is an event in the DRF, someone writes something critical. And often in a provocative manner and by putting things on the edge. And papers take it up to counter the positive coverage.
Personally I've never heard about the author before. I believe he host a show on a local radio in Copenhagen.
I understand he's an ex-communist as well.
Well, communists may not be that hostile to the concept of monarchy, come to think of it. Substitute the general secretary with the monarch and the polit bureau with the royal family, and you are almost there...
Sorry, but I've got problems being serious about this.

Originally Posted by grevinnan

The author may be way to the left but the lack of depth in your responses to the various claims leads one to perhaps think that the Queen may have a problem on her hands. Unless someone can provide the readers of the "Politiken" with some substantial re-buttal the criticism may have some relevance.

[marine2109]

Radio Host: Mary and Frederik are irresponsible

Billed-Bladet - Radiovært: Mary og Frederik er uansvarlige

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[gerry]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Let's take this "attack" with a grain of salt or two.

Whenever there is a big event in the DRF, someone inevitably write something critical about the DRF.
Okay, in this case the attack, for whatever reason, was launched against M&F. The problem with this article is that the author hasn't bothered to check his facts. The basis for his article appears to be not only faulty but also taken from the tabloid Ekstra Bladet and the magazine Se & Hør. Both have time and again been caught distorting and twisting facts.
The "work year" of 40 days. is something that is taken from Ekstra Bladet. They have counted how many engagements Frederik had in a year, and reached a (by the way incorrect) number of him working for 40 days in total.
Preparations, meetings, briefings and administration of his own court, not to mention quite a few engagements were not included.
It's a bit like walking into the office of your boss and say: "If you are not away on bussiness travels, conventions or are having business lunches, you are not working". I think the response would be pretty sharp!

Anyway, back to the article. When ever there is an event in the DRF, someone writes something critical. And often in a provocative manner and by putting things on the edge. And papers take it up to counter the positive coverage.
Personally I've never heard about the author before. I believe he host a show on a local radio in Copenhagen.
I understand he's an ex-communist as well.
Well, communists may not be that hostile to the concept of monarchy, come to think of it. Substitute the general secretary with the monarch and the polit bureau with the royal family, and you are almost there...
Sorry, but I've got problems being serious about this.

Thank you for your comments and insights about this somewhat provocative article Controversy is wonderful, it gets people talking about subjects that might otherwise be taken for granted. What delights me is the respect given by the writer (whose name I have already forgotten) to Queen Margrethe's artistic, literary and academic interests! He appreciates the Queen's intellectual abilities and gives a thumbs down to what he perceives as the celebrity-like fashion and family sense of the crown princely couple. Bearing in mind that there is rarely smoke without some fire, it seems to me that the pr guru's in the Crown princely household might want to encourage the crown princess to take painting lessons! Who knows, a butterfly might emerge from the new apartments at Amalienborg! (Strangely, I could find no artistic/creative smileys!)

[fairy tale]

Originally Posted by iceflower

__________________


Mary has been pictured shopping with her stylist Anja Camilla Alajdi in Copenhagen on January 2, 2012.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** gallery **

another picture (watermark free)
http://www.seoghoer.dk/~/media/DD9D7...D2AE7D47A.ashx

from this article: Se Mary på udsalgsjagt - Kendte - SE og HØR
Google Translation

[Tarlita]

GOOD GRIEF Trine Villemans given birth!!! He sounds at least like a chip off the old block. Er her block. Anyway it most be very tiring to be a royal these days and doing your best and without making any political comment. Trying to highlight a cause only to be critised the minute you leave the house.
Critized if you dress down. Critized if you don't look dressy enough as a princess. Critized for wearing shoes/handbag etc whom everyone thinks you have bought. When in all probability a great many of these items have been given / loaned to you.
I couldn't take that kind of constant criticism that they do, with a smile on my face. So I give the royals a 10 out 10 for putting up with the constant criticism and getting on with the job of performing a largely thankless task.
You can never please all of the people all of the time. Trouble with this sort of attack by Koplev is there is nothing specific.
I can assure you if Fred or Mary or anyone in the royal family is perceived to not be up to scratch, then the Danish people would certainly let them know loud and clear.
Koplev has done his job by creating a sensational headline to sell more papers. Must be a slow news week.

