Chateau de Caix, Cahors, France

[Viv]

Originally Posted by lumutqueen

I only mention the wine growing experience as you seemed to use it as a reason as to why Joachim shouldn't recieve the Chateau.
I don't see why Frederik should have a private property of his own he will have the run of all the palaces in Denmark. What would be the point in having the Chateau aswell?

Yes I realise that Frederik is his eldest son, but Marie has the french roots, and would probably enjoy spending more time in her home country with her new family then Frederik would. Just as Frederik would prefer to spend time more likely with Mary in Tasmania perhaps?

Neither of them spend much time there, but who do you think in your opinion is more likely to spend time there when Frederik becomes King?

If I may kick in a footnote from the sideline:

CP Frederik may not be a wine grower, but he is not completely without experience in this field; he was an intern with Mondavi, the Californian wine growers, and I suppose that he picked up some tricks from his father too! However he will need somebody to be in charge of the production!

IMO the reason that Cayx will be bequeathed to him is that as king, he will need a place to withdraw to from prying eyes. He won't be able to do that in Denmark unless he goes to the cabin in Trend forest, which is private property. There's also another aspect -this is only my opinion, but I think that it is realistic: Cayx is also a life insurance should anything happen to the Danish monarchy! I don't expect anything to happen in the immediate future, but the fact of the matter is that royalty should not take their existence for granted these days.

I get the impression that both princes are fond of France, however Prince Joachim more so being a self professed Francophile! I understand why some think that Cayx should be his some day, but ... again.. should the monarchy be abolished, Frederik will have a property outside Denmark.

As for prince Joachim and Schackenborg: it is rightfully his to keep or sell, as he likes!

Viv

[Terri Terri]

Very well said Viv! Thank you very much!

[bertie5252003]

This place is gorgeous I so wish it was mine I know that may sound too terrible but Mary must pinch herself a girl from Tasmania ..... too lucky and I just don't care how it sounds....

[rylt11]

Yes, indeed. She's a very nice woman, from what we see, and certainly a beautiful one. Frederick is certainly besotted and she complements him. He looks to her when in a crowd and she always seems to smile at the right moment for him or give him a look of assurance.

She carries herself with grace and looks playful when with her children, a wonderful combination of a nice warm person who is completely natural, yet can hold her own on more formal occasions, at least seems to. One doesn't know exactly what she says to heads of state, etc., but she appears to handle this aspect of her life well.

[iceflower]

The following article includes lots of pics of Chateau de Caix,
the title says "Here Prince Henrik will enjoy his retirement".

** BB article ** gallery **

[ashelen]

beautiful picks, the place looks incredible, i wonder if they have like other chataus that you can rent a room for vacation? would be nice!!!

[lyndaW]

I didn't realize that they also have a pool............beautiful estate

[Grandduchess24]

Isn't their chateau in France originally belong to the family of de laborde de monpezat and I guess the princes inherit it since hereditarily they are counts of de laborde de monpezat

[JessRulz]

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik bought the Château in 1974. I'm not 100% sure if it was in the de Laborde de Monpezat family before that, as most info kind of stops in the 18th century, before then saying how the de Laborde de Monpezat's moved to Indo-China in the 1960s.

[Muhler]

Google images of Chateu de Cayz. (Current spelling is Cayz, whatever...).
Give the files time to load and always go full screen for a closer view, then zoom in.

The chateau with surroundings: Chateau Cayz and surroundings - Kopi.JPG - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

Close view: Chateau Cayz - close up - Kopi.JPG - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage
The terrace, where members of the DRF are often seen and photographed, is facing south.

[Viv]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Google images of Chateu de Cayz. (Current spelling is Cayz, whatever...).

The current spelling is Cayx according to DRF website, unless of course Henri has changed his mind in the meantime.........

viv

[Sun Lion]

Hi Everone - I was having a clean out this weekend and came across a magazine that I've had since the late 1990s - for another article - that has an 8 page feature, photos and interview, with Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik about this property - called in this report Chateau de Caix.

I remember thinking when the photos of CP Mary's family holiday at the Chateau last July, 2011, came out - "I wonder what is behind those doors - we'll never know"- so imagine my suprise to find I had photos of the interior tucked away unknown to myself.

