Prince Friso and Princess Mabel, Current Events 1 (August 2003 - September 2006)

[Paula**]

I love Mabel
Its sad the media doesn't give much attention to her
I want more information, like: birth,full name and that stuff like a Bio
Anybody have this information?

[crisiñaki]

I never thought I'll see Friso smiling but here it is:


Really changes his face doesn't it?
Source: royalportraits.nl (in case you miss the watermark )

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Originally Posted by crisiñaki

I never thought I'll see Friso smiling but here it is:


Really changes his face doesn't it?
Source: royalportraits.nl (in case you miss the watermark )

He has something takes after/makes him looks like his brother Prince Willem, doesn't he?But nice to see him smiling.

[Mandrake]

He seems a nice intelligent chap.. Not to keen on the media, but we musn't judge him on that!

[corazon]

nothing about mabel? I want see her and luana

[Marengo]

Last thing I saw of her was a picture while she attended the fashionshow of Viktor and Rolf, so let's be prepared for her next appearance!

[Royalsa]

I can't find a picture of Mabel at the fashionshow of Viktor & Rolf (February 27th). I know she was wearing a orange jacket. Is there someone who can help me?

[Marengo]

Tday a scoop in the Volkskrant about mabel, which was news in other newspaper and several radio- and television programmes as well.

Reason is the recently published book: 'Zeg dit toch aan niemand. Leven aan het hof' by Dorine Hermans & Daniela Hooghiemstra, about courtiers now & then and basically how Beatrix through out all the noble courtiers and replaced them with professionals and how she demands absolute loyalty from them. Some of the nobles were not to kind which lead to statements as 'looking up to Mabel and Laurentien? No, I look down on them' , which says more about that noble person then about the princesses IMO.

Anyway, one of the authors used to be a friend of Princess Mabel before she married, also in the time Mabel was seeing mafia boss Klaas Bruinsma. This author stated in an interview on the frontpage of quality-newspaper 'De Volkskrant' that at the time that Mabel was lying to the Queen, country and gouverment she and Friso demanded absolute loyalty from their friends. Mabel broke of contacts with friends who adviced her to tell the truth (like one of the authors did, who didn't speak to Mabel ever since). The author also mentions a conversation between her Mabel and Friso in which Mabel said How can I tell this? What will my mother think? To which Friso replied in surprise: 'What*YOUR* mother thinks??? '

It shows that the prime minister was right in not asking for concent for this marriage IMO.

[Alexandria]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Some of the nobles were not to kind which lead to statements as 'looking up to Mabel and Laurentien? No, I look down on them' , which says more about that noble person then about the princesses IMO.

What is the problem that some of the nobles might have with Laurentien? I thought she came from a good family background, if not a noble one. I can see, though I don't necessarily approve, of why the nobles might look down on Mabel, but I always thought Laurentien was well-liked even if she was thought to be a bit colourful or to have a unique sense of style.

Originally Posted by Marengo

The author also mentions a conversation between her Mabel and Friso in which Mabel said How can I tell this? What will my mother think? To which Friso replied in surprise: 'What*YOUR* mother thinks??? '

That's funny! :p At least Johan has a sense of humour!

[Laviollette]

How does the media refer to Mabel? Is it Princess Mabel, Mabel Wisse Smit, wife of Prince Friso? Just wondering. There is always a frenzy surrounding her and her past. It's a wonder she ever returns to the Netherlands. Will they ever forgive her for her past they way Norwegians let CP MM alone about her past?

[Alexandria]

Originally Posted by Laviollette

There is always a frenzy surrounding her and her past. It's a wonder she ever returns to the Netherlands. Will they ever forgive her for her past they way Norwegians let CP MM alone about her past?

I am not Dutch so I can't explain Dutch sentiment on Mabel, but I think the difference between Mabel and Mette-Marit might be that Mabel won't ever have the same chance/opportunities to prove herself the way Mette-Marit has to the Norwegian people. As the Crown Princess, Mette-Marit is expected to perform royal duties (and for some not quite to their satisfaction) and in doing so she can show the Norwegian people what she is capable of or what she isn't, or what her personality is like day in and day out.

Mabel, having chose to live outside of the Netherlands and not being part of the royal court to perform royal duties has less of a chance to show to the Dutch people what she is capable of and that she is (or isn't) more than what her past indicates about her.

Of course, there are other ways Mabel could endear herself to the Dutch people if she were so inclined, such as through social causes or programs outside of the Dutch court's realm, but neither she nor Johan seem interested in such things and seem perfectly happy living a private life.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Laviollette

How does the media refer to Mabel? Is it Princess Mabel, Mabel Wisse Smit, wife of Prince Friso? Just wondering. There is always a frenzy surrounding her and her past. It's a wonder she ever returns to the Netherlands. Will they ever forgive her for her past they way Norwegians let CP MM alone about her past?

Alexandria has some good insights on this one, and I think in addition, it comes perhaps down somewhat to this:

In early 2001, there was doubt in the Netherlands whether Willem Alexander should be allowed to become king, because his then-serious-girlfriend, Maxima Zorreguieta, had a very controversial father who had served in the seventies as a minister of agriculture for a controversial, if not bloody, regime in Argentina.

One of the reasons I believe that the Dutch collectively embraced Maxima on the day of her engagement to Alexander, is because she was clever and realistic enough to realize she had to address this very matter of her father's past.

And she did, on the day of the engament, when she famously distanced herself from the Videla regime and anything to do with that.

