General News about the Danish Royal Family 1: December 2008 - January 2013

[stellam]

Thanks Muhler, understand it much better now. Hope you had a lovely Christmas and all the best for 2012.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by marfre

Muhler

Thanks, it is very much appreciated. I enjoyed the video and with your translation made it far more enjoyable.
The segment regarding the overseas visits that Frederik made, was one area that I was interested in. Did Trine interview Frederik while they were in Mozambique?

I think Trine and Thomas (reporters) have the surname.

You are welcome, Stellad & marfre
And a happy New Year to you.

Yes, Trine Larsen interviewed Frederik in Mozambique. You'll find it somewhere in the Mozambique thread.

[Marika86]

A nice photogallery from Bt.dk about what happened in 2011

Se billederne fra året i Kongehuset | www.bt.dk

[Muhler]

The newspaper Politiken is apparantly running a series of articles about the DRF up to the 40th jubilee of QMII.
There will be quite a few articles which will cover a very broad subject!

It's is simply not possible for me to deal with all of them. That's a pity because most of them are good and interesting.
So I'll deal with those I think are most interesting and I'll post links to most of the articles and add an ultra-brief summary.

For the time being I'll post all of it here in the general section, simply to keep track of things. Those I will deal with in depth will be moved to the relevant thread.

På arbejde med kronprinsen: 20 minutters smalltalk åbner dørene - Politiken.dk
På arbejde med Kronprinsen - On the job with the Crown Prince.
(Frederik talking about how he works with a trade delegation and what royals do in order to open doors and create a path for the delegation to exploit. - Interesting will deal with it).

Flertal: Lad Frederik overtage tronen - Politiken.dk
Flertal: Lad Frederik overtage tronen - Majority: Let Frederik become king.
(About QMII having full confidence in Frederik, but she has no intention of abdicating).

Dronningen: Opgaven som regent har man for livet - Politiken.dk
Dronningen: Opgaven som Rgent har man for livet - The Queen: The job as Regent is for life.
(Based on an interview with QMII and how she views her job as a life-long commitment).

Forskere: Dronning Margrethe er et scoop for ligestillingskampen - Politiken.dk
Forskere: Dronning Margrethe er et scoop for ligestillingskampen - Researchers: Queen Margrethe is a scoop in the struggle for (gender-) equality. One of the reseachers however believe that Mary is ruining the whole thing by being too perfect. - I think I'll take this one).

8 af 10 danskere vil bevare kongehuset - Politiken.dk
8 af 10 danskere vil bevare kongehuset - 8 of 10 Danes will keep the monarchy.
(Based on the recent poll, which makes the Danes the most royal nation in Europe).

»Min elskede far, vor konge, er død« - Politiken.dk
Min elskede far, vor konge, er død - My beloved father, our King, is dead.
(About what happened in these days in 1972. - Has been dealt with).

Dronningen i ny bog: »Jeg var måske ikke så god til at hjælpe min mand« - Politiken.dk
Dronningen i ny bog: Jeg var måske ikke så god til at hjælpe min mand - The Queen in new book: Perhaps I wasn't so good in helping/supporting my husband.
(About how things wasn't always rosy in the DRF initially. With her being busy and not spending so much time with her children, as she might wish. About Prince Henrik's huge problems being accepted by the Danish tribe and how she missed how serious his crisis was when he had his fit some years ago and eloped to France).

Ny bog går tæt på dronningens forhold til indvandrere - Politiken.dk
Ny bog går tæt på Dronningens forhold til invandrere - New book take a close look at the Queen's relationship with immigrants.
(QMII has always been a volcal supporter of the immigrants in DK, without being naive though. She considers herself Monarch for all who live in Denmark).

More articles will follow.

- The great thing about the jubilee is that the serious newpapers also cover this extensively.
There are three catagories of people who cover this.
The royal reporters, who are specialists within their field.
The tabloid writers, who know very little and write very shallow articles, mainly based on a catching headline.
And now the regular news-journalists who go in depth and use different angles.
You can clearly see the difference!

