General News about the Danish Royal Family Part 2: January 2013 - November 2015

[Roskilde]

Looking forward as well.

Here's by the way BB's tv-guide with picture from the documentary. I see it's recorded in F&M's home.

http://www.billedbladet.dk/sites/bil...?itok=Zw6TySpM

[gerry]

Originally Posted by Muhler

And now for something I look very much forward to myself.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet #50, 2014.
Written by the Ulrik Ulriksen.

This Sunday DR1 will show a documentary by Anna von Lowzow and Lene Borch Hensen called "Guld, Kong og Fædreland = Gold, King and Country/Fatherland".
The docu is about Denmark and Danes around WWI, but what makes this very remarkable is that Frederik and Joachim will very much be talking about the events, because they in many cases directly involved their great grandfather (oldefar) Christian X.

King Christian X was very conservative and also an army officer of the school, a very strickt man.
In 1914 Christian X had been king for only two years. Joachim explains: "Christian X is standing there and can do nothing. He is one of the least (important) rulers in Europe. He's one of the weakest and he is also by seniority one of the youngest. My great grandfather was... well, he didn't know what to do".

In 1920 King Christian faced his most politically dangerous moment, he sacked the government but did not appoint a new one and such he ruled himself. That led to politicians accusing of having commited a coup d'etat.

Joachim explains: "The de facto political distribution of power back then was that the word of the king, the wish of the king despite all was the final weight on the scale. That was the direction of the politics being made".
Frederik takes over: "You asked what the kings view was and what the king says. It was in reality a time of change, and it was in that direction the democracy was oving. (Ie. politicians taking over). That he had to learn the hard way.
After the end of the war the winning sides decides that there must be a referendum about the adherence of Slesvig/Schleswig. That's why there is voting in two zones and Northern Slesvig which we know as Southern Jutland vote to return to Denmark, but the southern part does not and again Christian X is hit hard by that referendum, because he considers Slesvig a geographical unity".
Joachim: "That's a very, very hard thing for the king to swallow. To him Slesvig was undividable".

That leades to a political crisis, with the conservatives backing the king, while the liberals and radicals being in favor of a division.
Joachim: "As such the parts have dug down unwilling to give in. It ends with flying sparks. The king dismisses the government and the Easter Crisis is a reality. (*) Things screw up that day. The king request the Zahle administration (Radical and Liberal) to resign but without asking them to remain in office until a new government is found. (I.e. DK was without a democratic government). That's where the king makes his biggest mistake. The Radicals led by Zahle states that the king has commited a coup d'etat. The fact is that the country was without government.
My great-grandfather experience a very, very umpleasant situation from his own windows at Amalienborg. Everything is boiling and hissing. (**)
My great-grandfather is standing completely on his own and is on the recieving end all alone".
After four days a compromise was found but that was in reality the end of the DRF's direct political influence. Keep in mind that democracy in DK was only 70 years old.
But Christian X nevertheless ended up becoming a national symbol during the renufication between northen Slesvig and the rest of Denmark in 1920, where he rode across the border on a white horse picking up a little girl in the process.
Frederik: "The highlight of the reunification is when the king rides across the border on his white horse. And in that context a moment is being immortalised as he picks up a little girl in a white dress on his white horse".
Joachim: "The crowd is packed densely, cheering, he grabs the girl, gives her a kiss. To the king it's more than just symbolic that he is improvising on the spot. It actually becomes something very big to him emotionally. She (the girl Johanne Brarens whom remains in contact with) becomes a very important part of his life".
That also changes the Danes view of the king from the perception of him being a stiff and strickt man to being human and even kind and nice. (***)

Being a very conservative man, the women being given the right to vote in DK in 1915 was not something Christian X was that pleased with. In fact when a wellknown women, Emma Gad, thanked the king, he suggested she go home and pour up some coffee for her husband.


(*) The Easter Crisis is the closest thing DK has ever been to becoming a republic. Christian X was very close to being "abdicated".

(**) There were angry crowds at Amalienborg Square and some historians suggest the whole thing could have escalated out of control and led to a civil war.

