What is your opinion of Frederik and Mary

[Harmony]

But why does she have to "live down" appearing in Vogue? Her detractors may well bring it up for years to come, but if it wasn't Vogue,then it would just be something else. Negatively-inclined detractors will create whatever ammunition they can; the rest of us will shrug our shoulders, wonder what all the fuss is about, and move on.

Well said!

 

[Linda Hsu]

But why does she have to "live down" appearing in Vogue? Her detractors may well bring it up for years to come, but if it wasn't Vogue, then it would just be something else. Negatively-inclined detractors will create whatever ammunition they can; the rest of us will shrug our shoulders, wonder what all the fuss is about, and move on.

Excellent comments!

Amen

 

[ysbel]

The word 'sincere' does not come to mind when it comes to Diana. She collaborated with Andrew Morton on a book while denying it to everyone and some of her statements in the Panorama interview did not seem totally honest.

Yet Mary's biggest detractors keep bringing up the interviews and photoshoots that are long in the past. I think its because Mary hasn't done anything recently to confirm their opinions so they keep going back to 2 and 3 year old material.

I think Warren is right, her biggest detractors are going to find any ammunition to support opinions that they already hold and they won't change. For the rest of us, we'll just keep watching Mary evolve and our understanding of Mary will evolve over time as she will.

 

[grevinnan]

Mary will eventually mature into her role as the crownprincess. I believe they (stylists and royal advisors) made a big mistake in trying to make her into a celebrity / high fashion model. Mary is a very sporty and outdoors person and they missed the opportunity to make her more real. Celebritys inevitable are scrutinized and rarely do they measure up to the projected image - a sporty young women learning to be a royalty would have captured more Danish hearts.

 

[Little_star]

"I think that is a good reason why people are so polarised about her."

I think that's a very good point Jamerican, personally I find it so odd that people get so excited about an incredibly average woman.

 

[Smilla]

"I think that is a good reason why people are so polarised about her."

I think that's a very good point Jamerican, personally I find it so odd that people get so excited about an incredibly average woman.

Becaue she is incredibly average, I think. She's exactly like us (well, she's slimmer than I but you see what I mean), so it's much easier to imagine ourselves in her place and, like jealous know-it-alls, tell the world what she should do differently because we would do it differently, too.

 

[carlota]

"I think that is a good reason why people are so polarised about her."

I think that's a very good point Jamerican, personally I find it so odd that people get so excited about an incredibly average woman.

i will agree with you little star. people say she is beautiful but... isn't letizia even more in that case? people say her story is really fairytalish but... isn't in that case mette marit's even more? people say she is elegant, and there's an incredible list of elegant women in the royal world. people also say how grand her work was because she learnt danish, but maxima's story was the same thing, or what a great job she is doing, i really don't know what they mean, and if i do, i don't know why they get so excited about such an average person and average story. i also think the press and probably other factors made her look like a hollywood girl when she is not, and that's why we probably have a wrong image of her (that maybe is not true), but the posing for australian vogue and others didn't help much or the fact that she supported the danish fashion and then used prada a lot. i must say she has that point of fashionable girl that we all like seeing, but i bet the 90% of the women here would look the same disposing of such an extense budget.

i'm sorry to mary's fans but that's how i see it.

 

[Harmony]

Oh well ! Understandable since you are Letizia's fan. You are forgiven.

 

[carlota]

Oh well ! Understandable since you are Letizia's fan. You are forgiven.

oh, it's not a matter of being letizia's fan or mary's fan. i like reading about mary and seeing what she is up to, and i'm not a big fan of letizia. it's the same for her... i like knowing what she does and seeing photos of her, just as i like being informed on other princesses and royals because that's why we are here for. to me it's not a competition between the two ladies. if someday i like something mary does and not like something letizia does, i would definetely say it. don't know why you can only be fan of one of them, either mary or letizia.

