Princess Benedikte's 75th Birthday Celebrations: April-May 2019

[cdm]

Who is the man that accompanied Benedikte’s daughters?

[iceflower]

It's Princess Alexandra's new partner Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille

Originally Posted by Susan D

Lovely photos in an elegant flat; however, is that a cat photo on the cushion cover on the sofa on the left side of one of the photographs?

To me it looks rather like a huge flower, but maybe it's my eyes


Here are some more photos and videos:


** gettyimages gallery ** kongehuset gallery ** kongehuset gallery 2 ** rex gallery **

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBYwc3Kz5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGOiMwjRzFw

[King of the Jungle]

Originally Posted by iceflower

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On April 24 Princess Benedikte posed for some birthday portraits at her apartment at Amalienborg Palace:


** Pic ** belga gallery **

Thank you. They are all lovely photos.
I like the four last photos in the second row and the black and white shots best of all.
The busts are interesting (who do they capture?) and does Benedikte wear the same dress as in her portrait on the wall?

[iceflower]

To me it rather looks like she's wearing a blue top/blouse combined with a patterned skirt on the portrait, you can see it better on the larger extra photo I've posted than on the gallery photos.

The bust on the windowsill should be of her father King Frederik IX., not sure about the bust of the girl.

[Biri]

The girl may be little Benedikte.

[King of the Jungle]

Thanks. Benedikte really does look smashing on her birthday!
The guests looked great too.
Love the carriage ride.

[Muhler]

Well, I've been glancing the news. Not that much coverage of the B-day party.

So no surprise appearance by the missing family members.

There will of course be speculations in the press, as well as here.

Okay, the DRF is no ordinary family and the family dynamics differs in many ways from certainly a typical Danish family.
Like I mentioned yesterday, even if you are married into the family, you show up! - Unless of course you are on bad terms with whoever is being celebrated. But that's the exception.
Having said that, it's no secret the DRF members don't wear out each other's doormats, even when living close by. That may simply be the way it is in that family, and that's probably how it is to a very large extent.

Yet...
Our Marie was on the job today. And even though she was about as far away from Copenhagen you can get without leaving Denmark, it's still no more than four-five hours by car. So IMO she could have attended yesterday and even have left early if she felt that was a good idea. - So IMO no real excuse for not showing the flag.

Gustav. Okay. Anyone can fall ill. It happens.
Carina. Why didn't she show up then? Surely she can detach herself from writing for a day or so in order to celebrate her de facto mother-in-law?
Carina had her - shall we say - differences of opinions with Prince Richard, but AFAIK she has no problems with Benedikte.

Benedikte is seemingly in fine form and good health, but at 75 there is a fair chance that it's the last major anniversary she will be able to celebrate one way or another. So it's good form to show up, I think.

Now to the possible reasons why this may be an indication of some sort of issues within the extended DRF.
There are a few thoughts that has crossed my mind in that respect. It is of course pure speculation.

[Somebody]

Given how well Benedikte has carried out her duties for the monarchy when she didn't necessarily have to, I would expect a larger turn-out from the family to show appreciation for her support over all those years. At least her sister the queen wanted to mark this occasion to celebrate her supportive sister!

[Lady Marlboro]

Why wasn't someone standing at the carriage to help the 75 year old birthday girl who, by the way, is wearing heels and an evening dress out of the carriage?

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04...6568086252.jpg

[polyesco]

I agree Muhler, Marie and Carina could have and should have attended.

Lovely photos of Mary, she looked beautiful
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw2i5P4h...ource=ig_embed

This is a really good picture of the birthday girl and the Queen
http://kongehuset.dk/sites/default/f...?itok=hyv9fbf6

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Lady Marlboro

Why wasn't someone standing at the carriage to help the 75 year old birthday girl who, by the way, is wearing heels and an evening dress out of the carriage?

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04...6568086252.jpg

Perhaps the courtier didn't think about it? She looks pretty new to me. The other courtier standing to the far side has been around for at least a couple years. - Pretty girl, so I've noticed her.

A typical career path for junior courtiers at least is:
Volunteer conscription at the Guards Hussars. (They need to be able to ride for service at the court. Hence why joining via the hussars is a good way.)
Then service at the Royal Stables at Christiansborg.
Then service at the court. As "løber" Roughly the equivalent to a junior footman. Wearing a red coat.
Later on promotion to "Jæger", wearing a green uniform, which is roughly equivalent to senior footman. And issued a hirshfänger = a short hunting-sword.

