Skavlan/SVT interview with Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill: December 11, 2015

[LadyFinn]

Originally Posted by hernameispekka

I don't think you've watched the Skavlan show :P

Skavlan was just a show with a lot of rehearsed, coached and trained talk. Actions in real life should speak louder than words at some celebrity TV-show. Probably Madeleine and Chris get some positive feedback now, but if Madeleine doesn't put her promises into action, the criticism towards her will grow again.

[Stefanie]

O.k. got caught - please give me the link or is it on youtube meanwhile? I only noticed so far that they didn´t seem to sit side by side. For the complete show....?

[miss whirley]

Chris came off really well. Funny and likable. His career talk seemed a little murky. I don't know if it's a good idea to compare your business aspirations to the Titanic.

You can tell Madeleine is inherently distrustful of the media. Like she was expecting to be led into a verbal bear-trap. She put on a cheery face for the audience, though.


Also, I did like that Chris brought up the Germanic tradition of celebrating on Christmas Eve. It reminded me of my mother's family of Austrian heritage, they always celebrated on the 24th too.

[royal rob]

I just watched it and I think it was a great interview for the life of me I can't see why people have a problem with them. They looked happy, relaxed and normal. Jamie Oliver on the other hand appeared to be half asleep or something

[Roslyn]

Originally Posted by Stefanie

O.k. got caught - please give me the link or is it on youtube meanwhile? I only noticed so far that they didn´t seem to sit side by side. For the complete show....?

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U8U...ature=youtu.be

I think that Chris is naturally reserved and his basic facial expression gives the impression he's aloof and cold, but once he started talking about a subject he opened up and was very likeable. I think Madeleine was very anxious, and she admitted she was apprehensive about media attention and interviews, but, that being so, I think she did a very good job and came across as sweet, and also intelligent and articulate.

[Duc_et_Pair]

I disliked the long girlie hairdo and the maquillage was too shiny, it gave her a pageant queen appearance. At the Nobel Prize 2015 the Princess wore her hair 'up' and immediately she was no longer a Farrah Fawcett look-a-like but a Princess of Sweden. I am also amazed that royals appear in this sort of show, it looks too showy to me. The thin line between royalty and celebrity is already so blurred.

The participation in this sort of TV-shows only continues to blur the thin line between royalty and "ordinary celebs". What is next? The Duchess of Cambridge on the sofa with Graham Norton? Princess Mette-Marit chatting with Ellen DeGeneres? I feel there should be some distance. The Crown fares best in the shadow of the throne, not in the full TV floodlights. Keep it royal, keep it "exclusive". The interview with Prince Carl Philip before his wedding and the interview with the Prince of Orange before his Investiture had more "royal" grandeur.

When they really wanted to do an interview, just receive a TV-crew at Drottningholm, Solliden or in London and at the same time the audience has a nice (carefully composed) peek into the "private life". This really leads to nothing. A cook, a pop star and a Princess in a show. No wonder the Swedes are more and more filing their royals under the tab showbizz...

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by tommy100

Here in the UK Adele said... so it wasn't even filmed in Sweden?
I find the fact they chose this type of interview for one of their most major / in depth interview. We have similar formats over here and they work for celebrities who are promoting their latest project, and of course they also talk about themselves and their lives but I don;t think its appropriate for a Royal to appear on it with no obvious project/cause to promote.
I know its annoying when people refer back to the British RF but they are the royals from my country and I'm just trying to imagine William and Kate or Harry appearing on Graham Norton's chat show, it would just seem odd for them to do so without having a really important charity event or cause to promote.

This came to my mind as well. Despite all the talk of Madeleine of promoting Sweden (what in fact she is doing little, even admitting that she could do a lot more but doesnt), when I look at her track record of what she has achieved on her own, there is not much, and it became very obvious with other guests like Adele, considering her achievements as an artist, and Jaime Oliver as a cook. Of the little she does anyway, Madeleine has nothing achieved on her own: she is piggybagging on her mother's charity and lives of the wealth of her father and husband. Therefore she has nothing more to say than homestory titbits from her kids. The private person Chris all the sudden talks about his work ... yeah, sure.
If this was about showing them as people and what they think the audience was very wrong, and I doubt that this interview will make the couple any more popular with Swedish people, what possibly is what they are aiming at.

