Christian, Isabella, Vincent and Josephine, News Part 3: November 2015 - June 2023


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Neither have I. Although Swedish I keep myself updated on both regular Danish news and the royal news through TV, papers and podcasts and I've never heard anything about Prince Christian being careless or disrespectful about his future position. If he did we'd not even have this discussion since a certain reporter would be all over it.

A certain reporter, among other, already has.

It was IIRC in connection with the celebrations of QMII that Christian posed with his family and there he seemingly made a handsignal. A wasn't a rude gesture more like a Herlufsholm greeting.
Perhaps slightly inappropriate when the royal roadshow is on and there were a few remarks that he shouldn't make a habit of it.
But he was sixteen or so, and who hasn't done something a little silly at sixteen?
There have also been reports that he has been partying and drinking beer. Again, he's a teen and Danish teens drink - in fact they are infamous for it, but that's another discussion.
There have also been reports that he is not in want of attention from the girls - well, there's a surprise!

- That is the wildest I have heard about Christian.

Apart from that I have a genuine good impression of him.
He's a bright lad.
No snob. At least not openly.
A caring brother and a loving son.
Confident and at ease with being the spotlight. Able to answer in an intelligent and sensible manner.
He seems to have very good social skills.
I'll label him an extrovert from the little I really know about his personality.
He clearly seems to be very aware of who he is and his role, also in the future.

But of course it may just be a facade. He may be an obnoxious party prince.
That'll be taken out of him, once he's in boot camp though. :D
He may associate the wrong crowd and do stupid things, but so far there haven't been any reports of that. And keep in mind that both Frederik and Joachim were crucified by the public when they went to high school and were in a group that caused some disturbance at a celebration at the high school. If Christian pulled a similar stunt we would already know about it.

But as some of you have pointed out, there will be loads of portraits and interviews and documentaries about Christian when he turns eighteen. So in six months we will really know who he is.

ADDED: The infamous hand signal:
https://www.bt.dk/royale/konspirati...ians-haandtegn-han-skal-ikke-goere-det-til-en
 
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Let's talk a little bit about Christian's education.

He is going to graduate from high school next summer, still being eighteen. And that's about the age where all Danish males (no female conscription, yet. But it's coming, so look out Isabella) are called up for the draft board.
Considering that Christian seems to be healthy and fit and of sound mind as well as bright, he should have no problem volunteering for conscription, which in the order 98% + of all conscripts in DK do.
A stint in the military is expected of him.
That means boot camp, followed by NCO school and then the officers academy graduating as first lieutenant.
He will go through all that in one branch of the military, whatever that may be. And then do a couple of short stints in the two other branches. That may be later or as a kind of crash course after having graduated as first lieutenant.
- Frederik did his basics at the Royal Lifeguard, then served as a platoon commander in a recon squadron of the Guards Hussars when he had become a first lieutenant. Then he sniffed a little around the air force before finding his home in the navy.

So in my estimation, when Christian is about 22 or so, it's time for university.

And that's where it becomes interesting and much more open.
Frederik studied political science at Aarhus University. Given that Frederik and QMII studied in Aarhus and liked it and it also means that he has to move away from mom and dad, I think it's likely Christian will study there as well. There is also, at least in eastern Jutland, a hope bordering on expectation that Christian will study in Aarhus - it also means a deeper connection with DK outside Copenhagen and that does matter!
Frederik also studied in USA, Harvard IIRC. (Can't remember off hand what he studied though.)
At some point, perhaps when he is around 30 or so, he is likely to study at the military academy again, the staff school, before he can be promoted to major.
He is also pretty much expected to take a gap year and do some traveling, that's ancient custom. It's a formative part of his education apart from also being an adventure, hopefully. Also, all Danish young people who can, go abroad on a gap year. - I think he will do that after leaving the military or after he has completed his first degree at a university.