[Daria_S]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

GOOD GRIEF Trine Villemans given birth!!! He sounds at least like a chip off the old block. Er her block. Anyway it most be very tiring to be a royal these days and doing your best and without making any political comment. Trying to highlight a cause only to be critised the minute you leave the house.
Critized if you dress down. Critized if you don't look dressy enough as a princess. Critized for wearing shoes/handbag etc whom everyone thinks you have bought. When in all probability a great many of these items have been given / loaned to you.
I couldn't take that kind of constant criticism that they do, with a smile on my face. So I give the royals a 10 out 10 for putting up with the constant criticism and getting on with the job of performing a largely thankless task.
You can never please all of the people all of the time. Trouble with this sort of attack by Koplev is there is nothing specific.
I can assure you if Fred or Mary or anyone in the royal family is perceived to not be up to scratch, then the Danish people would certainly let them know loud and clear.
Koplev has done his job by creating a sensational headline to sell more papers. Must be a slow news week.

Nicely put . After reading that 'reporter's' vitriol, I really did have to laugh. I don't know a lot about Mary and Frederik (but being on this forum certainly helps that), but from I've seen from things posted here, they appear to be well-rounded and hard-working royals. We don't see what goes on behind closed doors; how long they stay up doing paperwork, or sit in meetings with their staff, and I'm more than positive that the author of the article doesn't have that information either. I think it's unfair to be this harsh. And the whole 'Prince William is Crown Prince of England' was just horrid journalism. It won't hurt this 'reporter' to learn how to do research.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by gerry

Thank you for your comments and insights about this somewhat provocative article Controversy is wonderful, it gets people talking about subjects that might otherwise be taken for granted. What delights me is the respect given by the writer (whose name I have already forgotten) to Queen Margrethe's artistic, literary and academic interests! He appreciates the Queen's intellectual abilities and gives a thumbs down to what he perceives as the celebrity-like fashion and family sense of the crown princely couple. Bearing in mind that there is rarely smoke without some fire, it seems to me that the pr guru's in the Crown princely household might want to encourage the crown princess to take painting lessons! Who knows, a butterfly might emerge from the new apartments at Amalienborg! (Strangely, I could find no artistic/creative smileys!)

Yeah, he strikes me as a bit of a Kystbane socialist = something like: posh neighbourhood-socialist.
You know, the type who is a communist because it's fashionable and provocative and it's so picturesque to visit workingclasse neighbourhoods. But heaven forbid you rub shoulders with the common riff raff at your cafe, while you and your mates discuss Karl Marx. - There were quite a few of those around in the 70's.

Tarlita is spot on.

Alas, neither Frederik nor Joachim have by their own admission inherited their parent's talents. Don't know about Mary and Marie though.
But since they have produced (soon) eight children among themselves, with a little bit of luck one or two of them may turn out to become artists. (They have to start somewhere, right?)

[Viv]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

Koplev has done his job by creating a sensational headline to sell more papers. Must be a slow news week.

Normally noone would have bothered had it not been for the fact that the author used to be a public figure, sort of! Koplev is apparently an elderly grumpy man these days and throwing in a republican hand grenade before the Jubilee gets him another 15 mins. of fame! What surprises me is that his letter is so badly written (in Danish, needless to say) and researched, but I suppose that the latter is just a case of how the means justifies the end! In one instance Koplev cannot even spell HM's name properly!
I can't copy all 44 pages of reponses on the Politiken homepage, but believe me, he also gets as good as he gives!
As Billed Bladet for some reason took up the story and with the 'authorized' DRF -translator apparently being out of service (hello Muhler ) I decided to translate and post the piece for those interested in the royalty related news lines in the Queendom!

Originally Posted by Muhler

Yeah, he strikes me as a bit of a Kystbane socialist = something like: posh neighbourhood-socialist. .

I don't know what they're called in Australia, in the UK they're known as
'champagne socialists' !

at your service, humbly yours
viv

[UserDane]

Koplev might have benefitted from doing some research before going public with his views.