 

[princess olga]

Mary will eventually mature into her role as the crownprincess. I believe they (stylists and royal advisors) made a big mistake in trying to make her into a celebrity / high fashion model. Mary is a very sporty and outdoors person and they missed the opportunity to make her more real. Celebritys inevitable are scrutinized and rarely do they measure up to the projected image - a sporty young women learning to be a royalty would have captured more Danish hearts.

I think you're right and I've come to realize that the whole "Vogue episode" probably stems from the following:

First off, Mary came onto the royal scene 'from the cold', as in: she was like most of us, a regular citizen inexperienced with being a subject of the media. If the Vogue thing was unfortunate, it had a lot to do with Mary not being yet savvy enough to understand the importance of media strategy regarding her role vis-a-vis the perception of the audience.

Second, I think you are right and she may have listened to the wrong advisors, initially at least. This also comes down to her inexperience with the whole "being famous" thing.

Third, and perhaps most significant, when Vogue came along and asked her to participate (I imagine it went like that), the only 'mistake', in hindsight, she made in this regard, is simply not saying 'No.'

How was she to know that simply accepting offers from (the wrong?) magazines would come back to haunt her? Queen Rania has posed for Vogue before, and no one is negative about that. In Mary's case, the timing certainly could have been better: it would have made more sense for
Mary to have been first established as the modest, honest, big-hearted girl most of the world would like to see in a crown princess, and <then> go to Vogue, like Diana did. Doing it the other way around made people believe Mary was actively pursuing this path, while the reality most likely is that she didn't.

So the only 'mistake' I think she made in all this was not saying 'no' to media offers. Nothing more, nothing less. I do think however that Diana at the time was much more savvy and cunning towards the media, but let's not forget that she was roaming the rarified world of royals basically from birth, and Mary wasn't.

 

[Gloriana]

I don't get this whole Mary/Letizia ''competition'' (I doubt the ladies are aware they're in one ). Who made up a rule that said you couldn't like/dislike the both?

 

[princess olga]

I don't get this whole Mary/Letizia ''competition'' (I doubt the ladies are aware they're in one ). Who made up a rule that said you couldn't like/dislike the both?

well, the thing is that realistically, comparing these two women is practically inevitable on more than one level. Let's face it, both were commoners when they met and married their husbands, who both are crown princes, of Denmark and Spain respectively. To top that off, they managed to have their respective weddings, pregnancy announcements and births of their first borns literally just weeks apart. How can people not compare the two?

the issue though with comparing these two really seems to me that, although both princesses married into modern, Western royal families, these very families differ a lot in their approach. Which is based on and tailored to the histories and cultures and sensitivities of their respective nations. so in a sense, comparing Mary and Letizia in their role as royal consorts is comparing apples and oranges.

 

[Jamerican]

The word 'sincere' does not come to mind when it comes to Diana. She collaborated with Andrew Morton on a book while denying it to everyone and some of her statements in the Panorama interview did not seem totally honest.

Yet Mary's biggest detractors keep bringing up the interviews and photoshoots that are long in the past. I think its because Mary hasn't done anything recently to confirm their opinions so they keep going back to 2 and 3 year old material.

I think Warren is right, her biggest detractors are going to find any ammunition to support opinions that they already hold and they won't change. For the rest of us, we'll just keep watching Mary evolve and our understanding of Mary will evolve over time as she will.

I think for some people, that may be the case; I don't think having a balanced view is a bad idea, though. A person can have a favorite actor; that doesn't mean that they have to love every single movie that actor does. The fact that there are people who are still talking about the book that Diana wrote with Andrew Morton, (over 15 years ago, I might add) shows that what a public person does today can echo for a long time into the future, whether they be good things or bad things. (for the record, I think that book was a bad idea, but my opinion on that belongs in another thread). Opinions on things a public person does will always differ. For the most part, I think Mary is cool, and I will enjoy watching her progress.

 

[ysbel]

I think for some people, that may be the case; I don't think having a balanced view is a bad idea, though.