[Iolanthe]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Now to the possible reasons why this may be an indication of some sort of issues within the extended DRF.
There are a few thoughts that has crossed my mind in that respect. It is of course pure speculation.

I would love to here your thoughts about possible reasons, even if they are pure speculation

The non-attendence of Joachim (his appointment in Estonia doesn't look like a one in a million chance to me), Marie and Carina seems really weird to me. And if you really can't make it, one could at least public a more detailed explanation combined with some words of appreciation for Benedikte or something like this?

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Iolanthe

I would love to here your thoughts about possible reasons, even if they are pure speculation

The non-attendence of Joachim (his appointment in Estonia doesn't look like a one in a million chance to me), Marie and Carina seems really weird to me. And if you really can't make it, one could at least public a more detailed explanation combined with some words of appreciation for Benedikte or something like this?

I agree.

I may get back to that tomorrow. Also to see if any further explanation surface in the press.

[Muhler]

I've been looking at the news and apart from the common street gossip, there really is very little about the birthday celebration.
The portrait book is written about however.

Okay, a few thoughts have gone through my head.

Let's start with Joachim and our Marie.
No attendance at QMII's B-day. They were away on Easter holiday. Presumably with Marie's family in France. And why not? There is no law saying Easter must be celebrated in DK.
Then there is Benedikte's B-day. It's one thing not to show up to a private party, due to other obligations. But this was an official celebration of Benedikte. With various dignitaries from the official Denmark also being invited. Like the PM and the Chairman of the Parliament.
So IMO you need a pretty hefty reason not to show. And if your spouse can't make it, you show up instead. A 75th B-day is a major celebration and cannot be compared to say a 65th birthday.
Marie didn't show up.
Some may say it could be because she didn't wish for her children that none of their parents put them to bed in the evening and wouldn't be there the next morning. But it's no worse when they are away on a job abroad or attend a celebration abroad.
Whatever the reason I think it was bad form.

Based on still fewer attendances from J&M in regards to the DRF over the past few years, it looks to me like J&M are quietly distancing themselves from the DRF - in an official capacity. They may still see each other regularly privately, but when it's official it is beginning to look as J&M's presence is when they are required to. Say at the opening of the Parliament, at the Grand New Year Court and at gala dinners for visiting heads of states.
So I suspect the J&M are in process of doing a Madeleine. I.e. quietly fading away from the official scene.
And they may after Joachim has finished his course in France, find a more civilian employment. I.e. Joachim may become a military attache or otherwise affiliated with the Danish embassy in France (in view of the increased military co-operation between France and DK) or at the NATO HQ in Belgium.
In both cases they are able to live in France.

So I think there is a very good chance that J&M within the next couple of years will move to France for good. And when Christian and Isabella turn eighteen, they will officially settle in France. And basically only return home for the most official events. At that time I find it likely that Joachim will give up his apanage and settle with an expense account instead. He is wealthy enough to be able to do that.
After all at that point there will be little need for Joachim and Marie in the DRF except as an additional back-up.
It's nice to have an experienced adult royal couple around, but they are not strictly speaking a necessity.
It will also mean that it will be easier to argue for Isabella getting an apanage and that she will take over Joachim's role. As the "official reserve."

And why shouldn't J&M settle in France?
It's no secret Joachim is a Francophile. He is half French, married to French woman. His two youngest are 3/4 French. Why shouldn't he grow roots in France, just as his wife managed to feel at home in Denmark?
He wouldn't be the only one dreaming about settling in France.

Also, he is consistently the most unpopular royal in the DRF, and likely to remain so for life. Unless another member screw up big time. Perhaps he feels unappreciated? (And rightly so IMO!) So why not let go? Go from doing a Madeleine to doing a Märtha Louise?
There are several advantages. They can be private citizens in a country where few know them and even fewer care. In a country where they both feel at home.
Their children can have a normal upbringing, getting ready to have lives and careers outside the royal spotlight. They are most unlikely to have an official role by now anyway.
They can even decide to drop the royal titles for Henrik and Athena and the step is complete. - And the problem with surplus royals in DK has been reduced.

Is there a rift?
Nah.
Certainly not between Mary and Marie, when the two of them are together they chat away like a cage full of budgies!
I don't think Marie has any problems within the family, even though I'm certain she very much miss PH.

