Princess Alexandra, Current Events 3: April 2006 - March 2007 - Page 18

Heike · #**341** 02-23-2007, 03:24 PM

I don´t think Alexandra is so eager to stay in the spotlight.
Otherwise she wouldn´t give up her Princess title to marry a commoner.
(And through this marriage she has to pay a lot of tax !!)
It´s not fair to say that every girl who decided to marry a prince likes to become the focus of the spotlight.
Does CP Mary like the spotlight? Does Mette-Marit like the spotlight?
I would rather say that they understand and accept that being the media focus will be part of their lives if they marry their princes.
Besides, nobody likes to be photographed 24 hours a day. It´s normal that the prominents welcome the media when they attend public events, but the media are not welcomed in some other occasions. This kind of reactions towards media is human. I don´t consider this a point to criticise.

christinacg · #**342** 02-23-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sister Morphine

I know about all that. I was responding to someone saying that they didn't think the thread title should change, once Alexandra marries.

No, I didn't mean that it shouldn't be changed. I meant that I don't want it to be changed, because I think its going to be sad when Alexandra officially loses her status as Princess. I fully understand why though.

I didn't see this posted yet; Alexandra has resigned from 8 of her 24 patronages. I wonder which ones and why she chose them.

norwegianne · #**343** 02-24-2007, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christinacg

I didn't see this posted yet; Alexandra has resigned from 8 of her 24 patronages. I wonder which ones and why she chose them.

http://www.bt.dk/article/20070223/ROYALT/70223029/0/A

Fonden For Træer Og Miljø (Association for trees and environment) and Det Danske Haveselskab (The Danish Garden Society) are two of the patronages which has reported back to BT that they will no longer have Alexandra's official support.

Dansk Blindeforbund (Danish Association for the Blind) and Unicef are two of the patronages she'll keep, according to Billedbladet.

seto · #**344** 02-24-2007, 08:54 AM

What time is the wedding taking place?

BurberryBrit · #**345** 02-24-2007, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H.M. Margrethe

Hm i think it is her own fault..IF she wants to stay in the spotligth of the press an wants to have a nobel titel and be invitet to all the grand balls in the royal family why in the heck is she going to marry Martin ?
What is she going to do when he is leaving her for another woman ?

Obviously, she is not marrying for a title or for money since she's giving those things up. She's marrying for love. Who cares if she's Princess or Countess? She was born a commoner. IMO a title doesn't make a person who they are. She made the title by her work and her poise, not the other way around. Alexandra is ready to move on so maybe we should to.

blyton · #**346** 02-24-2007, 10:07 AM

I agree with BurberryBrit------its time for us all to move on.
I am sure we will still see Alexandra.People will still be curious about her,she is still The Mother of two princes.

seto · #**347** 02-24-2007, 12:02 PM

I agree she has chosen to change her life and I wish her the best of luck in her new life and marriage.

ysbel · #**348** 02-24-2007, 06:08 PM

Alexandra may have thought before marrying Joachim that she would enjoy the life of a Princess a lot more than she actually enjoyed it once she was the Princess.

We all have made mistakes that we would like something and then when we got into it, found we really didn't like it.

When its a marriage, its a bit more serious to back out of it and leave. A marriage is not something to leave on a whim, but I'm sure Alexandra and Joachim thought about it a great deal before they separated as I'm sure Alexandra and Martin thought about it a great deal before they announced their marriage.

Alexandra doesn't seem like the tempetuous type of person.

Jasl · #**349** 02-24-2007, 08:30 PM

It seems that the patronages she gave up recently are small ones. Does anyone have a complete list of those patronages?

We don't know the full story of course, but to me it would seem to be more prudent to announce that she no longer wishes to be given the allowance from the Danish government before she starts resigning from a number of her patronages (because her work is the main reason why she continues to receive the allowance).

But who knows - maybe it has already been raised with the government. Or maybe she doesn't want to give up the allowance. We don't know all that yet (if we ever will).

jmj21983 · #**350** 02-24-2007, 11:07 PM

Why should she have to give up her allowance? She is still keeping over half of her patronages. Her allowance is also going to be taxed, so that takes a large portion of the money.

Jasl · #**351** 02-24-2007, 11:36 PM

Perhaps she shouldn't give up all of her allowance then - perhaps she should give up 1/3 of it (to reflect the fact that she's losing 1/3 of her patronages).

As for the taxation aspect - that's another matter entirely. She won't be royal anymore after her marriage, therefore she will pay tax. To say that her allowance shouldn't be reduced because she'll be hit with extra tax after her second marriage puts her back on the same footing as her royal days doesn't it? But she won't be, and an argument that a reduction of her duties to compensate for the tax payable is not fair to the rest of the non-royal tax-paying Danes.