(***) The Danes may have respected Christian X, but he wasn't exactly loved. The superstars within the DRF back then were crown prince frederik and crown princess Ingrid. Until the Occupation, where the Christian X became an almost worshipped national symbol.

-----------------

ADDED.

The DRF calendar seem pretty empty these days. My guess is that a member of the DRF will be visiting Danish troops stationed abroad.
Right now that could be Balticum, Mali, Afghanistan, Kuwait or Iraq.

Here is a news flash for Danish members and especially Muhler Now for something completely different....Denmark is on the front page of the Canadian news
The North Pole: Does Denmark have a legitimate claim? - Technology & Science - CBC News
Everywhere, newspapers are reporting the Danish claim to the Arctic and, more specifically, the North Pole. Canadian journalists are enjoying the Danish 'wanting the whole enchilada' (this is a colloquial term meaning the entire Arctic circle) and chuckling about the 'plucky Danes and their tiny nationWe shall see however what the relevant UN committee has to say about the claim, that is given serious consideration by legal and geological experts. I wonder if the timing of this announcement has anything to do with Santa Claus

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by gerry

Here is a news flash for Danish members and especially Muhler Now for something completely different....Denmark is on the front page of the Canadian news
The North Pole: Does Denmark have a legitimate claim? - Technology & Science - CBC News
Everywhere, newspapers are reporting the Danish claim to the Arctic and, more specifically, the North Pole. Canadian journalists are enjoying the Danish 'wanting the whole enchilada' (this is a colloquial term meaning the entire Arctic circle) and chuckling about the 'plucky Danes and their tiny nationWe shall see however what the relevant UN committee has to say about the claim, that is given serious consideration by legal and geological experts. I wonder if the timing of this announcement has anything to do with Santa Claus

Yep, now it will be 10-15 years before an international committee has decided who has the best case.
And actually it isn't Denmark that claims the North Pole, it's Greenland. Because DK has abandoned all rights to natural resources on Greenlandic territory. On top of that it's the seabed that is claimed, not the water.
That's also why Danish military has increased it's presence in the Arctic, including testing if fighters can operate there (with mixed results BTW).
It's all done in the name of Denmark, because DK handles foreign policy and defence. - All of it being part of a secret Greenlandic plot to take over the world. There is actually a website out there somewhere proposing that theory.

There is some PR-value in being able to claim that the North Pole is in Greenland - apart from possible minable natural resources that cannot be suddenly mined by other nations, who may be disregarding the environment... Nations who otherwise do not have territory in the Arctic. Guess specifically what nation this is referring to...
Apart from Greenland having a good case geographically, Greenland may also have a good case politically. Because Russia has very considerable interests in the Arctic and should Greenland win the claim Greenland and Russia will share a border. Now, Russia want's to attract investors and that means the less trouble in the Arctic the better. A small nation like Greenland/DK as a new neighbor at the North Pole may be more palatable than USA (who also have claims) or Canada for that matter being in possession of the North Pole. - And all are interested in keeping a certain other nation away.

Should Greenland win the claim, then in say fifteen-twenty years from now that will be celebrated in Greenland, no doubt with king Frederik and queen Mary as honored guests.

- It also means that Santa's workshop will be a part of Greenland, because as we all know the real Santa, who lives in Greenland, sat up his workshops at the North Pole for reasons of tax evasion.

ADDED: And USA has a base in northern Greenland. Neither Canada nor USA have other bases so far north.

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by gerry

thanks for this! I hope that Danish members will provide a link so that those of us outside Denmark can watch this fascinating documentary!

Here you go

Guld, Konge og Fædreland | TV | DR

[MidwestMom]

Originally Posted by gerry

Here is a news flash for Danish members and especially Muhler Now for something completely different....Denmark is on the front page of the Canadian news
The North Pole: Does Denmark have a legitimate claim? - Technology & Science - CBC News
Everywhere, newspapers are reporting the Danish claim to the Arctic and, more specifically, the North Pole. Canadian journalists are enjoying the Danish 'wanting the whole enchilada' (this is a colloquial term meaning the entire Arctic circle) and chuckling about the 'plucky Danes and their tiny nationWe shall see however what the relevant UN committee has to say about the claim, that is given serious consideration by legal and geological experts. I wonder if the timing of this announcement has anything to do with Santa Claus

There was also a report about this on NPR - National Public Radio - in the US yesterday. Although they didn't refer to the Danes as ''plucky.''