A rift between Joachim and Frederik then? No, don't really think so. If there is anything, it's more a question of the two of them growing apart. Frederik is much more social than Joachim, who is more reserved. Personality and interest wise they are also very different and no doubt also when it comes to politics and even some way in regards to their ideals.
There is nothing abnormal about that. People you were close to in your childhood and youth don't necessarily remain close later in life.
But perhaps Frederik feels a little let down if Joachim has decided to fade away? That I could imagine.

Is there a rift between Joachim and QMII?
That's more difficult to answer, especially as both QMII and Joachim would rather have all their nails torn out with pliers than admitting to a rift within the family! But I don't really think so. QMII would, I think, understand a wish for J&M to fade out and settle abroad. It would also solve a couple of dynastic problems as well.
In fact QMII has expressed a fondness for Joachim accepting his position, bordering on admiration.

A rift between Joachim and Mary?
No, I don't believe that for a moment. I see absolutely no reason for that.
In fact I think the two of them respect each other a lot, but I don't think they are close.

A rift between Benedikte and Joachim?
No, don't think so. The two are very much alike and IMO share the same reserved traits and as such I don't think they are particularly close either.
They no doubt respect each other but I don't see them wear out each other's chairs.

- Next post will be about Gustav and Carina and here my thoughts are a little more ominous.

And now for Gustav and Carina.

Carina did not show up for the celebration and even though her "husband" was ill, Benedikte is her mother-in-law in anything but name and has been so for years, so that means the two of them are close - regardless of what they might think of each other privately.
So not showing up was very bad form IMO.

I have recently begun to wonder whether there are issues between Gustav and Carina.
Having said that the key to a successful relationship does not necessarily mean you have to together a lot. It is however peculiar to me how much they are apart though. Not least after the death of Prince Richard, where Carina, at least locally, is the lady of the manor in on of the most prominent families in Germany. I can't say whether she is shunned or not openly accepted by the German noble branches. But there are still things she could and perhaps should get involved in around Berleburg.
I also wonder why it is necessary for her to be writing in England. Are there really that many distractions in Berleburg? And Benedikte don't even live there regularly, not even in the same building, so that can hardly be that big a problem.
So my conclusion is that either they thrive on being apart for extended periods, just like Gustav's parents and indeed QMII and PH. - (And for that matter many noble couples beforehand.)
Or, they are growing/drifting apart or simply taking a breather in their relationship. Or it's a sign that perhaps it's time to split up?
We shall see, but I won't fall off the chair if it is announced that Custav and Carina are splitting up.

Even more ominous is Gustav's relationship with his mother.
The last interview he gave was illuminating.

There is little doubt that he is fond of his mother. However, it was very clear to me that at least over the last years he developed a very close relationship with his father - in contrast to his sisters, who seemingly had a more difficult relationship with their father, who was perhaps not the most understanding person in the world to put it mildly!
It is no secret that Benedikte have problems coping with people who are ill. She has admitted so.
When Prince Richard underwent treatment for cancer the first time Benedikte was not much around, something Prince Richard in an interview summarized here years ago, expressed some sadness/disappointment about.
Nor is it my impression Benedikte was much around when he fell ill for the second and last time.
I can very well imagine Gustav as such being deeply disappointed with his mother. Not only did Gustav have to run Berleburg on his own, he also had to look after his sick father - more or less on his own.
So does he harbor bitterness towards his mother in that respect? I think I would.
If so, is that disappointment and bitterness enough for him to catch a "diplomatic belly bug" at his mother B-day celebration?
Perhaps he also feels abandoned by his mother? Perhaps he would have liked to have his mother around to talk things out with his mother in regards to his feelings with his father's death? Or alt least that she would be there as a support when he in earnest taking over Berleburg?
In the recent interview Gustav explained that even though they live on the same estate, in buildings next to each other, they don't necessarily see each other for days.

What I'm saying is that perhaps there are feelings inside Gustav that has not come out and there is the old truth that you hurt someone because you hurt inside yourself. So could this be an irrational payback to his mother?
After all you don't yell at your mother without good reason, if you don't have a history for doing just that, which I very much doubt Gustav has. Ad you sure don't yell at her when she is turning 75 and is a year from having become a widow, - even if it might be healthy to yell a little.

It may not be easier if he is having problems with Carina.

And thus ends this narrative about the thought going through my mind at present.

