Twin Prince and Princess for Frederik & Mary: January 8, 2011

[Sternchen]

Funny that the article mentions Jane Stephens, as John Donaldson supposedly said, that Patricia Bailey will come to Denmark?

[Princess Martine]

Originally Posted by marine2109

Mary leaving hospital soon Tasmania News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

It is written in this article that Mary's sister Jane Stephens is in Denmark to visit Mary. The day the twins were born I read that Mary's other sister Patricia Bailey was the one that came to Denmark to see Mary and the twins (I think I read it at BT.dk).

Are both of her sister there? Or is wrong information given?

Originally Posted by Sternchen

Funny that the article mentions Jane Stephens, as John Donaldson supposedly said, that Patricia Bailey will come to Denmark?

Yeah! That's what I thought as well!

[Sternchen]

Perhaps the Australian Paper confused the two? Haven't seen any pics so far, but you would imagine, that John Donaldson would know, which of his daughters would visit

[raining_]

No, the Crown Princess's father did not say which of his older daughters was traveling to Denmark.
People just made assumptions.

[Benedikte]

Originally Posted by AnnaNotherThing

I see your point, Roxsteve...it is slightly offensive for those with a privileged lifestyle to say things like 'getting back to a normal life' and gripe about having their 'hands full'...I wish for their kind of normal...I have 4 kids also and it is not for the fainthearted...If I had Mary's kind of normal where someone else did the laundry, cooked the dinner, did the grocery shopping, paid the bills, amused the older children and held the babies when needed...I would like a life of sycophantic well-wishers and a place to accommodate them and an onsite gym so I could get back to pre-baby shape without venturing out...I would love a normal life of focusing on the newborn and only them, but as it stands it is a juggling act of not enough hands and not enough funds to change that...So I don't think Alexandra was intentionally offensive, maybe just a bit naive and tactless and considering she has been around this echolon of people for over 10 years, she is probably herself slightly disconnected from the real plight and issues of working to middle class mothers...Struggles she probably never had as a mother, her biggest struggle may have been, 'Should I go to the gym or coffee with a friend while the baby is sleeping?' Tough choices?! But at least she had choices, something most mother's don't have...

So while the comments were silly, I don't see what we (that don't live in Denmark) can do about it or why we should care? My interest in the Danish royals only started when Mary 'joined'...before that I didn't even know Denmark HAD royals...Australia's only knowledge of royalty was the British royals and Queen Elizabeth II and I was definitely in the Republican camp...So getting angry on the Danes behalf is not going to solve anything and I kind of like them (royalty) now, it is kind of like a reality soap opera...I ask myself all the time, do people really live like this? And their 'dilemmas' seem so trivial because of the perks of their lifestyle...

Alexandra makes a joke about CP Frederik are looking tired. Then she says they are looking forward to coming home.

And you think her comment is silly?

How so?

I certainly don't spend my time thinking that my neighbours has got more money than me. And I don't envy my neighbour when he is in the scrutiny of the public eye every other day

[Sternchen]

Originally Posted by raining_

No, the Crown Princess's father did not say which of his older daughters was traveling to Denmark.
People just made assumptions.

According to the translations Muhler made, John Donaldson indeed said that Patricia was on her way

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...ml#post1188520

[Catharina]

Well, Prince Henrik certainly doesn't spare his words... I wonder if this is a joke or what on earth does this article mean?

'Tvillingerne er meget grimme' - Royale - BT.dk

Google Translate

Sure, there are pretty babies and (I know I'll be butchered for saying this) there are less than pretty babies but would it kill him to shut up about his personal views on the babies' looks when it is his son's twins he is talking about? Besides, they are only a couple of days old. Whatever they do look like at this point will no doubt change a lot as they grow a little.

[raining_]

Originally Posted by Sternchen

According to the translations Muhler made, John Donaldson indeed said that Patricia was on her way

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...ml#post1188520

Then either Muhler is wrong or the article he translated is wrong. You can see what was said in the video coverage. Professor Donaldson did not name which daughter was traveling to Denmark. Others just added that idea afterwards.

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Catharina

Well, Prince Henrik certainly doesn't spare his words... I wonder if this is a joke or what on earth does this article mean?

'Tvillingerne er meget grimme' - Royale - BT.dk

Google Translate

Sure, there are pretty babies and (I know I'll be butchered for saying this) there are less than pretty babies but would it kill him to shut up about his personal views on the babies' looks when it is his son's twins he is talking about? Besides, they are only a couple of days old. Whatever they do look like at this point will no doubt change a lot as they grow a little.

Prince Henrik's entertainment value is certainly not diminishing

No, newborn babies are usually not 'pretty' the first couple of days when they are marked by the birth and filled with hormones from the mother I suppose. And Henrik saw them quickly after the birth; but most people manage to use synonyms to describe newborns

[Catharina]

Originally Posted by UserDane

Prince Henrik's entertainment value is certainly not diminishing

No, newborn babies are usually not 'pretty' the first couple of days when they are marked by the birth and filled with hormones from the mother I suppose. And Henrik saw them quickly after the birth; but most people manage to use synonyms to describe newborns

Yes, and if they cannot manage that, then in the name of all tactfulness, just lie! He certainly is not acting at all like I would've expected a Frenchman to act. Or maybe my cultural stereotypes are faulty. Maybe I'm reading way too much into this but was he just about saying that Christian and Isabella are ugly too..?

