The Crown Prince Couple's Choice of Patronages

[Birgit Hansen]

CP Mary ... LOVED the dress! Great color on her; very chic
CP Mette Marit ... what to do with this girl? The color was way to pale on her; her hair was a disaster; the dress was quite ordinary ... not exactly what you would expect from someone who has access to every major designer in the world1

------------------------------------
As a danish tax payer I must say that Mary should show a little modesty -
and look up to Mette Marit as a good exampel.
Mary seem to be totally obcessed with clothes and a lot of people are getting sick and tired of her spending.

[Tarlita]

Originally Posted by Birgit Hansen

CP Mary ... LOVED the dress! Great color on her; very chic
CP Mette Marit ... what to do with this girl? The color was way to pale on her; her hair was a disaster; the dress was quite ordinary ... not exactly what you would expect from someone who has access to every major designer in the world1

------------------------------------
As a danish tax payer I must say that Mary should show a little modesty -
and look up to Mette Marit as a good exampel.
Mary seem to be totally obcessed with clothes and a lot of people are getting sick and tired of her spending.

Dear Birgitte, I hear what you say, but Mary always dresses for herself and for the occassion. Don't forget what a huge asset she is for Danish fashion putting CIFF on the world map. The girl needs a working wardrobe and one of her own. Read these pages everyone raves about how great she looks. Don't forget all these crown princesses are worth ten times any dumb hollywood starlet.

[Naggi]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

Dear Birgitte, I hear what you say, but Mary always dresses for herself and for the occassion. Don't forget what a huge asset she is for Danish fashion putting CIFF on the world map. The girl needs a working wardrobe and one of her own. Read these pages everyone raves about how great she looks. Don't forget all these crown princesses are worth ten times any dumb hollywood starlet.

Though I know that this is not the rigth threat to write this, but I personally tend to agree to Tarlita's opion. I mean, I really love Mary's style. She is a very fashionable and beautiful woman. But sometimes one gets the feeling that she has too much a sense for fashion. Often we are much more interested in what she is wearing than what she is saying or doing. And we forget that the money for all her dresses come from tax payers. If I would be a Danish tax payer I would be sort of annoyed as well to know that Princess Mary and also the other members of the Danish royal familiy doesn't seem to care a lot that it is also "my" money that they spend.
I personally would like to see that royals - and especially the younger generation that marry commoners - get more engaged in matters. I mean opening a hospital here and establishing a fund there is good, but simply not enough. I wish we could see Mary in a more active role like Mette-Marit - who is despite all her fashion mistakes - involved in the figth against AIDS for example.

[Emmily]

Originally Posted by Naggi

Though I know that this is not the rigth threat to write this, but I personally tend to agree to Tarlita's opion. I mean, I really love Mary's style. She is a very fashionable and beautiful woman. But sometimes one gets the feeling that she has too much a sense for fashion. Often we are much more interested in what she is wearing than what she is saying or doing. And we forget that the money for all her dresses come from tax payers. If I would be a Danish tax payer I would be sort of annoyed as well to know that Princess Mary and also the other members of the Danish royal familiy doesn't seem to care a lot that it is also "my" money that they spend.
I personally would like to see that royals - and especially the younger generation that marry commoners - get more engaged in matters. I mean opening a hospital here and establishing a fund there is good, but simply not enough. I wish we could see Mary in a more active role like Mette-Marit - who is despite all her fashion mistakes - involved in the figth against AIDS for example.

There is thread on these boards that lists the many things that Mary is involved in that have nothing to do with fashion. The Danish Cancer Foundation, the Danish Refugee Council, the Childrens' Aid Foundation...she is involved with mental health, brain injury, heart and kidney foundations to name just a few.

The concern about how money is spent could be said about every female royal. On another board a crown princess is criticized because she is not fashionable enough and recycles her clothes too much. I doubt if these ladies will ever please everyone, but it seems to me all of them represent their countries and should present themselves in a professional manner. I think Mary does that.

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Naggi

Though I know that this is not the rigth threat to write this, but I personally tend to agree to Tarlita's opion. I mean, I really love Mary's style. She is a very fashionable and beautiful woman. But sometimes one gets the feeling that she has too much a sense for fashion. Often we are much more interested in what she is wearing than what she is saying or doing. And we forget that the money for all her dresses come from tax payers. If I would be a Danish tax payer I would be sort of annoyed as well to know that Princess Mary and also the other members of the Danish royal familiy doesn't seem to care a lot that it is also "my" money that they spend.
I personally would like to see that royals - and especially the younger generation that marry commoners - get more engaged in matters. I mean opening a hospital here and establishing a fund there is good, but simply not enough. I wish we could see Mary in a more active role like Mette-Marit - who is despite all her fashion mistakes - involved in the figth against AIDS for example.