[MidwestMom]

So I think there is a very good chance that J&M within the next couple of years will move to France for good. And when Christian and Isabella turn eighteen, they will officially settle in France. And basically only return home for the most official events.
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Muhler, as usual, you have posted a thoughtful analysis of the situation. I don't have time right now to go into the one about Gustav and Carina, but I do have a question about your first post: I haven't read anywhere that Christian and Isabella will move to France when they are 18. Could you possibly mean Henrik and Athena? I can easily see any of Frederik's children doing a few years of school in France, but moving there permanently? Inquiring minds want to know, please.

[vonstens]

It was neither a gala dinner nor a family dinner.
It was as the royalhouse had announced a private dinner for Princess Benedikte's Danish friends and no others.
If it had been a family celebration then Gustav, Carina and Alexander were missing and so did Richard and Ingrid, and yes it is a little odd to celebrate her without the closest family especially her beloved grandchildren, which she otherwise take with her on official assignments.
But I do not believe that it was the queen's opinion that anyone other than the Danish friends should come. Alexandra and Nathalie were already in Denmark as they both joined the celebration on Saturday.
If the princess's nephews and nieces had been invited, then there had also been some of Anne-Marie's children, everything else is unlikely, when you think of all the holidays they have traveled with their aunt. I’m sure Joachim is abroad but also that he, like the other nephews, was not invited. otherwise he was certainly present he is quite close to his aunt, and they have lived as neighbors ��
The Crown Prince Couple, the Prime Minister and the President of the Folketing were not there, because they were family or friends, but because they represented the official Denmark that Benedikte has been working for, for so many years.
If it had been a family dinner or gala dinner then Benedikte's cousin Ingolf and Susie had been there as well as the Swedish cousins. The sisters of prince Richard. There would have been representatives from Norway and her good friend princess Beatrix from Holland and her friends from Jordan
But it was only a private dinner for the Danish friends of Princess Benedikte and her sisters.
There was room for no more it’s a bit small.

Strange to pick up Benedikte alone in the carriage when the queen knows her feelings. why did the queen not even take the trip with her and Anne-Marie that would have been beautiful!

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by MidwestMom

So I think there is a very good chance that J&M within the next couple of years will move to France for good. And when Christian and Isabella turn eighteen, they will officially settle in France. And basically only return home for the most official events.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Muhler, as usual, you have posted a thoughtful analysis of the situation. I don't have time right now to go into the one about Gustav and Carina, but I do have a question about your first post: I haven't read anywhere that Christian and Isabella will move to France when they are 18. Could you possibly mean Henrik and Athena? I can easily see any of Frederik's children doing a few years of school in France, but moving there permanently? Inquiring minds want to know, please.

You are welcome.

I mean when Christian and Isabella are eighteen then J&M may officially settle in France.

ADDED:

Congratulations on your first post, vonstens.

Interesting thoughts. It was indeed neither fowl or fish.
But it was QMII who celebrated her sister with this small gala dinner, so it's fair IMO if she does not invite all of Benedikte's friends, especially the foreign friends. That would be up to Benedikte herself, had she been the host. It looked to me as it was a selection of older Danish friends of both QMII and Benedikte.

I can fully understand why her oldest grandchildren Richard and Ingrid were not invited. They have their education to think of and are probably not that keen to be among a lot of "old people"

But private party or semi-official, the closest members of the family do show up IMO!
Our Marie because she is Princess and the wife of Benedikte's nephew.
Carina because she is the acknowledged partner of Benedikte's son.
- So it would be their job to represent their individual twigs of the family.

As for the Rosenborgs. Well, there is basically only Ingolf left and he is not that well anymore it seems. Perhaps he was invited but declined beforehand? The others are not that close to the DRF for them to automatically be invited.

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by vonstens

It was as the royalhouse had announced a private dinner for Princess Benedikte's Danish friends and no others.

Do you have a link to this announcement

[MidwestMom]

Originally Posted by Muhler

You are welcome.

I mean when Christian and Isabella are eighteen then J&M may officially settle in France.

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OK, now I understand. Thank you for your explanation. Apparently I should have had breakfast before I checked my usual websites!

[iceflower]

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Benedikte has also given a birthday interview to Swedish svenskdam, the online version is for registered users only, but it's accompanied by a nice photo taken during the interview:


** Pic ** svenskdam: Exklusiv intervju hemma hos prinsessan Benedikte **