This article has 13 interior photos, and 7 outdoor photos.

(I'd looked on the internet previously to see if there were any interior shots, but only found 3 in a Scandanavian publication called "Skona Hem" - from late 2009/early 2010 and I've only had an interest in fellow Tasmanian CP Mary the last year or two, so it was a pleasant suprise to find this amongst my belongings still.)

Following are some points in the article about the property, and how Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik came to aquire it, and what they had to do to bring it up to a liveable standard.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

1) Prince Henrik knew this property from his childhood - his father had brought the nearby manor house "Le Cayrou". Prince Henrick's father tried to buy Chateau de Caix at that time, but the owner, wine-maker Valentin Miran, did not want to sell until 1974, when Prince Henrik's father told him it was available.

2) Prince Henrik managed the restoration himself, with the craftsmen, after earlier having an architiect work on it.

3) The North Wing has the care-taker's flat, the South Wing houses the Royal Family and the Centre Wing is for guests.

4) The towers were converted to contain the bathrooms.

5) The "White Room" in the cooler north-east corner of the Chateau is Queen Margrethe's study. It is hung with several of her own paintings and a mirror Prince Henrik made out of a picture frame. The couch has a leopard skin across it under the cushions. There is a wonderful chandelier hanging here.

6)There are a lot of Oriental touches about - a large golden Buddha, wall hangings and ornaments. One room has a large brown bear rug on the floor.

7) The dining chairs are upholstered in a design of Queen Margrethe's, and the dining table covered in a cloth she embroidered, with plates she painted.

8) The furnishings came from Denmark, and were worked on by the normal upholsterer and sewing lady on the Royal staff.

9) The restoration was not without drama as at one point Prince Henrik's sister - who was keeping an eye on the place - had to ring to let them know there had been a major disaster. The ceiling - in the only part of the Chateau not supported by the vaulting in the cellars - had collapsed through all the storeys. Prince Henrick solved this problem by converting this area, the living and dining room, into a two-storey high open hall, with a gallery running along the top, from one end to the other. In the photo of this room there are several wooden model ships hanging from the ceiling.

10) The were also pleasant suprises during the restoration. An ancient archway that had been bricked up was discovered and opend up again and this is now a cool part of the Chateau during the scorching French summers - it opens into the staircase going to the storeys above and the staricase to the vaults below. The Chateau in fact has thermo-glass thoughout to help with the heat management. Queen Margrethe also says the scent of the fermenting grapes goes up through the house and "bubbles inside you".

11) The swimming pool was a gift from friends for Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's Silver Wedding Anniversary. Before that, taking a swim meant visiting friends or going down to the river or to a small brook.

12) Queen Margrethe shares her joy in this home, explaining about the abundant wildflowers in spring, the nightingales singing along the river, the three different types of vegatation on the property from the river, to the south side of the mountian to the summit, how she and Prince Henrick have their evening coffee in the Temple of Love. They both look happy and relaxed, (and tanned), in the photos. Also, the Chateau is in a valley, so at times severe storms funnel through and can last through the night into late morning the next day.

13) At the time of this article there was no TV, but there was a bridge table.

14) What clinched the deal, for both Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, was the 16 acres of land, half of which was vineyards. Queen Margrethe explains how this allows them to feel part of the community and not just holiday-makers and how important this was to them. The property did/does produce a red wine and also a full-bodied white wine called "La Cigarelle".

15) The Royal Family used to travel to Chateau de Caix by train, and this was an important part of their time there - travelling through the Loire valley, Limoges and onto the Lot area where it is located.

[Muhler]

Thanks a lot, Sun Lion

Interesting little details.

Allow me to encourage you to do some more clean outs.

[Tarlita]

Sun Lion you are a real treasure for taking the time to type this out for us. How wonderful to make a find like this. I have three pics from the interior from a swedish site not sure if its the same one you mentioned. It would be great if you could scan the pics and post them here. But thanks again for your time and effort, much appreciated.

[Sun Lion]

Hi Muhler, Hi Tarlita -

- yes a nice suprise for me too - if I had come across it a year or two ago I wouldn't have paid it much attention, but I developed an interest in this property after seeing all the photos of it, (exterior), during last year's holiday there by the Crown Prince couple with Mary's father and step-mother, the Australian friends and the children. There seemed to be an endless supply of photos coming out from that holiday, but of course, only of the outside areas.