[royal rob]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

The participation in this sort of TV-shows only continues to blur the thin line between royalty and "ordinary celebs". What is next? The Duchess of Cambridge on the sofa with Graham Norton? I feel there should be some distance. The Crown fares best in the shadow of the throne, not in the full TV floodlights.

When they really wanted to do an interview, just receive a TV-crew at Drottningholm, Solliden or in London and at the same time the audience has a nice (carefully composed) peek into the "private life". This really leads to nothing. A cook, a pop star and a Princess in a show. No wonder the Swedes are more and more filing their royals under the tab showbizz...

As the song goes. The times they are a changing. The days of royal mystery have long gone and as in all change adapt and change or disappear


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community

[Roslyn]

I may be wrong, but I think the venue and informality was intentional. I think they wanted to be seen as human beings, interacting with other human beings and not just some pet interviewer, and showing bits of their own personalities. I don't think the idea was to do a completely controlled interview like the ones done at Royal premises.

Chris is not a Royal, and Madeleine has a foot in both camps. In that way they are in an elite group and of particular interest because of their situation.

[Dman]

Just watched the interview, and I must say, I loved it. I really enjoyed getting to know Madeleine and Chris. They were open, honest and very lovely. They came across as a beautiful young couple that you wouldn't mind hanging out with. I really enjoyed the whole show and interviews. Well done!

[hernameispekka]

Skavlan is trending on twitter and alot of positive comments about the pair. Someone even calling them "folkkära" (Loved by the people) and alot of positive feelings, especially around Chris. So I think it worked. It's not something they should do all the time. But this is a medium that reaches people that dont go looking for interviews with royals

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by royal rob

As the song goes. The times they are a changing. The days of royal mystery have long gone and as in all change adapt and change or disappear


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community

I disagree that "royal mystery" has long gone. It is still there and we are still intrigued by it, as is the public, seeing the overwhelming interest into everything royal. It verges a careful handling and a continue walking on a thin rope to avoid the monarchy becoming a TV-show and that it does not matter whether you are a celebbie because you puked Vodka in public during an episode of The Geordie Shore or that you are a member of the royal family. Some distance, please.

[hernameispekka]

Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair

I disagree that "royal mystery" has long gone. It is still there and we are still intrigued by it, as is the public, seeing the overwhelming interest into everything royal. It verges a careful handling and a continue walking on a thin rope to avoid the monarchy becoming a TV-show and that it does not matter whether you are a celebbie because you puked Vodka in public during an episode of The Geordie Shore or that you are a member of the royal family. Some distance, please.

But in todays context they ARE mystical and such. They are following slowly behind the moving line of how personal you should be. They are still guarded, mysterious and regal in the context of 2015 where the general standards have changed. The royals don't live in a vaccuum.

[Marengo]

I agree completely with you on that Duc. The line is already thin enough as it is.

And yet... despite my dislike for the format I did find the interview of the princess & husband charming. I suppose effective from a PR point of view as there will be a lot more viewers. Even in the Dutch press we have been seeing several articles about the princess these last days, something that would never happen with a more formal one as most people would find it too 'boring'. I suppose if they do not show up in tv-shows each week it is still fine.

Also: the style of the Swedish court is more 'chit-chatty' in general, the spokespeople of the palace commenting on each and every wild rumour in the press and the press asking all kinds of gossipy questions to the royals that no journalist here would ever dare to do.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Roslyn

Here you go:

I think that Chris is naturally reserved and his basic facial expression gives the impression he's aloof and cold, but once he started talking about a subject he opened up and was very likeable. I think Madeleine was very anxious, and she admitted she was apprehensive about media attention and interviews, but, that being so, I think she did a very good job and came across as sweet, and also intelligent and articulate.

It is interesting how Chris sounds very British while Madeleine has more of a North American accent when speaking English. Other Scandinavian royals like the Danes tend to have a British accent in English. Madeleine also has less of a foreign accent than Victoria and Carl Philip.

