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03-12-2016, 11:35 AM
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Imperial Majesty
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: City, Netherlands
Posts: 13,235
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Norway did suffer terrorist attacks too. Spain idem. This did not lead to a change in dresscodes or heads-of-state rushing for 10 minutes while the Dutch host did all efforts to dress up an event, worthy of France and it's capital. When a movie première, or a corporate gala, or the Césars have a stricter dresscode than a Dîner de l'État at the Palais de l'Élysée for a country which is the third/fourth largest foreign investor in France, then someone has missed the plot here...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al_bina
The gentleman on the photo is not Sultan of Brunei. This is Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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You are right. The Sultan got the same vases, I added a wrong link.
Just saw Blauw Bloed, the weekly program on royalty and nobility: both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima interacted fluently with French locals. It was rare to hear Máxima in French too.
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03-12-2016, 05:52 PM
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Majesty
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: , United States
Posts: 8,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duc_et_Pair
Just saw Blauw Bloed, the weekly program on royalty and nobility: both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima interacted fluently with French locals. It was rare to hear Máxima in French too.
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oh i'd love to see those clips Duc_et_Pair! do you know where we may find them? what was maxima's french like? i remember a video of her speaking it a bit some time ago on one of her official trips to an ex french colony...
EDIT: I found the video! towards the end you can hear maxima being interviewed in french, which she seems to speak really well :)
i wonder if she spoke it prior to her engagement (surely she had at least some prior knowledge given her background), or if she learnt it / had a tutor when she joined the RF
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03-12-2016, 06:32 PM
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Heir Apparent
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Herefordshire, United Kingdom
Posts: 3,397
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Truly it grieves me to see the extent to which the [once] legendary French éclat has faded under this President [and less so, under the last one] ! Paris, and the French nation can only be demeaned and devalued by this absurd dumbing down of its famed standards of style and hospitality.
Not only that, but the sheer rudeness and disrespect shown by leaving the 'return' party so hastily simply beggars belief. Did M Hollande have to rush off to deal with a terrorist incident or ACTUAL crisis that demanded his IMMEDIATE attention ? NO, he did not..
In short it was just INSULTING !
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03-12-2016, 07:03 PM
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Imperial Majesty
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: City, Netherlands
Posts: 13,235
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The French probably see it differently: the President is só busy, but at least he found some time to say hello...
What was strange too was that the Lady Mayor of Paris, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and others did attend but wore no long either. Most guests in the Petit Palais in long robes and cravate-noire were non-governmentals.
The King stayed in the sumptuous residence of his Ambassador in Paris. Wellknown as the decor for the famous movie Intouchables. The house of the rich disabled wheelchaired aristocrat in the movie was in reality the grand maison of the Dutch Ambassador, one of the finest interiors in the whole capital. We can not blame the Dutchies. In the evaluation of the visit the royal couple will undoubtedly discuss the events in Paris...
Queen Máxima did attend a British college in Buenos Aires. French language was most likely on her curriculum. When she became more serious with the Prince of Orange, she moved from New York to the Brussels office of Deutsche Bank. Brussels, once a full Dutchspeaking city, is now predominantly Frenchspeaking. Probably Máxima exercized her French in Brussels. Her later sister in law, Princess Laurentien, is fluent in French as she did the Lycée Francais in Tokyo, Japan. Maybe the two communicated in French, in Brussels.
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03-12-2016, 07:10 PM
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Heir Apparent
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Herefordshire, United Kingdom
Posts: 3,397
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If your President is REALLY so busy, why not just explain the fact [beforehand] to the guests, so they can avoid the bother and expense of throwing YOU a party. Actually why interrupt your busy life to invite them at all !?
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03-12-2016, 11:48 PM
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Imperial Majesty
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: alberta, Canada
Posts: 13,047
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Attending these events is part of the president's job. Unless an emergency came up, it screams rude to show up late and for 10 minutes. This state visit would have been on his calendar for months. Its not like the dutch showed up unexpected and said 'hey want to come for dinner.'
Can you imagine Obama pulling this when Trudeau and his family were just in DC? 
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03-13-2016, 08:27 PM
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Heir Apparent
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spring Hill, United States
Posts: 3,010
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If you invite someone, you stay and entertain them, unless a major, MAJOR crisis appears.
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03-17-2016, 09:22 AM
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Majesty
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: City, Kazakhstan
Posts: 8,009
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03-17-2016, 09:25 AM
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Heir Apparent
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 3,066
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al_bina
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Can't agree more, i'm afraid ... 
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