[Muhler]

Summaries of notes in Billed Bladet #51, 2014.

There has been some speculation as to whereabouts of the various members of the DRF recently, especially M&F who seems to have vanished from the official calendar.

Well, at least Mary is around. BB reports that she the other day was at a little private Christmas lunch with some of her female friends. That took place at restaurant Cafe Victor in downtown Copenhagen. Present were her good friend Helle Reedtz-Thott and Christine Pram, whose name I haven't noticed before.
The lunch started at 13.00.

--------

On Lucia Day (13th) Benedikt was the guest of honor at Helligåndskirken (Located right next to the kindergarten attended by Vincent, Josephine, Athena and bette Henrik.) Here she, along with members of her staff at Amalienborg, listened to a Christmas concert and watched a Lucia procession and afterwards there was a little champagne reception.

QMII attended the birthday of her friend Bente Scavenius, who turned 70. That was combined with a Christmas lunch and a publishing of a new book. Bente Scavenius is married Joen Bille. (The name Bille is medieval nobillity, so it's an old family). While there the mainly female guests played bingo, which must be considered normal at Christmas lunches for women.
Benedikte joined the party later on.

-----------------

But also Joachim and our Marie has been enjoying the Christmas month. Tuesday last week at 18.00 J&M and their two children went to Tivoli in Copenhagen and strolled around looking at all the Christmas decorations and events.
That included meeting Santa along with many other families with smaller children. He had parked himself in a couch where he chatted with the children and noted their wishes. Bette Henrik sat next to Santa, while Athena preferred to sit on mother's lap on the other side of big brother, keeping some distance to that strange man. But Santa got their wishes and the family strolled about a little more before leaving Tivoli around 21.00.

[Muhler]

The yearly DRF review on TV2 has just ended.
It sometimes has a tendency to be silly, but not this year.
It was a comprehensive coverage of the DRF, with particular focus on M&F and their children.
Seeing the clips from Greenland again it seems to me that Josephine is especially fond of her older brother, Christian. She certainly likes to be around him and she tolerate a handling from him that I have seen her absolutely not tolerate from Vincent and Isabella.
The Australian women's magazines coverage or rather predictions about Mary caused a good deal of amusement. Not least one of the magazines claiming that now QMII would abdicate and Mary become queen, only to claim a few weeks later that these plans were scrapped because the magazine had revealed them...

But other royal families were covered. Spain. Sweden - in particular Sofia Hellqvist, and the BRF with emphasis on W&K and their popularity.

I doubt you will be able to watch the review outside DK, but DR1 will air their review on Sunday and that you should be able to watch.

but perhaps other Danes noticed something? - That means over to you, Roskilde.

[Roskilde]

You said it perfectly, Muhler.

It's no secret that I have tendency to prefer DR rather than TV2 when it comes to royal programs. But TV2's program yesterday was definitely an improvement. I missed a little more attention to F&M's many official business trips abroad though, and Marys many projects and in this respect the transition we clearly see happening from the Regent couple to M&F these years. But the big focus was on the Greenland trip and of cause, it was a fantastic trip. But the program was far better structured than last year and a fine review of foreign royal houses. Still looking more forward to watch DR's though

Originally Posted by Muhler

The yearly DRF review on TV2 has just ended.
It sometimes has a tendency to be silly, but not this year.
It was a comprehensive coverage of the DRF, with particular focus on M&F and their children.
Seeing the clips from Greenland again it seems to me that Josephine is especially fond of her older brother, Christian. She certainly likes to be around him and she tolerate a handling from him that I have seen her absolutely not tolerate from Vincent and Isabella.