I think it's almost a given thing that he will study or work (perhaps during his gap year) in Australia. He's half Australian after all, he has family there and they do have pretty good universities there as well. Apart from that the Danish foreign Ministry and Ministry for Commerce won't mind at all. :D

Now my questions are:
What do you think he will study at the universities?
What should he study?
Where should he study? We assume for the sake of argument that he will study in two foreign countries.
What would be a good idea for him to go and do in his gap year?
(Keep in mind that we are talking about a young fit man, who already has a solid leadership education behind him and is used to be in charge and have responsibility.)
 
:previous: Frederik did a year of study abroad at Harvard University during 1992-1993 where he studied Political Science.

I wonder if Christian would be interested in following in his father's footsteps and try for the Frogmen Corps.

I find it interesting that for his year 2 class trip that he was just on, he chose Jordan. (The other choices seemed to include be Italy, Iceland, Kenya, Edinburgh).

Could he do his gap year via an organization like The Red Cross, Save the Children, etc.?

Didn't Frederik work at the Embassies in New York and Paris? Maybe he would do some of that?

I wonder when we will see Christian on more public engagements, especially outside Copenhagen. A summer cruise for the CPC family would have been a great opportunity for that.

I think Australia is a very good bet for him to spend time studying.
 
The "problem" with Christian's military training is that his father left the bar impossibly high. IIRC, Frede is the only Royal to ever pass the test in order to join a branch of the Special Forces, isn't he?

On the bright side, there's no way he can do worse than his cousins.

What should he Study? Well, his heart may lie elsewhere, but it's got to be the usual lot: Law, History, Economics, International Relations...he could also go for a Master's Degree (in Australia, perhaps?) I'm sure he inherited some Donaldson IQ points. Although, of course, there's no reason for him not to be able to study something he really wants to, after studying what he "should". All of this taking into consideration that he's not going to be Crown Prince for such a prolonged time as his father has.
 
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Well, we have three special forces in DK, where the demands are exceptionally high: The Jaeger Corps, The Frogman Corps and the Sirius Patrol.
Joining any of these means he has matched his dad.

And as pointed out if Christian stays in the military for more than a couple of months he has done better than his two cousins.
But the pressure is of course higher for Christian, he is expected to complete, period! Whereas Nikolai and Felix could opt out because they didn't like it or it disrupted their sleep pattern or ruined their nails, whatever.

He can indeed work for a humanitarian organization during his gap year.

Frederik worked as an intern at the embassy in Paris. Joachim worked as an intern for Mærsk in Hong Kong, shipping. As well as working at an Australian ranch.

I will estimate that Christian will or is close to taking over in about 25 years from now. I.e. when he is 38-45 years old.
I belong to the same generation as Frederik and we are not expected to live as long as our children, but if Frederik looks after himself and isn't hit by something nasty like Alzheimer, he should be in good working order by the time he reach 80, and when he is 85 he might still be fully functional. But not when he reaches 90. That I doubt very much.
A macabre prediction, but still 5 years better than the one I give myself.

Frederik was sent solo to Japan, when he was 18 or so, I think. (The hole in the sock.) But until then he had lived a pretty sheltered life, under a quite authoritarian dad, and on top of that he was shy and not at all keen on becoming king eventually.
Christian is different, he is much more comfortable in the public glare and much more used to it. So I think that already next year he will accompany one of both of his parents abroad occasionally and a little while later going solo. Indeed perhaps to Australia for his first solo trip, because it's a country he is familiar with, but just as likely to another monarchy where there is another heir about his age, he knows well: Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and quite likely Spain as well. They might just as well start bonding on the job and practice together.
 
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Would it be possible Christian to "opt out" of extensive military training? Maybe just serve a year or something? Or maybe he could pursue a program similar to Prince William, who did military service after college.

It seems kind of a shame he can't start college at 18 or 19 as most of his peers will.
 
Could Prince Christian study at a university in England or in France?
 
