Name & Godparent Suggestions for the Twins

[Sternchen]

Earl of Wessex. It would be nice if Edward was featured, he is godfather to one of Joachims boys. I always forget which one.

He is godfather to Nikolai

 

[sjetajiem]

Alexandra zu Sayn-Witgenstein-Berleburg works at the Unesco in Paris.
In an interview she spoke about her job being full-time and that she has only time to see her family in Berleburg or Denmark in the holidays.
Her husband Jefferson is a very busy banker

 

[Lumutqueen]

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f161/royals-with-a-non-royal-job-6849.html
Here are some examples, it' quite an old thread, though.

Ooo thank you for finding the thread.

Alexandra zu Sayn-Witgenstein-Berleburg works at the Unesco in Paris.
In an interview she spoke about her job being full-time and that she has only time to see her family in Berleburg or Denmark in the holidays.
Her husband Jefferson is a very busy banker

If it's just a few examples it isn't 'most royals'. The CPs of Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium etc don't have other jobs and they seem to be the ones who would be considered for the godparent role. The swedes, the dutch and the norwegians have other arrangements, ones that have been planned for a while. If they were to be considered godparents, I'm sure Mary and Frederik would have factored in the obstacles when picking a date for the christening. This makes me think more and more that it will be a family and friends event. It would be lovely to see Nathalie and her new son at the christening.

 

[Christo's Girl]

From reports and pics we have seen since the birth of the twins, Mary's eldest sister Jane was the only sibling that was in Denmark to see the twins. So it's still a possibilty that one or even both siblings will attend the baptism as a godparent. If the media got the touring details of M&F incorrect they may have got other info incorrect as well.

I just read an article this morning from the The Mercury stating that Patricia Bailey will be in Denmark for the christenings, so it is basically a guarantee that she is a Godmother.

 

[Lumutqueen]

so it is basically a guarantee that she is a Godmother.

Or she could just be there as a guest. Grandfather John is flying over as well. We only have a week and 4 days left to wait.

 

[Sternchen]

Or she could just be there as a guest. Grandfather John is flying over as well. We only have a week and 4 days left to wait.

Wasn't Patricia there for the Christenings of Christian and Isabella, where she wasn't a godmother?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Wasn't Patricia there for the Christenings of Christian and Isabella, where she wasn't a godmother?

Quite possible, I'll look back through the threads and see what I can find.

 

[Viv]

Does anyone know if Benedikte is the Danish form of the name Patricia? Google Translator has changed "Princess Benedikte" to "Princess Patricia" on me several times.

It isn't! Benedikte is the female form of Benedikt, meaning "the blessed". It is a name associated with the founder of the Benedictine order.
In Denmark 1130 women are named Benedikte ('danizised' with a 'k') while 862 carry the latin version of the name.
For comparison only 41 males are named Benedikt!

If it is a form of Patricia, I wonder if Queen Ingrid named her second daughter after her aunt, Patricia of Connaught.

I suppose she could have named her Patricia had she wanted to, but Anglosaxon names would still have been a bit too outlandish at the time!! However in the late 1940s Anglosaxon names became rather popular!

Oh and by the way: I still believe that 'Patricia' is a serious contender!

Viv

 

[Sternchen]

Quite possible, I'll look back through the threads and see what I can find.

She was definetly at Christians christening
TRH The Crown Prince Couple - List of Guests

but not at the christening of Isabella
TRH The Crown Prince Couple - Guest list

 

[Lumutqueen]

She was definetly at Christians christening
TRH The Crown Prince Couple - List of Guests

but not at the christening of Isabella
TRH The Crown Prince Couple - Guest list

And there was me trauling through the threads to find a picture, should have gone straight to the guest list.

 

[Christo's Girl]

I think Patricia was at Christian's christening because, I hate to say it, he is the future King and it was a very big deal. One doesn't attend such a grand event everyday. It isn't that easy probably for Patricia to get away from her job and the cost is considerable as well so she has never just flown over to Denmark like Jane has in the past. If she is in Denmark she is a Godmother and it would be the nice thing to do. I was quite frankly surprised when Patricia wasn't named a Godmother to Isabella since Jane was Christian's.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Except for Patricia, IMO, he isn't a future King he is primarily her nephew and these twins are her niece and nephew. Patricia has flown to Denmark prior to this christening, if for nothing else the wedding in 2004.