Josephine is certainly older brother Christian's girl. I noticed it many times during the Greenland trip

http://www.jv.dk/modules/xphoto/cach...1010_631_2.jpg
http://www.jv.dk/modules/xphoto/cach...1200_750_2.jpg
http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/008...es_865863n.jpg
http://www.billedbladet.dk/sites/bil...?itok=NZ8eG8Ag
https://38.media.tumblr.com/9a256818...oeepo2_250.gif
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/23...ec8fb3910b.jpg

[MidwestMom]

There has been some speculation as to whereabouts of the various members of the DRF recently, especially M&F who seems to have vanished from the official calendar.


-------------

Maybe Frederik's at Fredensborg helping to rearrange the furniture and pack up the breakables in preparation for that huge family Christmas reunion Hope we get some pictures!

[Muhler]

It's no doubt going to be very lively this year!

VIDEO: Mary og Frederik i unikke TV-optagelser fra Året i Kongehuset 2014 | Billed Bladet

BB has compiled their own DRF review this year, and this time they intend to upload videos on the webpage from tomorrow Sunday and every day until Christmas. (And probably on Royalista too).

The clips will show:
Mary dancing in South Africa.
QMII dressed up for New Years Eve.
Bette Henrik racing in soap box car IIRC.
PH's 80th birthday.
And of course M&F and family in Greenland.

So now we can expect our vigilant members to upload the links here the second they are up on BB.

[ashelen]

I was wondering kids now a days like sleep overs at their friends homes, wonder if Christian and Isabella, had one???For the ither kids might be a lot of fun to have sleep over at the palace but the other way around I guess they have to have a PET in the front door?

[amaryllus]

A scavenger hunt at the palace would be amazing...go to the fire place with the bust of so and so on the first floor to get your next clue and so on. Can't you see Fred and Mary getting in on the fun? and after a game of hide and seek on the grounds ghost stories around the camp fire... Which considering the setting may not be so funny

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by ashelen

I was wondering kids now a days like sleep overs at their friends homes, wonder if Christian and Isabella, had one???For the ither kids might be a lot of fun to have sleep over at the palace but the other way around I guess they have to have a PET in the front door?

I'm sure both Christian and Bella have had sleep overs, certainly among the children of their close friends, several of whom own their own castle or manor.
But probably classmates as well.
And yes, PET would be around.

Originally Posted by amaryllus

A scavenger hunt at the palace would be amazing...go to the fire place with the bust of so and so on the first floor to get your next clue and so on. Can't you see Fred and Mary getting in on the fun? and after a game of hide and seek on the grounds ghost stories around the camp fire... Which considering the setting may not be so funny

I can certainly see Frederik get involved. I remember him telling about a steward IIRC at Marselisborg frighting both Frederik and Joachim about a monster living under the stairs there.
And I remember Frederik and Mary visiting a German kindergarten in Southern Jutland and telling the children (in German BTW) about a dragon they have at home in the basement, but added reassuringly that it was a friendly dragon (nette drachen).

[amaryllus]

A dragon then and few nisse probably, as well as the requisite ancestral spirits. But Isabella will let them know who is boss and they better not scare her friends or Vincent and Josephine

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by ashelen

I was wondering kids now a days like sleep overs at their friends homes, wonder if Christian and Isabella, had one???For the ither kids might be a lot of fun to have sleep over at the palace but the other way around I guess they have to have a PET in the front door?

I'm also quite sure that they do have. We have seen many times that F&M has the children's classmates with them during private family outings. We only have to go back to last week where Mary took Bella and Vincent to a kids entertainment show where Bella had two friends with her:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...c7ca315f423798

In the interview with Women's Weekly last year Mary told about a quite funny episode which Christian's teachers told her and Frederik at a parent meeting: Christian's teacher and classmates talked one day about whether the pupils maybe knew some who were famous? The children thought about it... but the only person the children could think of was a father of one of the boys who play in a band.

How it is done with PET when Christian and Bella are at home in their classmates houses is indeed a good question, but I think it somehow works... Like when we see they are on school trips and things like this.