I strongly believe it is because of this brave forthcoming performance on that day that Maxima is so accepted in her new homeland. (I have no idea on whose advice she did this, but I believe Beatrix and Claus and of course Alex must have a lot to do with it)

And you know what, for all her smarts, Mabel really didn't do anything of the sort.

That is, yes, she did come a bit cleaner about the friendship with that gangster Bruinsma, but only after an investigative reporter in the Netherlands had spectacularly dug up an old body guard of Bruinsma. This man, the Chilean Da Silva, famously stated in front of shocked Dutch tv viewers: "Mabel, do you remember me? I do remember you."

After this, Mabel STILL denied a strong friendship with Bruinsma, and only admitted that she'd stayed overnight on his boat a couple of times. But she dismissed these overnight stays as nothing more than something a lot of people did in the context of sailing competitions.

Only after the Dutch prime minister rightly smelled a rat, sat down with the couple and drew the truth out of them, only after that did Mabel and Friso send the government a letter expressing regret over the whole affair and basically 'resigning from royal duties' in not asking formal permission for their marriage, which meant Friso losing his right to the throne.

You'd think that after this, more mistakes couldn't be made PR-wise by this couple. But on the eve of their wedding some 6 months later, they did a tv interview with the most prominent tv personalities of the Netherlands.

And what happened in that interview I believe, sealed the perception of the Dutch towards Mabel forever.
I watched the interview. When asked whether she had had a relationship with Bruinsma, Mabel haughtily answered she never had a liefdesrelatie, or love affair, "with this Mr. Bruinsma."

It came across more or less as a repeat of President Clinton's "I didn't have sex with that woman, miss Lewinsky." To most viewers, that is. One national paper, the Algemeen Dagblad, did a poll afterwards and found that a whopping 78% of the population did NOT believe Mabel on this one. Go figure.

If, as Mette Marit had done, Mabel had tearfully acknowledged she had had a friendship with this guy when she was a young and naive student, I am convinced people would be far more lenient with her than they are today. She brought her reputation really onto herself.

[Marengo]

thanks for your elaborate and balanced account Olga, you exactly mention the sentiments I have heard from others & which I have myself (though the horrible accent didn't do much good for her image either .

[Olka]

Princess Olga, you are absolutely right. I think that when Mette-Marit sat n front of the cameras and explained that she felt sorry for what happened in her past (or somethig like that), she made a very good impression and more people liked her. This was a good thing, at least that's my opinion....:) that she didn't try yo lie or to hide something from the past....

[Alexandria]

Great points Princess Olga! :)

From what I have seen of Mabel's social causes, particularly her devotion to AIDS, I think she has some potential. As when I read the interview she did and heard her speech, I thought she was a very intelligent and compassionate individual and very devoted to the cause.

However, for all her intelligence, I think Mabel just doesn't get -- nor does she want to -- play the PR game. I think, as the above examples by others have suggested, mostly people are forgiving if we are honest and up front about our mistakes. Who of us hasn't done something we regretted in our youth? If Mabel had been up front and honest as Mette-Marit was about her partying days or Ari Behn about his presence on the drug scene, she probably would've come out of it all with some shine to her. Maybe she wouldn't have won everyone over, but she would've gotten some sympathy from even a small percentage of the population as opposed to none.

I think at her core Mabel isn't a terrible person and has a good heart and good values. But it's her ambivalence that makes her hard to like or at least hard to understand.

[Maxie]

I couldn't agree with you more, princess Olga. :) People tend not to like people who lie and that's exactly what Mabel did. You'd better be honest, that's the one thing most people tend to appreciate. We have a Dutch saying which means something like 'honesty is the best policy' (eerlijkheid duurt het langst, for my fellow Dutchies here) and I think that's just something Mabel doesn't understand too well. Quite amazing for such a intelligent woman to not understand such a simple saying.

And Marengo: yeah, the accent. Don't get me started on that one!

[Laviollette]

Thank you for all the fantastic responses to my post. The perceived dishonesty on Mabel's part must be why the Dutch media refer to stories about her as Mabel-gate. When I watch Dutch TV on the web I don't understand anything until they say "Mabel-gate." Why do you think she hasn't come clean about her past and if she finally does, will it be too little too late?

[Alexandria]

I've never heard Mabel speak, nor would I know what a good Dutch accent is like -- how is Mabel's accent terrible? And what might be the reason for it -- she was born and raised in the Netherlands wasn't she?

[Katrianna]

Thank you everyone for your information and insights. I agree that Mabel's huge mistake was to deny the relationship and then to have it come out that, yes, she had more than a passing friendship with a drug kingpin. In this day and age the media will find out the entire story because someone can always be persuaded to talk especially when sums of money are involved, then Mabel's credibility is lost and it's hard to gain public trust. That's a shame because of her work on Human Rights and AIDS.
Does any member have any knowledge about Mabel's relationship with her brothers and sisters-in-law as well as Queen Beatrix? Thanks.:)

[Charlotte1]

Originally Posted by Katrianna

Does any member have any knowledge about Mabel's relationship with her brothers and sisters-in-law as well as Queen Beatrix? Thanks.:)

Mabel has a friendship with Laurentien that predates her marrying into the Dutch royal family. Friso and Mabel met at Laurentien's and Constantijn's home in Brussels. Mabel was one of the witnesses at L & C's civil ceremony when they got married.

Mabel's relationship with Queen Beatrix is fairly good, last year Beatrix gave Mabel the dress she wore at her own engagement to Claus to wear to an event. Beatrix seems to be close to all her daughters-in-law, she also has a strong sense of social justice and would respect the work Mabel does as a human rights adovocate.