 

[Sternchen]

Hasn't she been in Denmark shortly after Mary gave birth to Isabella but returned to Australia before the christening? And John (the brother) hasn't been at either christening.

 

[Christo's Girl]

I don't think Patricia has been to Denmark in a few years. It is usually Jane that visits, she came after Isabella was born, I don't think Patricia did.

 

[stellam]

Patricia has been to Denmark for the wedding and Christian's christening and brother John has only been to Denmark for the wedding. Jane has been for the wedding, Christian's christening, after Isabella's birth and she and her entire family ( husband and children ) have been back for a holiday in Denmark. I remember seeing pics of Jane, her husband and children attending a soccer game with M&F in Denmark.

 

[sjetajiem]

Ooo thank you for finding the thread.



If it's just a few examples it isn't 'most royals'. The CPs of Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium etc don't have other jobs and they seem to be the ones who would be considered for the godparent role. The swedes, the dutch and the norwegians have other arrangements, ones that have been planned for a while. If they were to be considered godparents, I'm sure Mary and Frederik would have factored in the obstacles when picking a date for the christening. This makes me think more and more that it will be a family and friends event. It would be lovely to see Nathalie and her new son at the christening.

We have a long list of royals with a job!

 

[Viv]

I don't think Patricia has been to Denmark in a few years. It is usually Jane that visits, she came after Isabella was born, I don't think Patricia did.

I think you're right! I normally don't keep kept track of these visits, but It think that Jane is the one we've seen the most!. One of the mags wrote that she is the sister CP Mary is most attached to.

Viv

 

[Leslie2006]

I wonder if Ingeborg will be among the little princess' names? It's a family name, but it doesn't seem to be a very common one.

 

[King of the Jungle]

Might we see some brother/sister combinations as Godparents for the twins?
Perhaps ...
Nikolaos and Theodora of Greece
Gustav and Nathalie
John and Patricia
Felipe and Christina of Spain.
..and will they choose either/both Princess Marie or/and Countess Alexandra?
..an older nephew perhaps - Alexander Stephens?
..some French cousins?
..'new' or other royals - Daniel, Martha-Louise, Sophie Wessex ...
..good friends are sure to feature somewhere as well.

Yes, it is a large but lateral thinking list from which to choose.

 

[Leslie2006]

I doubt Countess Alexandra will be a godmother since she's no longer part of the Danish Royal Family. Princess Marie, however, is likely to be chosen.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I doubt Countess Alexandra will be a godmother since she's no longer part of the Danish Royal Family. Princess Marie, however, is likely to be chosen.

Just because she isn't a member of the DRF doesn't rule her out, Alex and Mary could be extremely good friends and Marie and Mary could hate each other being part of the 'family' doesn't guarantee you godparent rites.

And that's a lot of godparents king of the jungle.

 

[MRSJ]

I doubt Countess Alexandra will be a godmother since she's no longer part of the Danish Royal Family. Princess Marie, however, is likely to be chosen.

she is a former wife of his brother which may be akward in the future no matter how on terms everyone is so I agree it's extremely unlikely

 

[AnnaNotherThing]

9 days to go!!! Woohoo...single figures!!! I will be on holidays on the day (the 14th) so I will have to satisfy myself with getting the info off the news or reading a paper...Not the same as coming here to this friendly, informative and entertaining bunch...Oh well, we can discuss our opinions of the names when I get back

 

[crm2317]

For godparents I think they will have Prince Daniel, Princess Marie, Patricia Bailey, John Donaldson Jr. Maybe a Greek and Berleburg cousin of the Crown Prince.

It might be nice to have Prince Nikolai as a godfather and one of Mary's older nieces as a godmother.

 

[CharlotteAmalia]

For godparents I think they will have Prince Daniel, Princess Marie, Patricia Bailey, John Donaldson Jr. Maybe a Greek and Berleburg cousin of the Crown Prince.

It might be nice to have Prince Nikolai as a godfather and one of Mary's older nieces as a godmother.