The 'annoyed taxpayer' claim is one of my pet aversions : The royal house gets a fixed amount of money from the Danish state of which a sum is alotted to the crown prince and his wife. How they spend their money is none of the taxpayers' concern. If it were - I might also feel myself entitled to take e.g. my husbands female employees to task about their spending habits - with money earned in my husband's company. It makes absolutely no sense.

Should a CPss have an awkward or hideous dressing code to be taken seriously on our Internet boards? If we as the spectators are incapable of looking beyond a persons flair of dressing well, it is our shortcoming and says more about us then the person we are observing.

You compare Mary to Mette-Marit. How many more patronages does MM have than Mary? As a Danish taxpayer I am personally more than satisfied with Mary's engagement in causes like Danish Mental Health, the Brain Injury Association, the Kidney Association, the Stroke Association, the Heart Association, WHO, Danish Refugee Council etc.
Mette-Marit's involvement in AIDS is admirable - but I am quite satisfied with the way Mary has for example contributed to raising awareness about the mentally ill and bullying among children to name a few examples.

Have you checked 'what matters' Mary is actually involved in?

[ricarda]

Originally Posted by Naggi

I mean opening a hospital here and establishing a fund there is good, but simply not enough. I wish we could see Mary in a more active role like Mette-Marit - who is despite all her fashion mistakes - involved in the figth against AIDS for example.

?????
I always wonder when I read comments like that.
Mary established her own foundation, she has initiated the anti-bullying campaign in DK, starting in March 2005 when she brought information material about the "Better Buddies-program" back to DK from her official visit to Australia. This campaign is very much her "baby". And now the foundation gets involved with the "violence against women" issue.
Mary is married 4 years, in that period she gave birth to 2 children, made several trips and became patron of 23 organisations which others have mentioned already (I actually read once in a German mag that Mary is engaged with too many different organisations and causes and doesn't have a focus - no matter how you do it, it's wrong for someone, it seems).
I like Mette-Marit and don't want to put her down, she is engaged with many good causes as well, but I really think Mary showed enough initiative and activeness (despite all her fashion sense ), more than Mette-Marit did during her first 4 years.
Besides, I really like the causes Mary chose to engage herself with (there are other worthy causes besides AIDS).

[sneeuwklokje]

I know princess Mary has a lot of patronages, but her public image gives the impression that she doesn't do more for them than the occasional ribboncutting or giving a speech. What does she actually do on State Visits? As far as I can see she's only promoting the fashion industry during such a visit. Maybe she is very much involved with her charities, but to me her public image is Princess Prada. She could do with a little less clothes and a bit more digging in to her work.

[Emmily]

Originally Posted by sneeuwklokje

I know princess Mary has a lot of patronages, but her public image gives the impression that she doesn't do more for them than the occasional ribboncutting or giving a speech. What does she actually do on State Visits? As far as I can see she's only promoting the fashion industry during such a visit. Maybe she is very much involved with her charities, but to me her public image is Princess Prada. She could do with a little less clothes and a bit more digging in to her work.

Do you know how much she "digs into her work?"

[Naggi]

As said, I really like Mary and her style, but so far she has not impressed me in her role as a crown princess (not counting her fashion sense which is georgeous). In the last four years she has exactly done what was expected from her, namely securing the future of the throne by giving birth and accepting some patronages. This may sound a lot in the first place but actually she has many advisers, nannies and others who help and support her. In this sense, Mary is not a "working mom", rather she let others work for her.

Being the patron of 23 organisations doesn't ultimately mean that you have to work hard. It more or less means that Mary shows up a couple of times to events, accepts a flower bouquet, sits in a front row, smiles and shows some interest. Sometimes she gives a speech for a few minutes that her assistants have written for her. The following day newspapers are more interested in who designed Mary's dress and how good her Danish was than what the event really was about. And this is actually what I was up to. I don't know about Denmark, but in Germany mostly the yellow press writes about Mary. And this simply not enough to be a princess and to spend the tax payers money.

Yes, I do agree with some German press that there is no red line in what she is doing, excapt "playing" a princess. And yes, I do believe that a tax payer has the absolute right to know in which way the royal family spends the money. So I agree to what Emmily posted before.

Originally Posted by UserDane

The 'annoyed taxpayer' claim is one of my pet aversions : The royal house gets a fixed amount of money from the Danish state of which a sum is alotted to the crown prince and his wife. How they spend their money is none of the taxpayers' concern. If it were - I might also feel myself entitled to take e.g. my husbands female employees to task about their spending habits - with money earned in my husband's company. It makes absolutely no sense.

I believe your husband would fire his employees when he would realize that they are paid too much for the little work they do, right? Or does he not expect a certain benefit in return for the salaries he pays his employees? And this is what I meant. The royal family /the crown prince couple are receiving a lot of money from the tax payers who want to see them more deeply involved in social issues than to see them sailing or wearing the latest Prada shoes.