Would it be possible Christian to "opt out" of extensive military training? Maybe just serve a year or something? Or maybe he could pursue a program similar to Prince William, who did military service after college.

It seems kind of a shame he can't start college at 18 or 19 as most of his peers will.

It would, yes. There is AFAIK no requirement for a future monarch to serve in the military or even become an officer. QMII has no formal military career behind her, even though she served with the Women's Auxiliary Corps.
But back then it was rare for a woman to become officer in DK, and if she did, it was usually in some kind of supporting role.
Today it's no hindrance.

There has always been a strong affiliation with the Danish monarchs and the military, and I don't think that will change. Nor should it IMO.
After all the monarch as head of state is the formal commander in chief. Or more correctly: The soldiers are commanded, deployed or fight in the name of the monarch, because all state authority is based in the monarch's person.
Example: The police used to order say a demonstration to disperse "i Dronningens navn = In the Name of the Queen" Or when knocking on a door: "Politiet! I Dronningens navn, luk op! - The police! In the name of the Queen, open up!" - Today, I believe they just as much use: In the name of the law. Can't say for certain. The police don't come knocking on our door that often.
- Which again is one more reason why there is always someone acting as Rigsforstander when the monarch and CP are away for more than a few hours.
It's authority personified.

However, I find it more than likely that quite a few of Christian's friends will opt for voluntary conscription in the hope of some them serving with him, even if it's not in the same unit.
The military will also be the first time he will genuinely meet and whether he wants to or not get really close to ordinary Danes with all sorts of backgrounds and from all sorts of places, that he would otherwise be unlikely to meet, let alone become friends with.
The school he went to, and the twins still attend, is located in an affluent part of greater Copenhagen, and while there are pupils from average families there, i dare say they constitute the minority.
Herlufsholm, that was anything than ordinary people.
The high school he attends now is probably the closets he has ever been to associating ordinary Danes of his age. And still, there are none who pursue a technical or craftsman education there, and there are not that many typical immigrants there either, I dare guess. Nor are there many, if any, who comes from outside Copenhagen.
DK is a small country but the mentality in various parts of DK can be surprisingly different.

Also in the military he will be surrounded by young people who are all volunteers. They want to be in military. To most this is something they look forward to. Event though many will be shipped out during boot camp.
And once he ends up in NCO school, it gets even more serious. Now he's surrounded by people, who really want this and who are highly motivated. Christian needs to be on his toes to impress them!
So I truly hope Christian will pursue at least a basic military career. Because he will get to know people from totally different segments and with a different mindset and who are perhaps much more determined than he is.
It will be quite a culture shock for him, but also I hope very formative - for good or for worse.
Because there is no Prince Christian an early cold November morning, while crawling through pools of rain. If need be the other recruits will tell him that! They will be so tired, they won't hold back, should Christian not pull his weight.
On the other hand, there is nothing like the YES-experience of having completed your first 25 km night-march in full gear, singing I Østen Stiger Solen Op - a song hated by recruits for generations. ?

Could Prince Christian study at a university in England or in France?

Yes, no problem. If they will have him of course.
Personally I don't find France likely, because Christian's affiliation with France and his French relatives are pretty limited, in my impression.
 
:previous: :flowers:

The school has removed photos of Christian.
An interesting trip, but the hotel was apparently terrible. Let's hope Christian didn't bring any bedbugs with him home...

The trip into the desert was apparently quite strenuous. Whoever wrote the caption on the Instagram account has a great sense of humor.
Pointing out that quite a few were not adverse to express how hard it was. = A lot of complaining and whining. :D
 
Pointing out that quite a few were not adverse to express how hard it was. = A lot of complaining and whining. [emoji3]

Travelling through the desert with a bunch of teenagers who were most likely constantly searching for roaming for their phones does sound like a nightmare.
 
Vicent aka Mama's Boy, is the least Donaldson of the kids, he reminds me of both young Frederik, and grandpa Henrik. Such a gentle face.