I totally agree with you Jamerican. Now the only thing right now that bothers me about Mary and Fred is that they made us wait so darned long for the christening for the nameless little prince.

 

[Citizen2005]

i found this couple a bit shallow and lazy....this is how i feel about them.

 

[Zonk]

I don't understand why people dislike Fred & Mary...but like everything I guess its a matter of personal opinion. I didn't know about Fred & Mary until their wedding, so I can't comment on the Vogue spread, and what I know about their work, they seem to be very committed to Denmark. I mean, wasn't it a couple of months ago that people were criticizing Mary for working so much before she gave birth to Prince Christian? The poor thing can't win!

In regards to the comment that Fred looks like a love lorn fool...maybe he looks like that because he is. He is totally in love with his wife. I wish I could find someone who looks at me like that!

In regards to Mary's stiff smile. I don't know for sure..but I am going to go with the assumption that is the smile she likes when asked to pose. My sister perfected her smile/grin years ago as a teenager, and although I can't stand that particular grin...as a woman in her 30's she is still doing it But if you look at other pictures of Mary smiling when its not for a photo call or official photographs..its more natural and giving. I am also going to go out on a limb to say...it must be hard for anyone (royalty or celebrity) to be out in the public eye any time you step out of your front door. You have to smile and be happy whether you feel it or not.

 

[kelly9480]

Mary is going to have to live down Vogue because it will be brought up for decades by commentators (not necessarily detractors, but even those of us who don't give a flip about her) unless she succeeds in altering her public image. She's been branded as a fashion princess (even though MM seems much more extravagant in my eyes and no one compares to Caroline or Marie-Chantal in shopping) and she must realise that's not the best image for her (even Diana was criticised for her spending -- by the same press and public who initially praised her for her fashion sense).

I think a lot of the criticism stems from the lack of apparent activity. Their schedule doesn't stand comparison to any other crown princely couples except the Norwegians. The heirs to the Belgian, British, Dutch, Swedish and Spanish thrones are all out there in public much more than Fred & Mary. Some of you will argue that you can't compare monarchies and schedules, but that comparison is inevitable.

Some of the comparitive lightness of scheduling will have to do with Denmark's position in the world (it lacks anything remotely approaching the sphere of influence the UK and Spain can command so they lack a built-in group of nations clamouring for visits), the role of the monarchy in Denmark and the size of the Danish court (Charles alone employs almost as many people as the entire Danish court).

 

[soCal girl]

I agree that the this whole "Mary only seems to promote fashion" argument is not worth it. Just because she appeared in Vogue does not mean she only promotes fashion. She does a lot of news-worthy stuff but the photographers and newspapers might get more excited about a princess at a runway with a bunch of beautiful people than Mary visiting a hospital. That might be a little sad but it's a fact of life. Besides, fashion is a major part of the economic system. Ever since Mary came along, she boosted the fashion industry. And I'm NOT trying to compare the two princesses (I love them both), but doesn't Alexandra promote fashion as well (we've seen her sitting besides some catwalks) and has her own fashion school (well one named after her and gets some of her outfits from them) but I don't see people giving Alexandra any major grief. Plus this whole Mary vs. Letizia thing is just weird to me. Yes, their major life events were only weeks apart but they are two different women, crownprincesses of two different countries, both beautiful and representing their respective countries wonderfully in their own way.

 

[Eliza]

I don't think there's anything that bothers me about Fred and Mary. I think they'er a very mordern couple, very much in love with a beautiful son.

 

[Aotearoagal]

I think a lot of the criticism stems from the lack of apparent activity. Their schedule doesn't stand comparison to any other crown princely couples except the Norwegians. The heirs to the Belgian, British, Dutch, Swedish and Spanish thrones are all out there in public much more than Fred & Mary. Some of you will argue that you can't compare monarchies and schedules, but that comparison is inevitable.

I am a fan of Mary's. Much of the criticism has been because Mary has made some PR errors, which is understandable. She is learning. She is highly intelligent and a much more forceful person than Frederik. She reminds me of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, very much running the show.Her drawback is when she gets too cocky - then she looks supercilious, which is a shame.

