Princess Madeleine, Chris O'Neill and Family, General News 2: June 2015 - Sept 2017


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It was Giancarlo Giammetti, Madeleine's and Chris's friend and Valentino's partner, who published a screenshot from Chris's private Instagram at his own Instagram. Giammetti has 339 000 followers at his Instagram.

Chris can say anything he wants to his friends when he meets them. But he should not write his political opinions to his social media.
 
LadyFinn said:
It was Giancarlo Giammetti, Madeleine's and Chris's friend and Valentino's partner, who published a screenshot from Chris's private Instagram at his own Instagram. Giammetti has 339 000 followers at his Instagram.

Chris can say anything he wants to his friends when he meets them. But he should not write his political opinions to his social media.
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Maybe the Swedish forum members can clarify that, but hasn't King Carl XVI Gustaf himself spoken in support of refugees and asylum seekers in the past ? If I'm not mistaken, I believe he did it both in one of his Christmas messages and in his speech at the state opening of the Swedish parliament. Likewise, I believe CP Victoria has also spoken on behalf of refugees. Therefore, the Royal House is not exactly neutral on that topic to begin with.

I would agree, however, that both the king and the crown princess have only spoken in general, humanitarian terms, unlike Chris, who made a personal attack on president Trump and also criticized specific policies of a sovereign state of which he happens to be a citizen though.

Anyway, I still think Chris is being unfairly villified in this matter. I wonder what the Swedish and American posters think.
 
If he's a private citizen why is he restricted about what he can say?


LaRae
 
I agree. His account is private, he is a private person so he can voice whatever opinion he wants. Now, I think that the person who shared his post on instagram is the one to blame. If Chrisn has set his account private, it is for a reason.
 
Wow.

This is not the kind of opinion I had ever expected from Chris.

Life-long learning :D
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
It creates headlines and might draw critizism because he is a member of the royal family represeting a political neutral institution.
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I suppose royal & religious institutions have often been accused of being silent in times of crisis, like King Vittorio Emanuele in regards to Mussolini, Constantine II in regards to the colonels and the catholic church in regards to various facist regimes in Europe and South-America. In hindsight it may have been better if they had spoken up more loudly.

Not that in this case the situation is as urgent, as the Swedish RF will have zero influence over what happens in the United States. But considering the remarkable nature of what is happening, it is understandable that some will have difficulties in keeping quiet.

Rather silly of Mr Giammetti to betray O'Neills trust.
 
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Duke of Marmalade said:
He's associated with the royal house and therefore should keep his personal political views to himself, but this is only my opinion.
It creates headlines and might draw critizism because he is a member of the royal family represeting a political neutral institution.
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I agree totally with this. Although Chris is a "private" citizen, he is married to a Princess of Sweden, who is a member of the Royal Family and daughter of a King, the Head of State, who has no political power and who, and also his family, can't express political opinions.
 
I am not sure if the Swedish government wants to take away Mr. O'Neill's rights of free speech. But if they do, they may give him an income and make him a member of the royal house. As it is, he is a private citizen with the same rights as everybody else.

Note that the post came from his private & protected account. Surely the Swedish government allows even its royals to have an opinion on matters in private?

Of course to save his in-laws some embarrassement it would be an idea to remain silent on political issues. But his views on this matter will hardly be controversial in Sweden and much of Western Europe.
 
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Marengo said:
I am not sure if the Swedish government wants to take away Mr. O'Neill's rights of free speech. But if they do, they may give him an income and make him a member of the royal house. As it is, he is a private citizen with the same rights as everybody else.

Note that the post came from his private & protected account. Surely the Swedish government allows even its royals to have an opinion on matters in private?

Of course to save his in-laws some embarrassement it would be an idea to remain silent on political issues. But his views on this matter will hardly be controversial in Sweden and much of Western Europe.
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As I understand it, they offered to make Chris a member of the Royal House, which comes (even if indirectly) with an income, but Chris himself turned the offer down, among other things because he didn't want to become a Swedish citizen, which, according to the Court, was a requirement to become a prince of Sweden.
 
I think the main thing here is the fact that this post was made on a private account unlocked only to the people he wants not a public account open for everyone to see. It's not like a journalist asked him what are your views on the new president and this came out it was not intended for the public.