I believe as well, that Daniel and Marie are likely to be godparents. But somehow Mary seems to be not very close to Patricia and John. So i think they won't be godparents.
Nikolai is probably too young to be godparent. In lutheran churches you can be godparent, when you had your confirmation. The Confirmation is usually with 14 (or sometimes 13) years old. But i when i understood this text right ( Fadder - Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi ) then the confirmation is not needed in Denmark, but the godparent has to be older than 15 years (beyond the years a child/teen gets usually confirmed)

 

[sjetajiem]

Might we see some brother/sister combinations as Godparents for the twins?
Perhaps ...
Nikolaos and Theodora of Greece
Gustav and Nathalie
John and Patricia
Felipe and Christina of Spain.
..and will they choose either/both Princess Marie or/and Countess Alexandra?
..an older nephew perhaps - Alexander Stephens?
..some French cousins?
..'new' or other royals - Daniel, Martha-Louise, Sophie Wessex ...
..good friends are sure to feature somewhere as well.

Yes, it is a large but lateral thinking list from which to choose.

No Spaniards either!
Felipe and Letizia will start on Monday for a trip to Israel, Palestine and Jordan.
Cristina is in the USA with her family and will return to Spain for the Easter Holidays.

 

[dbarn67]

Tatiana of Greece would be a nice gesture. And I think Prince Daniel may be invited to godparent one of the twins. Other than that I have not idea.

 

[Leslie2006]

Prince Daniel I can definitely see being a godparent because Frederik and Victoria are very close. Princess Tatiana is another possibility seeing as how both Frederik and Joachim are also close to their Greek cousins. Also, Mary's brother John seems like a possible choice.

 

[FasterB]

Nikolai is probably too young to be godparent. In lutheran churches you can be godparent, when you had your confirmation. The Confirmation is usually with 14 (or sometimes 13) years old. But i when i understood this text right ( Fadder - Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi ) then the confirmation is not needed in Denmark, but the godparent has to be older than 15 years (beyond the years a child/teen gets usually confirmed)

This is what http://www.km.dk/borgerportal/daab/faddere.html (The Church Ministery) says:

Ved barnedåb skal der være mindst 2 og højst 5 faddere. Det gælder både ved dåb af spædbørn og ved dåb af større børn.

Faddere påtager sig en moralsk forpligtelse til at medvirke til dåbsbarnets oplæring i kristendom, hvis forældrene dør, før barnet er blevet voksent. Juridisk set er der imidlertid hverken rettigheder eller pligter forbundet med at være fadder.

En fadder skal selv være døbt med den kristne dåb, i folkekirken eller i et andet kristent trossamfund, men behøver ikke at være medlem af folkekirken.

Minimumsalderen for en fadder er den sædvanlige konfirmationsalder dvs. 13-14 år. Den præst, som forretter dåben, har dog mulighed for at vurdere , om en "ung fadder" skønnes tilstrækkeligt moden til at stå fadder.

Barnets forældre bestemmer, hvem der skal være faddere, og de skal meddele faddernes navne og adresser til præsten.

By Baptism must be at least 2 and no more than 5 sponsors (faddere/godparents). This applies to both infant baptism and baptism of older children.

Godparents do assume a moral obligation to help the child in question training for Christianity if the parents die before the child has grown up. Legally, however, neither rights nor duties are associated with being the godfather.

A sponsor must themselves be baptized with the Christian baptism, in church or in another Christian faith, but need not be members of the church.

The minimum age for a godfather, the usual confirmation age ie. 13-14 years. The priest who baptize have the opportunity to assess whether a "young godfather" seemed sufficiently mature to be godfather.

The child's parents decide who should be witnesses, and they must communicate the sponsors names and addresses for the clergyman.

 

[Angelica]

I believe as well, that Daniel and Marie are likely to be godparents. But somehow Mary seems to be not very close to Patricia and John. So i think they won't be godparents.
Nikolai is probably too young to be godparent. In lutheran churches you can be godparent, when you had your confirmation. The Confirmation is usually with 14 (or sometimes 13) years old. But i when i understood this text right ( Fadder - Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi ) then the confirmation is not needed in Denmark, but the godparent has to be older than 15 years (beyond the years a child/teen gets usually confirmed)

I don't really think that she is not that close to Patricia and John. Maybe it's more difficult to them to leave their job and all their duties as they have much younger children than Jane has. Let's not forget also that a trip to Denmark from Australia is very expensive and perhaps they can not afford it. Of course, some would say that Mary is their sister and they would like to visit her or that perhaps she wants to help them get in Denmark, but even if siblings offer to give their help financially it is very difficult for some people to accept this help because they feel bad. Anyway, I personally believe that making a sibling godparent to your child does not make any difference nor indicates your special bond with them. Yes it is an honour to be a godparent to any child, but if you have a great and loving relationship with your brother or sister, it's nothing special to be a godparent to their child.