Aotearoagal

 

[tiff_tiff_tiff2000]

I simply find it very sad that there are threads like this in particularly CP Frederik and Mary's section. I think there are things about every royal that bothers everyone because they simply aren't perfect. That's what I absolutely love about this couple. They're normal, they're in love and they make mistakes. However their mistakes aren't controversial, none of their mistakes are Big.

But there will always be people who will criticise them and point out all the negatives they can find about them... That I guess is the consequence of being a royal. However perhaps this thread is a good thing, as I feel it highlights the positive comments and the people defending them.

Tiff

 

[ysbel]

Mary is going to have to live down Vogue because it will be brought up for decades by commentators (not necessarily detractors, but even those of us who don't give a flip about her) unless she succeeds in altering her public image.

Well it appears Mary only has this image on message boards; from what I've seen of the press coverage, its quite favorable or at least neutral. I saw no comments about Vogue in the recent press flurry surrounding the baptism.

If that's the case, I think Mary's image 'problem' is not big enough for her to worry about changing her image.

There are little things that bother me but its not so much Mary as it is the situation around her. I don't like how the Australian press is co-opting everything about the Danish royal family and calling it Australian. They claimed that Mary was going to raise her baby the Australian way, they keep calling the little one half-Australian and little kingaroo. They gave the little prince a pair of Tasmanian devils that the Danes don't know what to do with and is causing problems with the Danish animal control authorities. It's too much and I imagine the Queen and the Danish public are going to get sick of it after awhile; Mary is Danish now as is her little prince. You would expect that the Danes didn't know anything until Mary came along. That's not Mary's fault but its irritating just the same.

If she does have one fault it is that she does have a soft spot for her homeland and she sometimes gives them too much. On the eve of the baptism she granted her first interview in over a year and decided to talk to an Australian magazine not a Danish one. The interview went well but I was disappointed that she didn't choose a Danish publication to give her first interview in a long time.

 

[fromEU]

Well it appears Mary only has this image on message boards; from what I've seen of the press coverage, its quite favorable or at least neutral. I saw no comments about Vogue in the recent press flurry surrounding the baptism.

If that's the case, I think Mary's image 'problem' is not big enough for her to worry about changing her image.

There are little things that bother me but its not so much Mary as it is the situation around her. I don't like how the Australian press is co-opting everything about the Danish royal family and calling it Australian. They claimed that Mary was going to raise her baby the Australian way, they keep calling the little one half-Australian and little kingaroo. They gave the little prince a pair of Tasmanian devils that the Danes don't know what to do with and is causing problems with the Danish animal control authorities. It's too much and I imagine the Queen and the Danish public are going to get sick of it after awhile; Mary is Danish now as is her little prince. You would expect that the Danes didn't know anything until Mary came along. That's not Mary's fault but its irritating just the same.

If she does have one fault it is that she does have a soft spot for her homeland and she sometimes gives them too much. On the eve of the baptism she granted her first interview in over a year and decided to talk to an Australian magazine not a Danish one. The interview went well but I was disappointed that she didn't choose a Danish publication to give her first interview in a long time.

I would not call that an interview Just a few polite comments and it is not very clear when it took place. It could have been on the way to the reception, where Fredrik and Mary also got a few questions from the Danish journalists. It was just the Australian newspaper that claimed it to be an interview. Which I found a bit of joke. Mary has also sometimes given a few polite comments to the Danish media, when she has been on official engagements. And it is not true that she has not given any interviews in the last year. The Danish royals often holds press conferences for the Danish journalists(and other interested) when they are on official visits abroad. Frederik and Mary did so in Australia and also on the visit to the Danish Fareo Islands in June. And there was also the pressmeeting when Frederik and Mary left the hospital.