[gerry]

Originally Posted by Roskilde

I'm also quite sure that they do have. We have seen several times that F&M has the children's classmates with them during private family outings. We only have to go back to last week where Mary took Bella and Vincent to a kids entertainment show - here Bella had two friends with her:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...c7ca315f423798

In the interview with Women's Weekly last year Mary actually told about how Christian and Isabella have classmates with them home from school. In the same interview she talks about a funny episode Christian's teachers told her and Frederik at a parent meeting: Christian's teacher and classmates talked about whether the pupils maybe knew some who were famous? The children thought about it... but the only person the children could think of was a father of one of the boys who play in a band.

How it is done with PET when Christian and Bella are at home in their classmates houses I do not know, but I think it somehow works... Like when we see they are on school trips and things like this.

This just proves how much of a cultural concept 'fame' is Who is a celebrity depends on what is considered important! Children are incredibly inspired and dependent upon the arts: music, dance and visuals-of course including film. Presumably the classmates in question have parents who are well aware that a child is a child, be he royal or not

[amaryllus]

I guess career day or their version of it is easy for Christian :) and the concept of bring your parent to school is not a thing in Denmark :)

[Muhler]

VIDEO: Unikke TV-optagelser fra Året i kongehuset 2014 | Billed Bladet

BB has compiled a video review of the DRF in 2014, in chronological order and it's narrated by the Ulrik Ulriksen.

There are a few clips that are new, but hardened DRF watchers need not understand a word of Danish to know when the clips took place.

Also, I'll remind everyone of the DR1 yearly review tonight at 21.15-22.20 and that you should be able to watch outside DK.

I'm sure a kind soul will post a link here later.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by amaryllus

I guess career day or their version of it is easy for Christian :) and the concept of bring your parent to school is not a thing in Denmark :)

Funny you should mention career day.

Christian's career is after all determined, so perhaps he will try a career he will never have anything to do with, say baker.
When he gets older, he and his fellow classmates will try working (alone) as an intern for a week at a business out in the real world.
What happens is that the pupil express a number of wishes and the school try to find an internship, unless the pupil can find one himself. But being an intern at mom or dad's work is frowned upon, it's considered better they try standing on their own legs alone.

Both Mrs. Muhler and I were away as interns for a week twice back when we went to school and our son, who has now left school, was an intern at a shipping company and loved it. Our daughter will try being an intern in a couple of years.

School-interns are actually in the way, to be honest. I've had one myself and it is extra work to take care of your own work, while at the same time ensuring the intern is doing something meaningful and isn't just being left in a corner bored stiff.

Anyway, we don't have a career day as such in DK, we send the pupils away on internship for a week and when they come back they tell the class about their experiences out in the real world.

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by Muhler

VIDEO: Unikke TV-optagelser fra Året i kongehuset 2014 | Billed Bladet

BB has compiled a video review of the DRF in 2014, in chronological order and it's narrated by the Ulrik Ulriksen.

Thanks Muhler

A quite nice review of the year that has passed. But yes, nothing new. On the other hand it gives some glorious flashbacks. PC Henrik is always good for a good smile.

- Or when I still smile wide when Vincent makes one of his stunts and fall over in the snow during their skiing holiday. Mum helps him up again and he continues like nothing had happened.
- Or Christian's expression when Grandpapa takes a "little discreet" bite of his barbecue sausage and thus half of it disappears - right down into Granpapa's big belly. The way Christian looks at it when he gets half the sausage back

At 05:06 we see a part of the interview F&M made at their wedding anniversary day in Poland. I guess some of you are interested in what they were saying:

F: It's great to wake up and say congratulations and how wonderful it is that ten years have passed in this delightful way.
M&F jokes: And you can say my surprise to my wife was to invite her on a three day trip to Poland - in the presense of half the Polish population.
F: It's lovely to be two, it's one of the best thing that has happened to me.

Here you can read a longer translation from the Poland-thread:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...ml#post1665099

At the end of the video Prince Nikolai tells about to start on his boarding school. It can also be found in the threads somewhere.

Otherwise, also everything else in the video can be found around in the Danish threads as well...