[Amelia]

Being the patron of 23 organisations doesn't ultimately mean that you have to work hard. It more or less means that Mary shows up a couple of times to events, accepts a flower bouquet, sits in a front row, smiles and shows some interest

Naggi you have absolutely no idea how much Mary is or is not involved with the organizations. You have no idea how much work she does behind the scenes. You have no idea why she choose the organizations she did, what they mean to her personally.

Yes, I do agree with some German press that there is no red line in what she is doing, excapt "playing" a princess.

Actually I think that if you look at her list of patronages you will see that she clearly has a focus on those who find themselves excluded for whatever reason, be it due to mental health, illness, bulling etc.

And yes, I do believe that a tax payer has the absolute right to know in which way the royal family spends the money.

The Danish taxpayers give the members of the Royal Family a set allowance each year, it is common knowledge how much they get. What they choose to do with it, as long as it is legal, is no ones business but their own.

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Naggi

I believe your husband would fire his employees when he would realize that they are paid too much for the little work they do, right? Or does he not expect a certain benefit in return for the salaries he pays his employees? And this is what I meant. The royal family /the crown prince couple are receiving a lot of money from the tax payers who want to see them more deeply involved in social issues than to see them sailing or wearing the latest Prada shoes.

You have not provided any kind of information that convinces me that CP Mary does less work or is less committed to her duties than any other of the current CPss. Do you have kind of comparison with another CPss where you can demonstrate that her sense of duty or her her work ethics is lacking - other than your own prejudices against her? No, I thought as much. We all have our prejudices and we are free to nurture them in any way we see fit. So happy nurturing
One favour though: please please PLEASE spare us the 'Danish taxpayer is entitled to...' song. It is old, it is worn and it is misused as an inferior substitute to arguments with real value.

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by Naggi

A And this simply not enough to be a princess and to spend the tax payers money.

Yes, I do agree with some German press that there is no red line in what she is doing, excapt "playing" a princess. And yes, I do believe that a tax payer has the absolute right to know in which way the royal family spends the money. So I agree to what Emmily posted before.

Come on, Naggi, tell me what Mrs. Koehler, Germany's First Lady,does besides spending the money her husband gets from the taxpayers and where I can read what she spends this money for? I doubt she has two little kids and 23 charities to cope with, but she is living in a palace, too (Bellevue Palace, Berlin) and is treated like a princess. Not that I personally want to know that about Mrs. Koehler, but IMHO you should start in your country, where you pay your taxes before you start getting too interested in how other countries spend their taxes and how the people who benefit from them are spending their money.

Originally Posted by UserDane

You have not provided any kind of information that convinces me that CP Mary does less work or is less committed to her duties than any other of the current CPss. Do you have kind of comparison with another CPss where you can demonstrate that her sense of duty or her her work ethics is lacking - other than your own prejudices against her? No, I thought as much. We all have our prejudices and we are free to nurture them in any way we see fit. So happy nurturing
One favour though: please please PLEASE spare us the 'Danish taxpayer is entitled to...' song. It is old, it is worn and it is misused as an inferior substitute to arguments with real value.

Especially if it comes from a foreigner who does not even pays these taxes (except maybe VAT when holidaying in Denmark)

[Emmily]

Originally Posted by Naggi

This may sound a lot in the first place but actually she has many advisers, nannies and others who help and support her. In this sense, Mary is not a "working mom", rather she let others work for her.

What do you base this on?

[Harmony]

Originally Posted by Naggi

And this is actually what I was up to. I don't know about Denmark, but in Germany mostly the yellow press writes about Mary. And this simply not enough to be a princess and to spend the tax payers money.

Yes, I do agree with some German press that there is no red line in what she is doing, excapt "playing" a princess. And yes, I do believe that a tax payer has the absolute right to know in which way the royal family spends the money. So I agree to what Emmily posted before.

The German Yellow Press writes on any Royals not only Mary. Their motives are to make money. The more sensational the stories they are the better their sales. Here in this thread you can find The Spanish Royal family are also not spared. Same with the Dutch Royal family.

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...s-2748-40.html

I thought that the DRF has being very open with their annual income and expenditure report annually which is admirable and some Royalty watchers also wish that their Royal family will also follow suit.

[GlitteringTiaras]

Indeed Harmony. Here is the annual report for 2007 (last page, last post) for those who are interested in reading it.

[Naggi]

Originally Posted by Emmily

What do you base this on?