[Duc_et_Pair]

I agree with you, Marengo. I saw the Swedish newspapers at the international desk in my company's coffee corner and I found them so "shouting", even the (in)famous Bild Zeitung in Germany could learn a thing or two from Aftonbladet and Expressen. Wow, what a cheap looking trash these two newspapers are!

Even the renowned Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Nyheter and Göteborg Posten give the impression of superficiality by the dominance of celebbies, footballers' wives and ice-hockeyers on the front page... The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf looks like a choirboy compared with these quite intrusive newspapers.

[Sunnystar]

It's interesting how most of the Americans commenting on the interview thought it was very charming and a good appearance from both of them, but especially Chris. And, I'm right there with the rest of my fellow Yanks in that assessment. Chris was charming and quite affable. I appreciated that Adele chimed in a defense of Madeleine's choice to focus on being a mother, to two very young children, at this moment.

I'll be interested in seeing what the Swedes here thought of the interview - and they're really the only opinions that matter in the court of public opinion since Madeleine and Leonore are their princesses and Nicolas is their prince.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by hernameispekka

Skavlan is trending on twitter and alot of positive comments about the pair. [...]

It only needs a fart or a nipple slip to become a "trending topic" on Twitter. I don't believe we whould take that road... Donald Trump praises Katie Hopkins as a 'respected columnist' and Twitter goes into meltdown.

Tweety tweet tweet: Trender Sverige ‏@trendinaliaSE 27 jun. 2014 Sundsvall, Sverige
@Expressen the 1st mention of 'Sofia Hellqvist' appears on your TL. Now is Trending Topic in Sweden! #trndnl


I also saw a Tweet: "Carl Philip/David Hellenius vs Madeleine/Skavlan = 10-0 !" No idea what is meant with that.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I agree completely with you on that Duc. The line is already thin enough as it is.

And yet... despite my dislike for the format I did find the interview of the princess & husband charming. I suppose effective from a PR point of view as there will be a lot more viewers. Even in the Dutch press we have been seeing several articles about the princess these last days, something that would never happen with a more formal one as most people would find it too 'boring'. I suppose if they do not show up in tv-shows each week it is still fine.

Also: the style of the Swedish court is more 'chit-chatty' in general, the spokespeople of the palace commenting on each and every wild rumour in the press and the press asking all kinds of gossipy questions to the royals that no journalist here would ever dare to do.

To me, the two most relevant parts of the interview were Chris mentioning that Leonore is currently being pre-registered or put in waitlists for schools in England six years from now, and when he said that being married to Madeleine forced him to move to a different job as his clients were unease about his public exposure (I don't quite see why that would be the case, but that's what he said anyway).

The first admission seems to suggest that Leonore and, presumably also Nicholas, will most likely not be raised in Sweden when they reach school age and, therefore, will be excluded from the line of succession according to Swedish law. The second statement, on the other hand, may be a serious focus of tension in the marriage. Chris seems like a person who puts a lot of emphasis on his business career and, if being married to Madeleine somehow places restrictions on the type of business he can engage in, that might be a serious personal problem for him.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

[...] Chris seems like a person who puts a lot of emphasis on his business career and, if being married to Madeleine somehow places restrictions on the type of business he can engage in, that might be a serious personal problem for him.

It is all pretty new, people with "a normal job" so close to royals but foreign situations show that it soon will become normal and out of the limelight. Over a decade or so and especially when her sister becomes Queen and the focus will be on the core royal family, Princess Madeleine will find herself on the periphery of the royal spectrum. In Norway the husband of Princess Ragnhild became a multi-millionaire in business. In the Netherlands the second son of Princess Margriet (an aunt of the King) became a self-made multi-millionaire as well. Having a connection with the royal family seems not to harm business prospects. On the contrary, I would say. Being a son-in-law to His Majesty The King of Sweden gives Mr O'Neill an aura of credibility and solvability. Of course he is restricted because I don't believe the King would appreciate it having a son-in-law trading in arms with IS or investing in fracking (a technique to win natural gaz at the cost of nature), for the rest: the opportunities are endless.