Our local, Australian, womens' magazine even printed some grainy photos of the Chateau from that time, because the twins were spotted there.

The three photos I found on the internet are of the library, and Prince Henrik sitting inside and the living/dining room - so maybe they are the same ones you have Tarlita.

I can certainly scan and post the photos, but is that ok? - this forum has such strict rules about copyright.

I checked the internet before I did my post, and have seen the same magazine is on sale on ebay - a bit of a shock, as I've thrown about a hundred issues of this magazine away lately as I've been de-cluttering my home, and they seem to be worth selling.

I'll keep my issue though - it may be the last time the cameras are let in.

It was a feature from 1998 to "celebrate" the completion of the restoration after 24 years in Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's hands.

Queen Margrethe doesn't look to have changed much in the succeeding years, but Prince Henrik is quite slim, young and healthy looking in these photos - both very happy looking.

Queen Margrethe explains how Prince Henrik likes to do "the furniture waltz", with the furniture "galloping from room to room" pretty often.

Some things were chosen by Queen Margrethe herself alone, some things by Prince Henrik himself alone, but the main rooms, including Prince Henrik's study, and the "White Room", as well as the living room and guest rooms were done by them together.

One wall has a Chinese silk hanging - very large - that has been in Prince Henrik's family for several generations, and another wall has a tapestry by a Danish artist Anges Slott-Moller - (if she is a well known Dane Muhler?).

Parts of the Chateau date back to the 14th Century, but the building is not so unique that the restoration had to be fussed over in every little detail, and so Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik were "radical" in restoring the floors - they all needed doing - and so put down concrete throughout as anything more detailed was more than they thought they could cope with.

The interview ends with Queen Margrethe relating how they both had tears in their eyes when they had their first wine-pressing, that was how important it is/was to them - having their own vineyard.

Cheers for now, Sun Lion.

[Tarlita]

I am sorry I cannot help you about the copyrite. Perhaps Muhler could help you with that or one of the moderators.
These are the 3 pics I have.



Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image

[cepe]

I've been to this area twice this year - it is very wooded and the autumn was particularly lovely. Going back next year and will try and find the chateau - been up and down the D145 a number of times and didn't know about this.

[Sun Lion]

Hi Tarlita - yes the first two of your photos are what I found on Google Images. There was a third photo of Prince Henrik sitting in the living room to the left of the blue sofa in your centre photo.

The white ornaments in your third photo are in my magazine article which says they are an Oriental temple set consisting of vases, candlesticks and a censer, and which was among the first things Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik purchased as a couple together.

The Chinese silk wall hanging that has been in Prince Henrik's family is hanging on the wall behind these items.

They are arranged a bit differently to how they are in my photo, but seem to still be on the same long, narrow, carved Oriental table.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

Hi cepe - yes, good luck with finding the Chateau on your next trip to the area.

You may bump into Prince Henrik in the cellar-door shop.

He seems very enthusiastic about the product calling it the "fortune of Chateau de Caix" and saying "here is yet more gold" pointing to the rows of bottles in my magazine interview.

There are quite a few pictures on the internet of the different items on sale there.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

[cepe]

Thank Sun Lion - we should be in time for the vendage next year - might buy a couple of bottles, maybe!

[Sun Lion]

A clarification Tarlita - your photo with the blue sofa and piano is called the living room on the website I saw it on, but there is another living room in my magazine article - the two-storey one with the gallery running along the top that is combined with the dining area - so perhaps two living rooms. The one in your photo seems more formally furnished than the one in my magazine.

Cheers, Sun Lion.

Hi again cepe - please post your photos if you get to Chateau de Caix - I'm sure we'd all like to see and hear about a first hand experience of the property,

Sun Lion.

Sorry - one more bit of info I meant to post - (getting late here in Sydney and passed my bedtime - getting a bit dopey.)

There is a photo of the patio also in the "Skona Hem" article on Google Images - (type Chateau de Cayx and see Tarlita's blue sofa photo in the top line and enter there.)

Interesting as the photos we see of the Royal Family are usually taken when they're on this patio, and it is quite wide and has a round mosiac table which has a grill in the centre.

Cheers Again, Sun Lion.