Yes the king and members of the royal family are not allowed to have public opinions on politics but that does not mean they do not have an opinion about an issue, they simply choose to only express it with select people. The king himself said many times that he does have an opinion about things which does not express to the general public due to his constitutional role.
To me this is no different to for example, Victoria having dinner with her friends and saying something 'controversial' to her select and closed circle, then having one friend who accidentally blurts it out to another friend while a journalist would have been in the background somewhere.
Would that have caused an outcry? Probably not. Why? because it was said in a private setting. To me the only difference here is that the friends were on instagram and instead of having someone who spread the news by mouth he had some one who pressed regram

And mind you despite not being intended for the public many had nothing but praise to say about him because of this:
"Many thanks to you Chris, what morals !!"
"Good on you for taking a stand, grew In mine and many others' eyes. Thank you! "
 
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When I first read about this I was all for saying Chris was in the wrong but then I learnt it was on a private Instagram account that was not made public. Imagine going through someones phone and finding messages saying they thought this or that....that couldn't be made public without people complaining of breach of privacy.

Chris is, as has been made clear numerous times, a private citizen not a member of the RF so therefore he has the right to make comments in a way any other private citizen would. I do think Chris should possibly be a bit more careful about what he posts or records as these things can always been taken without consent and made public and in the long run they do not necessarily do good or the King or Maddie but I don't think its a problem really (well apart from with the media who publish something that was private)
 
Mbruno said:
As I understand it, they offered to make Chris a member of the Royal House, which comes (even if indirectly) with an income, but Chris himself turned the offer down, among other things because he didn't want to become a Swedish citizen, which, according to the Court, was a requirement to become a prince of Sweden.
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His main reason was apparently that as a member of the royal family he would not be allowed to continue with his business ventures since that could infringe on the impartiality that's expected of the royals. Daniel had to give up his active involvement in his businesses upon marriage.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community mobile app
 
I place more blame on Giancarlo Giammetti. He should post his own thoughts on Trump or any issue. Too lazy to type a few words?
However, this is an opportunity for Chris to review his private instagram's followers and remove such "friends" or delete his account.
 
Also if Chris's page was public, he has every right - like you or I have, to give his opinion on every subject he chooses. If it is always wise to do so, is another question.

And it is not only because I share his opinion on Trump and any other populist and intolerant leader. I was hoping so much, that I wouldn't see our world swinging back to autocrats, zensorship, intolerant views. But it seems, that people have allready forgotten the lessons of the last century ... very sad indeed.
 
I didn't know much about Chris . . .

Kandilka said:
Wow.

This is not the kind of opinion I had ever expected from Chris.

Life-long learning :D

ladongas said:
But I certainly do now!
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I had no real opinion about Chris because he has managed to keep his private life private and, being married to such a pretty and popular Swedish Princess, that says a lot. I would guess that is why his Instagram is private.

But a few things occured to me from this unfortunate though obviously well-intentioned breach of his privacy. To many, if not most, the man that wrote in that Instagram is a passionate american who believes in what is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty and is not afraid to tell his friends.

He trys very hard to walk that hard line between who he is and the demands of his family and business and we have more often than not taken his effort for granted. But although he wanted to marry Madeleine, he didn't want to be a Prince and he didn't want to lose his american citizenship but, he was willing to compromise.

And so we find him standing beside his lovely wife, she in the trappings of her birth and he in white tie, urbanely chatting and smiling at the Nobels and yet he not entirely comfortable in the glare of the spotlight. He is a man of far greater depth than I think many royal followers thought and when you think about it, Madeleine is not stupid and she seems to adore him just as he seems to adore her and the family they have made together.

I think he is basically your average family man, white collar, blue collar, it's all the same. However, something happened that stirred him to tell his friends where he stood and by a stroke of fate we too have read what he feels. Yes we found out because of who he is married to, but does that negate his right to share who he is and where he stands?

We can agree or disagree as to his feelings, we can argue that it's "politics" when he is not royal, but that doesn't alter the fact that we have been shown, albiet without his permission, what manner of man Princess Madeleine married. IMHO a man of passion and integrity.
 
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General News about Madeleine, Chris and Family, Part 2: June 2015 -

Very well said! ?Completely agree with you.
 
MARG said:
I had no real opinion about Chris because he has managed to keep his private life private and, being married to such a pretty and popular Swedish Princess, that says a lot. I would guess that is why his Instagram is private.

But a few things occured to me from this unfortunate though obviously well-intentioned breach of his privacy. To many, if not most, the man that wrote in that Instagram is a passionate american who believes in what is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty and is not afraid to tell his friends.