As for the Vogue issue. You are right. The problem only exists for some members(mostly not even Danish members!!!) on this board and they do not qualify for being "the public" Danish opinion. It has really not been much of an issue in Denmark. It has not been regarded as a mistake or haunted her ever since. Most normal people don't think sooo much about it Again the "mistake" only seems exists by a few on this board. There were a bit of squabbles from the editor of the Danish gossip magazine Se & Hør, when Mary gave an interview to the Danish magazine "Dansk", because she didn't give an interview to his magazine instead. I am sure she and the other DRF members never will. But he did get a little publicity for his magazine and that was what the whole stunt was about.

Whatever Mary does she will always be criticised by some people, that why she should continue to do whatever she thinks is right. Unlike a politician Mary has the rest of her life to do all kinds of things. It is way too early to judge her. Do that in 10-15 years time. I think Mary has the patience

Here is an excerpt from an engagement interview
TARA BROWN: Because you are marrying into what is considered the perfect royal family. How much pressure is there to be the perfect princess?

MARY DONALDSON: I think people … the perfect princess, what is the perfect princess? I don't know. It's a very subjective thing first and foremost. But all I can say is that I will fulfil the role in a way that is particular to me and that all I can do is work hard and do my best and for some that will be good enough and for some it won't.

 

[Saragli]

I actually liked her in Vogue. I thought she was nice and got her exposer. It was a way of saying Im here world. Remember the more exposer she gets the more she can help her charities and Denmark. Mary does work pretty hard for a new royal and has started off really good. Fred is the lazy one. I like the dude but he needs to step it up a little. Mary has done a lot of good so far and I think her coldness and stifness in front of the cameras is her shyness and self conceisness. She knows she is always being critized by how she looks and not her personality because we really dont know what kind of personality she gots.

 

[Aotearoagal]

Quite the nomad Aotearoagal...

"MII"

Yes - from the freezer (glaciers) to the frying pan (Bourke) - and back again!!!

Aotearoagal

 

[princess olga]

I am a fan of Mary's. Much of the criticism has been because Mary has made some PR errors, which is understandable. She is learning. She is highly intelligent and a much more forceful person than Frederik. She reminds me of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, very much running the show.Her drawback is when she gets too cocky - then she looks supercilious, which is a shame.

Aotearoagal

It seems to me this is a spot-on observation. (not to mention thanks to your post I learned a new word, supercilious--dictionary.com says it means "feeling or showing haughty disdain)

Actually I learned a lot about Mary and have a new-found understanding of her I didn't have before, thanks to this very thread! My new perception of her is of a bright, well-meaning albeit ambitiously focused woman who is trying hard to be worthy of this oldest of European noble families.

The only turn-off that remains in my opinion, is the, wait for it, <supercilious> look she still displays from time to time. Whether or not it's caused by some sort of shyness I don't care, if she doesn't somehow grow over it, many many people will continue to doubt her instead of like her, and that would be a shame indeed and ultimately detrimental to the DRF.

 

[Australian]

what bothers me about mary and frederick? Absolutely nothing, i think they are great and do a wonderful job.

 

[tabbitha]

Agree Australian,
Don't you think it's strange that for some who dislike Mary and fred that they spend up to two years talking about them on some forums- very odd to me. I could think of many a thing to do in two years and bagging someone they don't know is not one of them

 

[Australian]

Agree Australian,
Don't you think it's strange that for some who dislike Mary and fred that they spend up to two years talking about them on some forums- very odd to me. I could think of many a thing to do in two years and bagging someone they don't know is not one of them

i agree tabbitha, that is so true. To even have a thread entitled "What bothers you about Mary and Fred" is so leading and it is just starting the negativity

 

[Citizen2005]

Agree Australian,
Don't you think it's strange that for some who dislike Mary and fred that they spend up to two years talking about them on some forums- very odd to me. I could think of many a thing to do in two years and bagging someone they don't know is not one of them

I agree on the logic you used here. Actually, same thing could be said even we praise royals...In fact, they are living their lives and we are wasting our times whether in criticizing them or in praising them. .