'Does Frederik even though know that there are homeless people in Denmark?'
Well, Einstein, if he doesn't, he might have wondered sligthly what on earth he was actually looking at when he attended the finale of the Homeless World Cup in 2007 in Copenhagen
If Koplev had bothered, he could have used Politiken's own article on this - Kronprinsen til fodbold-VM for hjemløse - Politiken.dk

[rubies]

sounds like the same kind of 'green' lovers who hollar clean air this and clean water that as they fly off in their private jets!!!
Back to Fred and Mary, I guess they have learned that some will not like them and some will and be done with it.

[EIIR]

So this chap is wrong because he's 'elderly', 'grumpy' and a socialist? Oh and he made a spelling mistake?

How many engagements did Frederik undertake last year? I ask because I genuinely don't know.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by EIIR

So this chap is wrong because he's 'elderly', 'grumpy' and a socialist? Oh and he made a spelling mistake?

How many engagements did Frederik undertake last year? I ask because I genuinely don't know.

Dunno. Can't give you an exact figure.
However I'd say quite a few. I feel I saw more of him in 2011 than in 2010.
The problem is that because Frederik isn't wearing dresses, he doesn't get as much coverage as the female members of the DRF. Sometimes he only gets mentioned in a local paper or on the local news and with little or no mentioning in the national papers.
That in contrast to Mary (who is the workhorse of the DRF) and our Marie, who has taken on an ever increasing number of jobs. They can be be sure to get a pretty decent coverage no matter what they do.
Joachim is more specialised and if you know where to look, he is reasonably well covered as well.

But back to Frederik. He has been on a number of well published trips abroad in 2011, which were well covered. That helps of course.
It is true that he was critizised for not appearing in public very much, - previously at least.
He now seems to have become more settled. I can imagine he had to adjust to running his own decent-sized court, while also almost daily work with, have meeting with and attend breifings with QMII. Frederik is the second-in-command, if QMII dies tomorrow he has to able to take over from day one and that includes having at least some idea of what is going on.
Apart from that his personal court expanded rapidly in 2004 from a handfull to now around 25 members IIRC, which is the equivalent to a small medium sized business in DK. I would assume he is hands on in that respect as well.
And then there is the little matter of four children and a wife to care about, so I'd say he's a man who has plenty to do behind the scenes.

Added:
Thanks, Viv

I shall attempt to memorise champagne-socialist, it may come in handy some day.

[Frelinghighness]

Oh, this is rule number one in the tabloid playbook, (and children, "mean girls" and politicians use it too!)
Take a public figure, make accusations, and spur interest/sales.

rule #2, always "piggyback" on existing news, it's cheaper.


The editors of this paper are at fault for paying the author and for printing it. He is not at fault for his "grumpy..." etc attitude, lack of fact checking, and spelling errors,the editors are, UNLESS this is a letter to the editor.
And, any paper that prints anything that they haven't checked, spell-checked, is not a paper of record, and has decesended into the tabloid arena.
BTW in the US, this type of "champagne socialist" would be referred to as a "limousine liberal".

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Frederik is the second-in-command, if QMII dies tomorrow he has to able to take over from day one and that includes having at least some idea of what is going on.

And then there is the little matter of four children and a wife to care about, so I'd say he's a man who has plenty to do behind the scenes.

I find it hard to believe, that a woman like Queen Margrethe (or Mary) would stand by and do nothing if Frederik was stupid enough to not take his role seriously and just loiter all day.

I have always thought, that the Court could highlight the unofficial part of the work that the members of the DRF do better. The State Councils, e.g. are never added to Frederik's calendar.

Around the time Christian was born I remember reading an article (?), where I think Mary said something along the lines of "it has been agreed on a lighter workload when the children are young". I can't remember where I read it, so I can't go back and check if I remember it correctly.

[AnnaNotherThing]

Yes, and the lighter workload when the kids are younger seems fair enough...because remember Frederik did come to fatherhood later in life...QMII at Frederik's age of 43, had already been Queen for 11 years and was the mother of a 14 year old and a 15 year old (sorry if my dates are a bit off but you get the point)...So Margrethe is still going strong, and she needs to give Frederik at least another 10 years so the kids are aged 11-16 years and for the most part all the important parenting groundwork is done and M&F can take on the very demanding and time consuming role of King and Queen of Denmark

[marine2109]

Crown Prince Frederik: London is a sort of home

Billed-Bladet - Kronprins Frederik: London er en slags hjemmebane

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