He trys very hard to walk that hard line between who he is and the demands of his family and business and we have more often than not taken his effort for granted. But although he wanted to marry Madeleine, he didn't want to be a Prince and he didn't want to lose his american citizenship but, he was willing to compromise.

And so we find him standing beside his lovely wife, she in the trappings of her birth and he in white tie, urbanely chatting and smiling at the Nobels and yet he not entirely comfortable in the glare of the spotlight. He is a man of far greater depth than I think many royal followers thought and when you think about it, Madeleine is not stupid and she seems to adore him just as he seems to adore her and the family they have made together.

I think he is basically your average family man, white collar, blue collar, it's all the same. However, something happened that stirred him to tell his friends where he stood and by a stroke of fate we too have read what he feels. Yes we found out because of who he is married to, but does that negate his right to share and who he is and where he stands?

We can agree or disagree as to his feelings, we can argue that it's "politics" when he is not royal, but that doesn't alter the fact that we have been shown, albiet without his permission, what manner of man Princess Madeleine married. IMHO a man of passion and integrity.
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Very well said. :flowers: I've always liked Chris, he seems like a no-nonsense man, born from privilege but still self-made and hard working. I'm glad we got a glimpse of how he feels about this extremely important issue. It is easy to say sometimes, that certain people like royals, diplomats, their partners, should be apolitical but then there are issues that you just feel so strongly about that you start to wonder if being apolitical and keeping quiet is just part of your job or are you just comfortably hiding behind that position to preserve the status quo? Speaking out in a platform like Instagram, even with the private status, comes with risks. I'm sure Chris understood that and posted his opinion anyway. Kudos to him.:flowers:
 
^^^ Does anyone now if Madeleine has protection officers following her in London. It's difficult to tell from the pics.
 
Given Maddie and family and CP and family don't always have protection officers in Sweden I doubt they do in London. They probably have a few extra measures such as panic buttons etc
 
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Even if trump is aware there is a king of Sweden, Chris O'neill is another matter. He isn't a royal, and except in royal blog circles, not exactly a household name. When trump is dealing with millions of protestors at home and abroad, does anyone think he takes notice of one person? Chris is a private citizen, and more than that, an American citizen. He is entitled to his opinion. I highly doubt trump could be bothered. If he considers trade with Sweden, I highly doubt he will call for an US boycott of Swedish products becayse if Chris.
 
i think the same.

chris is a private citizen and whatever he thinks, anyway, is not a cause of concern for the white house. whether his mum is friends or not with ivana trump is also not relevant - chris is entitled to his opinion, which may differ from her mum's and her relations.
 
Marengo said:
I am not sure if the Swedish government wants to take away Mr. O'Neill's rights of free speech. But if they do, they may give him an income and make him a member of the royal house. As it is, he is a private citizen with the same rights as everybody else.

Note that the post came from his private & protected account. Surely the Swedish government allows even its royals to have an opinion on matters in private?

Of course to save his in-laws some embarrassement it would be an idea to remain silent on political issues. But his views on this matter will hardly be controversial in Sweden and much of Western Europe.
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I agree.

Chris is a private citizen and I see no problem with him speaking his mind. I will add that it's a shame that someone close to him decided to betray his trust and share his private message with the public.
 
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The Clintons were also pictured way before the election with Trump, so Madeleine and Ivanka can be besties, as far as I am concerned. Maybe he rushed a bit into writing that post but it did so in a private account.
 
Just because his mother is friends his President Trump's ex-wife doesn't mean Chris is friends of the President or the family's. Without being rude I would wonder at how close a friendship people who move in Eva and Ivanka's circles ever really make with each other. You can get along with someone socially and yet disagree with their (or more accurately their ex-husband's) political views.
Given the number of people Trump has offended or commented upon in the years on twitter and elsewhere one would hope he can recognise people are entitled to their opinions on others. If he makes an issue out of Chris' comments it would be interesting to see what he does about his own comments regarding the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless for example.
 
Mbruno said:
Does the Swedish royal family have a relationship with Donald Trump to begin with ? In fact, I would be surprised if Donald Trump even knew that Sweden is a monarchy or who the Swedish king is.
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Trump met Madeleine and Charlotte Brandin from the World Childhood Foundation at 54th International Red Cross Ball at Mar-a-Lago on January 29, 2011.
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image

And I have never said that Chris would be a friend of Trump, just that Eva O'Neill is a close friend of Ivana Trump.
 
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