But its for the Danes to decide of course. Personally - I just don't think I'd feel right keeping on receiving the same amount of allowance. But that's just me personally.

jmj21983 · #**352** 02-24-2007, 11:58 PM

Are you saying that just because she is reducing her patronages she won't be working as hard? Just because someone has a long list of patronages does not mean they work harder than someone who has less. Maybe this will give Alexandra the chance to give even more time and effort to causes she truly cares about.

sara1981 · #**353** 02-25-2007, 12:19 AM

well

its so rough question for me but Princess Alexandra will have less patron when she getting married again to Martin like late Diana,Princess of Wales had it before she got divorces what Diana wanted favorites charity to funds for raise what needs!

Jasl · #**354** 02-25-2007, 12:20 AM

I believe that the decision to give Alex an allowance was influenced heavily by the amount of public appearances she did in the years leading up to the divorce. If the circumstances have changed, then yes, I think the allowance should be reviewed.

Why do I think the circumstances have changed? Well without further information (e.g. patronages saying "yes, she does a lot of work with us behind the scenes), the only thing we have upon which we can base our decisions on is what we have available, including (i) the number of patronages (the assumption being the more patronages, the more work there is), and (ii) the number of public appearances. Reduction of public appearances and reduction of the number of patronages is likely to make me think "yep, allowance should be reduced". Its only reasonable.

Giving such a large allowance to a soon to be private citizen is not an absolute right - therefore the onus of proving that the allowance should continue to be given is on that person, IMO. It should not be up to me to prove that she has not reduced her work.

But then again the Danish government gave her the allowance without reference to what it is exactly she has to do to continue receiving that allowance. So perhaps its possible to do whatever it is she wants to do and still continue receiving that allowance. The Danes are very generous people it seems.

ysbel · #**355** 02-25-2007, 12:25 AM

I think Alexandra is scaling down her public works gradually. I wouldn't be surprised if later she dropped all her patronages and her allowance and returned to being a totally private citizen - albeit one with two princes as sons and a title as Countess.

It looks like she's downgrading her lifestyle gradually and inevitably its happening too quickly for some and too slowly for others.

jmj21983 · #**356** 02-25-2007, 01:05 AM

But my point is, just because she is reducing her patronages that does not mean she is working less. What is wrong with devoting oneself to several key causes, as opposed to putting one's name on any organization that looks good? Of course there are many great orginaztions and great causes to support, but the more you add on, less time and energy can be devoted to causes one has already chosen to take on. Frederik and Joachim do not do very many public engagments, yet they are constantly given the benefit of a doubt that they must be working hard behind the scenes. Why has Alexandra not being given the benefit of a doubt as well? Because she is not photographed means she does nothing? Of course her allowance is not a god given right but she is still the mother of the Queen's two oldest grandsons and at least for their sake should still be a part of a certain lifestyle. I don't see why she should still be expected to work as hard as every other member of the Danish royal family, despite the fact she is no longer a member of that family and gets none of the perks, and gets taxed heavily.

ysbel · #**357** 02-25-2007, 01:10 AM

I don't think it is that Alexandra is not being given the benefit of the doubt...but its natural to assume that if one reduces the number of patronages, the amount of work involved would reduce also.

That may not be exactly true...as you say she can increase the work on the patronages that she is keeping....but I think it is a fair assumption that dropping some patronages reduces a royal's workload no matter who the royal is.

norwegianne · #**358** 02-25-2007, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasl

(e.g. patronages saying "yes, she does a lot of work with us behind the scenes),

Several of the patronages have said that she does do a lot of work for them behind the scenes. It was mentioned that she was not content with being a royal "figurehead", as certain other royals, but that she wanted to be more involved. I think it was unicef who mentioned it, in an interview with either Billed Bladet or BT. And the two patronages that she dropped that were interviewed, also mentioned that it would be a huge loss, because she'd been so involved.

I find that it is sort of the same discussion that keeps labeling Frederik lazy - just because we don't see pictures of everything, doesn't mean that the royals aren't involved and working. The royal work isn't something that is exclusively done in front of a camera.

grevinnan · #**359** 02-25-2007, 05:49 AM

Many aristocratic women have patronages - it is not just for royals. It is a way of life for them - just as much as royal balls and wearing family jewels including tiaras.

Heike · #**360** 02-25-2007, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmj21983

Are you saying that just because she is reducing her patronages she won't be working as hard? Just because someone has a long list of patronages does not mean they work harder than someone who has less. Maybe this will give Alexandra the chance to give even more time and effort to causes she truly cares about.

Good point!
Quality is more important than quantity.