[ANNIE_S]

Older men usually find newborn children ugly, what´s new?
I can´t stand when anybody from my family reminds me that the first words of my "proud" grandfather after seeing me were "She looks like E.T."

[FasterB]

Originally Posted by Catharina

Well, Prince Henrik certainly doesn't spare his words... I wonder if this is a joke or what on earth does this article mean?

Don´t worry, it´s a joke My guess is that he was being ironic, because all wants (and expect) him to use superlatives about the twins

[Benedikte]

Originally Posted by Catharina

Well, Prince Henrik certainly doesn't spare his words... I wonder if this is a joke or what on earth does this article mean?

'Tvillingerne er meget grimme' - Royale - BT.dk

Google Translate

Sure, there are pretty babies and (I know I'll be butchered for saying this) there are less than pretty babies but would it kill him to shut up about his personal views on the babies' looks when it is his son's twins he is talking about? Besides, they are only a couple of days old. Whatever they do look like at this point will no doubt change a lot as they grow a little.

I do agree.

On top of that - on his first visit to the hospital he was asked if he could handle taking care of 4 children. He answered that it wasn't his job to babysit

Perhaps a special kind of humour?

I don't know?

[dazzling]

Isn't it known that Prince Henrik has a sense of humor? Well, I guess a few people his age would have a sense of humor we wont get or find nasty.

I think newborns need a few days to change and look not so puffy. The first day or two is hard to judge IMO.

I cant wait to hear when Mary will leave hospital.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by raining_

Then either Muhler is wrong or the article he translated is wrong. You can see what was said in the video coverage. Professor Donaldson did not name which daughter was traveling to Denmark. Others just added that idea afterwards.

This is what the note said:
Nu kommer Marys søster.

Moster kommer hele vejen fra Australien for at se de nyfødte tvillinger.

En særdeles rørt John Donaldson kunne fortælle pressen i går på Rigshospitalet at Mary snart får selskab af sin ene søster. Han er far til de tre piger Jane, Patricia og Mary som er den yngste.
I dag (Sunday) skulle Patricia Bailey gøre Donaldson selskab om den glædelige begivenhed, der bliver fulgt tæt af dansk og udenlandsk presse. Hun er storesøster for Mary og får som regel besøg, når Mary besøger Australien.
Den anden storesøster, Jane Stephens kunne meddele sin glæde over telefonen fra Tasmanien.
"Jeg er begejstret og spændt på Frederik, Christian og Isabella", fortæller Stephens.
"Jeg er lettet over at alle har det godt oven på fødslen".

Daily Telegraph however writes that Jane Stephens visited Mary and that she passed the press without comments:
Princess Mary is expected to take her royal twins home from hospital within the next two days | The Daily Telegraph
So I guess the BT journalist got it wrong.

Starlounge confirms that it was Jane Stephens who visited Mary on Monday. So did Christian: http://msndk.starlounge.com/index.cfm?objectid=104276

Billed Bladet's Ulrik Ulriksen tells us that Jane was visiting Mary - for a long time. And Susan Moody was there as well. This taking place Monday.

[Sternchen]

Originally Posted by raining_

Then either Muhler is wrong or the article he translated is wrong. You can see what was said in the video coverage. Professor Donaldson did not name which daughter was traveling to Denmark. Others just added that idea afterwards.

Well, my guess is rather, that not everything he said was covered on video

[Muhler]

I wish the magazines could make up their mind as to what Prince Henrik actually said!

BT quotes him as saying: "The twins are very ugly. No, they are very sweet, but I won't say beautiful".

Billed Bladet writes: "They are very ugly, ha, ha. Small children are not pretty, but they've got good potential" - He adds: "They look like Princess Isabella, oddly enough. And she's a pretty little girl".

BB claims they asked PH. BT only writes that he met the press.

TV2 Gossip, quotes BT.

[Catharina]

And now BT has interviewed actress Ellen Hillingsø, a friend of Frederik's to get a "They are not ugly" -statement out of her. It's really getting a bit silly, isn't it?

I believe PH was misunderstood. He was joking around but as always with these things, there's a huge risk of being misunderstood especially since the press will twist and rephrase everything you say.

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised to see that so many people are brave enough to express their opinions freely and have a realistic view on things. I've gotten myself into trouble so many times since where I come from there seem to be a huge amount of overly hysterical moms who feel that children are some kind of holy creatures that should never be discussed in ways other than expressing how beautiful/good/kind etc. they always are.

[marine2109]

Denmark's new little prince and princess start to receive first visitors

Denmark's new little prince and princess start to receive visitors - hellomagazine.com

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Catharina

And now BT has interviewed actress Ellen Hillingsø, a friend of Frederik's to get a "They are not ugly" -statement out of her. It's really getting a bit silly, isn't it?

I believe PH was misunderstood. He was joking around but as always with these things, there's a huge risk of being misunderstood especially since the press will twist and rephrase everything you say.

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised to see that so many people are brave enough to express their opinions freely and have a realistic view on things. I've gotten myself into trouble so many times since where I come from there seem to be a huge amount of overly hysterical moms who feel that children are some kind of holy creatures that should never be discussed in ways other than expressing how beautiful/good/kind etc. they always are.

Yeah, most newborn do look like little aliens.