I base this on the crown prince couples own homepage where their court is listed (not counted the nannies and maids who take care of their children and household). Or do you think that Mary does the research in order to decide which organisation she can be patron of next by herself? Or write her own speaches in Danish while taking care of the kids and doing the laundry and preparing dinner for the family? :-))) She has people who try to make it as easy as possible for her. And I simply assume that these people are paid for their jobs :-)

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

Come on, Naggi, tell me what Mrs. Koehler, Germany's First Lady,does besides spending the money her husband gets from the taxpayers and where I can read what she spends this money for? I doubt she has two little kids and 23 charities to cope with, but she is living in a palace, too (Bellevue Palace, Berlin) and is treated like a princess. Not that I personally want to know that about Mrs. Koehler, but IMHO you should start in your country, where you pay your taxes before you start getting too interested in how other countries spend their taxes and how the people who benefit from them are spending their money.


Especially if it comes from a foreigner who does not even pays these taxes (except maybe VAT when holidaying in Denmark)

In fact Mrs Koehler is a patron of many organisations herself. I don't know on the number but they are of the similar character as Mary's - illness, childern, culture ect. Just go to the presidents homepage :-) And in fact Mrs Koehler has 2 kids (one is even blind as far as I know). Mrs Koehler lives in two palaces (Schloss Bellevue and Villa Hammerschmidt) And to start with my own country, I am interested to know how politiciants/royals act who get paid by their people to do a certain job. And I simply assume that others in other countries are interested in this as well

If we start with this than many of us are restricted with their comments in this threat when it comes to certain topics as not all members are Danes here :-) Though I am a foreigner who does not pay taxes in Denmark, I can express my opinion

Ladies please don't get me wrong, I am a very big fan of Mary myself. That is why I am here. All I wanted to say was that - given all the opportunities that she has - Mary could do more. And I don't mean that she should be a patron of more organisations. Because the more organisations you have, the more you stay in the surface (at least this is my opinion)

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by Naggi

I Ladies please don't get me wrong, I am a very big fan of Mary myself. That is why I am here. All I wanted to say was that - given all the opportunities that she has - Mary could do more.

Maybe that's what rubs people here in the wrong way. It's IMHO a bit presumptious to say that another person "could do more", when we all have no real idea what this person actually does. Especially when one has no relationship of any kind to that person: not even the same nationality or country of residence. I personally trust that Mary is surrounded by enough people who know her and who know about her circumstance to advise her. In her pre-wedding interviews she made a promise to the Danish people to serve her new country and I believe if she appeared to be neglecting her duties, then there are people who tell her that. Foremost of all her husband and her souverain. But there seem to be harmony within the Royal family and there is no open criticism by the Danes, who actually like and support Mary, as polls show again and again. I'm content with that. On the contrary, for me Mary looked eg in the pictures of Joachim's and Marie's wedding and the birthday-pics rather tired around her eyes, overly thin and a bit worn out - as if she had started aging already. Both frederick and Mary have repeatedly said that they want to be and are hands-on parents, thus I guess having two toddlers at home and having to dress up often for official occasions is not easy on an over 30 y.o. mother - even if she does not have to clean away her own dishes. And we don't even know if she does that herself or not. Cherie Blair just told that Elizabeth II. of the UK does the dishes herself when at Balmoral and it is known of queen Margrethe, that she and Henrik often enjoy a cold meal at home in front of the TV-set and clean up after themselves when they're finished.... So we simply can't be sure with Mary and the part she takes in her household chores.

[Lilla]

Originally Posted by Naggi

Ladies please don't get me wrong, I am a very big fan of Mary myself. That is why I am here. All I wanted to say was that - given all the opportunities that she has - Mary could do more. And I don't mean that she should be a patron of more organisations. Because the more organisations you have, the more you stay in the surface (at least this is my opinion)

Out of curiosity - what more is it you would like her to do then? Can you mention something concrete?

[Guido]

This is a bit ironical that some people say how important the crown princesses's work is while they are talking about their clothes, shoes and jewelleries. It seems that the most interesting topic in the whole royal forum what the princesses wear. IMO, clothes and shoes receive too much attention. We must read over and over again how stunning , beautiful the princesses are. Before long, it gets very tiring and boring. Many people interest alone royal ladies' physical appearance and apparel in stead of their works. Mary's public image gives the impression that she is very intersted in fashion and trendy clothes. This is the reason why students and houswives keep analyseing which designer outfit the crown princesses wear. By the way, Mary should follow Mette-Marit and Letizia's example. MM's style is simple, Letizia recycles a lot. Mary wears almost brand-new outfits for each occasion and she just recycles rarely. She should wear more simpler and classic suits instead of fashionable and trendy clothes.

[Amelia]

Mary wears almost brand-new outfits for each occasion and she just recycles rarely.

This is completely incorrect, Mary recycles her clothes just as much as the other CP's, she just happens to be better at it than the others so it isn't as obvious. While Letizia tends to wear the same outfit again Mary mixes and matches hers so they are not as obvious. If you look in Marys threads in Royal Fashion you will see many examples of this.