__
Those IG accounts run by teenage royal watchers are a danger, they'll easily find material unknown to the CIA, but Christian should really make the most of these last few months of "freedom", because the press won't calm down until he has at least two kids.
 
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CqIzJXwvBDP/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Videos/photos of Christian during his trip to Jordan.

His school must still be very privileged as I do not know of any school in the Netherlands that would go on a school trip to Jordan... They would stick to European destinations.

:previous: :flowers:

The school has removed photos of Christian.
An interesting trip, but the hotel was apparently terrible. Let's hope Christian didn't bring any bedbugs with him home...

The trip into the desert was apparently quite strenuous. Whoever wrote the caption on the Instagram account has a great sense of humor.
Pointing out that quite a few were not adverse to express how hard it was. = A lot of complaining and whining. :D

I did a 3-day Wadi Rum trip (including indeed quite a bit of walking and sleeping under the stars) about 15 years ago. It's lovely! But a bit hot and there is hardly any shade (although they will make sure to have a long break at mid-day) and yes, walking in the desert is quite different from a walk in the park...
 
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:previous: Luxury!

When I was Christian's age I got up before dawn and walked 15 km to school through snowdrifts, up hill, both ways.
When I got home, the whole family huddled around a candle to keep warm.
On particular cold nights, dad would light the candle.
 
It would, yes. There is AFAIK no requirement for a future monarch to serve in the military or even become an officer. QMII has no formal military career behind her, even though she served with the Women's Auxiliary Corps.
But back then it was rare for a woman to become officer in DK, and if she did, it was usually in some kind of supporting role.
Today it's no hindrance....

Muhler, thanks so much for answering this a few days ago. (Sorry I missed it earlier.)

I suppose there are also practical aspects to him being in the military, even beyond the very logical ones you point out. For starters, it will give him the right to wear a uniform, which seems to be the go-to outfit for princes and kings. And, that's a symbol of his service to his country.

I imagine it also helps in terms of stability, in case of emergency. I was watching a show about King Juan Carlos recently where he talked about how his connections from the military academy gave him personal relationships with commanders that helped him assess and quiet things during the coup attempt.

I suppose King Constantine's experience in not being able to call on the right people during the coup against him also shows how important those relationships are.

:previous: Luxury!

When I was Christian's age I got up before dawn and walked 15 km to school through snowdrifts, up hill, both ways.
When I got home, the whole family huddled around a candle to keep warm.
On particular cold nights, dad would light the candle.

When I was a kid, I was always taught to stay warm when camping by rubbing two boy scouts together to start a fire. (LOL, I suppose that has a slightly different connotation today than it did 30 years ago, but I mean it the G-rated way.)

That trip to Jordan sounds very exotic, but looking at the map, I realized that Jordan is less than 2,000 miles from Denmark. That's about the same distance from the U.S. East Coast to the Rocky Mountains. Doesn't sound so far!
 
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:previous: Luxury!

When I was Christian's age I got up before dawn and walked 15 km to school through snowdrifts, up hill, both ways.
When I got home, the whole family huddled around a candle to keep warm.
On particular cold nights, dad would light the candle.
Muhler! I didn’t realize you’d been a classmate of my mother’s:lol:
 
Muhler, thanks so much for answering this a few days ago. (Sorry I missed it earlier.)

I suppose there are also practical aspects to him being in the military, even beyond the very logical ones you point out. For starters, it will give him the right to wear a uniform, which seems to be the go-to outfit for princes and kings. And, that's a symbol of his service to his country.

I imagine it also helps in terms of stability, in case of emergency. I was watching a show about King Juan Carlos recently where he talked about how his connections from the military academy gave him personal relationships with commanders that helped him assess and quiet things during the coup attempt.

I suppose King Constantine's experience in not being able to call on the right people during the coup against him also shows how important those relationships are.