If one of the other Danish members feel an urge to deal with the articles here and in the other papers, please do.
Especially as I'm a little pressed for time these days.

[marine2109]

Kongeligt festår: Sådan bliver 2012 i det danske kongehus

Billed-Bladet - Kongeligt festår: Sådan bliver 2012 i det danske kongehus

Google Google Translate

[Muhler]

I'm not that sure where to post this, but here we go.

Dronningen og Kronprinsen i Grønland - YouTube

This is a YouTube clip from the DRF YouTube channel. In this QMII talks about her going to Greenland with Frederik and riding dog sledges.
There were only four of them on both occasions. QMII, a LiW, Frederik and a friend of his.
Enjoy the spectacular scenery and a very cool Queen.


- They trekked along the east coast of Greenland, high enough to the north to be in the area patrolled by the Sirius Patrol. - I.e. very remote and very, very few people. In the summer, perhaps even less than 100 people in total, including Sirius, reseachers, hunters and the odd tourists. In an area where you could fit the entire country of Sweden and have plenty of room to spare.

ADDED: A Google view over some of the east coast with the Sirius HQ being the only permanent settlement in that part of eastern Greenland you can see: http://www.box.com/s/lemi6ajz9csvk7au7ydt

A closer view of the where they went trekking: http://www.box.com/s/6tgzljnva6q0avjgj7v0

This is the DRF YouTube channel, we can hope they will add more clips from time to time: Detdanskekongehus's Channel - YouTube

[Tarlita]

Enjoyed the you tube clip. From the little bit of Danish language that I have picked up, would I be right in saying that HM said her Hofdame could not ski very well if at all. And did HM say it was fantastic to see the polar bear & cubs or was she referring to the landscape. I know she mentioned the landscape later as well.
Very surprised to see 4 wine glasses in the tent. I would think you would want Rum or whiskey to warm you up on the inside. But as you have said before they are used to the cold.

[KittyAtlanta]

I enjoyed the video, too. QM is my favorite non-British Royal. I also enjoyed the view QM had of the fuzzy dog bottoms!!!

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

Enjoyed the you tube clip. From the little bit of Danish language that I have picked up, would I be right in saying that HM said her Hofdame could not ski very well if at all. And did HM say it was fantastic to see the polar bear & cubs or was she referring to the landscape. I know she mentioned the landscape later as well.
Very surprised to see 4 wine glasses in the tent. I would think you would want Rum or whiskey to warm you up on the inside. But as you have said before they are used to the cold.

QMII said that the LiW is someone she usually ski with. (Presumably when going to Norway).
She also said that it was a fantastic experience and that she enjoyed the landscape, while being pulled along by twelve dogs.

In the very end she says: "I'm very moved that my son wanted to take his ancient/extremely old mother with him. That was really, really exciting".

As for the wine glass. Well, I guess living rought doesn't mean you can't do it in style...
Or perhaps these glasses are the equivalent to the standard "mustard glasses" the rest of us keep in our kitchen for everyday use?

[Tarlita]

I guess my interpretation of Danish has a long way to go then. Thanks for the clarification.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

I guess my interpretation of Danish has a long way to go then. Thanks for the clarification.

No need to feel bad, Tarlita
You understood some of it and as spoken Danish isn't that easy to understand you didn't do that bad. - I mean, how much did you understand just a year ago?
And I'll bet you understand more and more of Danish texts by now, eh?

[Muhler]

Yesterday the tabloid BT brought an article about an astrologer who explained why Mary and our Marie are so very much alike.

Today, they bring an article explaining why they are so very different: http://www.bt.dk/royale/her-er-forsk...-mary-og-marie

For that purpose they've asked the editor of the fashion magazine Cover, Chris Pedersen:
"It's the classical with pure lines which define Mary, while Princess Marie is always more relaxed in casual jeans".
He goes on to explain that Mary is classical crown-princess-style and that she maintains the classical forms of etiquette, while Denmark's Princess Marie is a chik big city-woman with a cool and modern style".

Historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen believes that is hardly surprising: "Mary has a forward role which is very important. It commits to be the future Queen of Denmark. - She has to show that she is worthy of the throne".

Christ Pedersen agrees: "Marie doesn't have to prove anything and that's why she can allow herself to be more casual in the style of her clothes".

Lars Hovbakke don't think Mary and Marie are at all alike: "There is a good reason to why we think that. In contrast to most other Princesses in Europe both Mary and Marie come from other countries.
The fact that thet both come from outside means that we Danes have no relation to them from before they came to Denmark and became royals. That's why we percieve them as being quite similar".
That however is not a disadvantage.
He adds: "Because we only identify them as royals, they can raise themselves above the Danes to the royal level".

- The article is perhaps a bit trivial, but I like to include such articles and topics, because they are part of the perception, the opinion and the daily hairdresser-topics of the DRF.
In order to learn about Mary and Marie, you have to know about the DRF and in order to learn about the DRF it's good to have a basic understanding of the society and the mindset of the Danes.

[Tarlita]

Muhler thanks for that. I think it is a pity that the media try to find similarities between two very different people. It's a bit like some of the British media trying to compare the Duchess of Cambridge with the late Prss Diana.
I am sure most people view Mary and Marie as quite different in personality and character. Its only their looks on rare occassions that make one look twice to differentiate between the too. I believe these ladies are very much individuals portraying their own uniqueness every day. I guess when the media run out of things to say about fashion and diet they resort to this kind of thing.

[nwinther]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

Muhler thanks for that. I think it is a pity that the media try to find similarities between two very different people.

No - the disgrace is that they use AN ASTROLOGIST as any kind of source.

[Viv]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

I guess when the media run out of things to say about fashion and diet they resort to this kind of thing.

It's typically 'silly season' stuff and besides, I agree with nWinther that involving an astrologer is pathetic .

viv

[NGalitzine]

Muhler, does Copenhagen Castle still exist or at least a ruin of it?

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Muhler, does Copenhagen Castle still exist or at least a ruin of it?

I'm not Muhler but "The demolition of the overextended and antiquated Copenhagen Castle was commenced in 1731 to make room for the first Christiansborg Palace".

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Muhler, does Copenhagen Castle still exist or at least a ruin of it?

Here is a black and white photo of a model of the castle: Copenhagen Castle circa 1650 - Kopi.jpg - File Shared from Box - Free Online File Storage

A Wikipedia article, in Danish: Københavns Slot - Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi

There are ruins of the castle in the cellers under the present Christiansborg Castle.
The highest tower was used as a prison and it was here Leonora Christina Ulfeldt was imprisoned for many years. - She would often be able to hear her own children, playing in the royal chambers or in the court yard.

Anyway the castle was medieval and as you look at it on the picture it looks interesting, romantic, exciting - you wanna go exploring, right?
No, it was even in Shakespeare's time very oldfashioned, dark, gloomy, spooky, full of narrow corridors and stairways, with the wind howling around every corner and with ghosts hiding in the dark right outside your candle light. - It was positively rat-infested! The imprisoned Leonora Christina often had rats running over her, when she lay in bed at night.
It was widely accepted and infamous for being the most abject royal residence in Europe at the time.

Hadn't it been for the disastrous wars with Sweden in the latter half of the 1600's it would have been knocked over long ago, but it was allowed to stand until 1730, when Frederik IV, no doubt to his pleasure, knocked it down and build the first Christiansborg Palace there. - That looked very different from the present day Christiansborg, because it burned down in late 1700-something. (That's a dramatic story in it's own right, because a courtier risked his life to get a wig for the king, so that he may at least look fairly presentable, while looking at his burning residence).

Oh dear, I got carried away again.

ADDED: Ah, I see Lumutqueen answered your question.

[agami.pearl]

I have a question. yesterday was scheduled dinner for the Air Force and the Defence hosted by Royal Couple. Still no photos. Is this private event?

[principessa]

Do you think we will see Marie's princess at the balcony at the birthday of the Queen?