When I was a kid, I was always taught to stay warm when camping by rubbing two boy scouts together to start a fire. (LOL, I suppose that has a slightly different connotation today than it did 30 years ago, but I mean it the G-rated way.)

That trip to Jordan sounds very exotic, but looking at the map, I realized that Jordan is less than 2,000 miles from Denmark. That's about the same distance from the U.S. East Coast to the Rocky Mountains. Doesn't sound so far!

Provided his experience with the military is just reasonably positive it will give him a good basis as a leader, he is after all supposed to be the boss one day. It will also give him more self confidence and knowledge that he can do twice as much as he himself think he can, and ten times as much as mother Mary think he can. ;)
But the most important thing, and I feel that I simply cannot stress that enough: He will meet and form bonds with other Danish young people from all sorts of backgrounds that he would otherwise be unlikely to meet.
It's one thing to go to university with the son of a carpenter from the island of Fanø, it's another matter to pop the blisters on the feet of the daughter of a office worker from Bjerringbro after a 25 km march. Or to warm his hands in the armpits of guy from Vollsmose whose brother is a gang member and in prison.

While most Danish high school students also mainly travel within Europe (or rather EU) it's certainly not unheard that they travel outside Europe, like Egypt or beforehand to Israel. And I dare claim that at present Jordan is considerably safer than Israel or Egypt.

We used to dream about being able to light a fire.
We lived twelve siblings and our parents in a pigeon house. When the pigeons were out flying, that is. Otherwise we sat on the roof.

Muhler! I didn’t realize you’d been a classmate of my mother’s:lol:

Just like your mother, we were poor, but we were happy.
In fact we were happy, because we were poor.
 
Will Christian go to university next school year? or will he have military training?
 
I think he will go for the military, graduating as first lieutenant. Then go for a gap year - Australia springs to mind. And then return for university and if he follow in the footsteps of his dad and farmor, that will be Aarhus University. By then I also believe he will have his own apartment at Amalienborg, because once he has been in the military he's not going home to his parents to live.

It is much more open to speculate what Isabella will do, because she will be the official spare for many years yet and surely that will affect her education and what she is doing - and of course she is the first princess in DK for many years so she will get a lot of attention!

Had J&M stayed in DK, I think Josephine and Athena would have been compared all the time as they become teens. Vincent would have remained grandma-bait for at least a while yet. :D He may very well end up being teen-bait though.
But of course those three, as well as Henrik, will get considerably less attention and more room to be "normal" than Isabella will.
 
Are there options where Christian could simultaneously attend a Danish university and train for the military while remaining a full-time student? (I'm wondering if there's something analogous to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in American universities.) I feel bad for him having to delay the college experience.

Also, what's "grandma-bait?" Sounds cute, but the term is new to me. :)
 
:previous: No, there is no cadet-like training at Danish universities.

The nearest thing we have ever had was when the Swedes tried to storm Copenhagen back in 1659. The students at Copenhagen University formed a company. - They sure also knew how to take a lot of credit for beating back the Swedes! Judging from the accounts written after the storm you'd be forgiven for thinking these some 150 students were the only ones manning the redoubts that fateful night. :D
But in contrast to most the students could write and that they did! About themselves.

Grandma-bait are usually cute and/or charming boys, from preteens down to babies. The kind of children that can make otherwise sane women go cooing - loudly. And if not restrained will invariably ruffle the hair and pinch the cheeks of said boys.
Vincent is archetypical prey for such hordes of late middle-aged women roaming the streets. I'm related to several of the breed.
 
I think he will go for the military, graduating as first lieutenant. Then go for a gap year - Australia springs to mind. And then return for university and if he follow in the footsteps of his dad and farmor, that will be Aarhus University. By then I also believe he will have his own apartment at Amalienborg, because once he has been in the military he's not going home to his parents to live.

It is much more open to speculate what Isabella will do, because she will be the official spare for many years yet and surely that will affect her education and what she is doing - and of course she is the first princess in DK for many years so she will get a lot of attention!

Had J&M stayed in DK, I think Josephine and Athena would have been compared all the time as they become teens. Vincent would have remained grandma-bait for at least a while yet. :D He may very well end up being teen-bait though.
But of course those three, as well as Henrik, will get considerably less attention and more room to be "normal" than Isabella will.

How long would it normally take for Christian to be commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Danish army? I guess I am trying to figure out how old he will be by the time he gets into university.
 
How long would it normally take for Christian to be commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Danish army? I guess I am trying to figure out how old he will be by the time he gets into university.

About two years, after having completed bootcamp and having been admitted to NCO school.
Bootcamp, depending on branch and unit he will be serving in is from 4 months to 8-9 months.

So including leave about 2½ at minimum I'd say.
 
About two years, after having completed bootcamp and having been admitted to NCO school.
Bootcamp, depending on branch and unit he will be serving in is from 4 months to 8-9 months.

So including leave about 2½ at minimum I'd say.

It is odd that you have to join the enlisted ranks (bootcamp/NCO school) before you can start officer training. In other countries, joining as an officer cadet or enlisting are normally separate routes.
 
It is odd that you have to join the enlisted ranks (bootcamp/NCO school) before you can start officer training. In other countries, joining as an officer cadet or enlisting are normally separate routes.

You can become first lieutenant in different ways.

A) By being a conscript, who is selected to become NCO (that's the most likely way for Christian, based on Frederik and Joachim.) but where the object of you becoming an NCO is to having a career within the military. I.e. you sign a contract. (Quite a few go down that path.)
B) By already being an NCO, either having served as a conscript NCO, or being a professional NCO. (These are very much preferred!)
C) By already being a regular professional soldier.
D) Applying as a civilian, you will among other things need to have graduated high school or something equivalent to that, say technical high school before applying. That will include a very high learning curve, as you have to go through intensive basic training in a very few weeks.

It takes about a year to become lieutenant, then Christian will have to serve one more year as platoon leader, before graduating as first Lieutenant. (During that year, he will learn from his senior NCO and also very much from the soldiers under his command, how to lead, plan and look after his soldiers.)
Having become first lieutenant Christian will have to serve at least four years before he can become a captain and command a company.
After that comes major, but that requires for Christian to complete the first module of the staff officers education.
Later on, as he moves up the ranks towards full colonel, he will have to complete the second module of the staff officers education.
But once he has become major or lieutenant colonel he is likely to be officer a la suite = officer without command.
 
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You can become first lieutenant in different ways.

A) By being a conscript, who is selected to become NCO (that's the most likely way for Christian, based on Frederik and Joachim.) but where the object of you becoming an NCO is to having a career within the military. I.e. you sign a contract. (Quite a few go down that path.)
B) By already being an NCO, either having served as a conscript NCO, or being a professional NCO. (These are very much preferred!)
C) By already being a regular professional soldier.
D) Applying as a civilian, you will among other things need to have graduated high school or something equivalent to that, say technical high school before applying. That will include a very high learning curve, as you have to go through intensive basic training in a very few weeks.

It takes about a year to become lieutenant, then Christian will have to serve one more year as platoon leader, before graduating as first Lieutenant. (During that year, he will learn from his senior NCO and also very much from the soldiers under his command, how to lead, plan and look after his soldiers.)
Having become first lieutenant Christian will have to serve at least four years before he can become a captain and command a company.
After that comes major, but that requires for Christian to complete the first module of the staff officers education.
Later on, as he moves up the ranks towards full colonel, he will have to complete the second module of the staff officers education.
But once he has become major or lieutenant colonel he is likely to be officer a la suite = officer without command.

I see, I forgot you still have conscription in Denmark! It makes sense now.

Thnaks, Muhler!
 
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