Counts Nikolai, Felix, Henrik & Countess Athena, News Part 1: 2023 -


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Muhler said:
...When they left Schackenborg, it was with the understanding that they would visit regularly. (I suppose it maintained an affiliation with the DRF after the sale. Joachim's presence meant quite a bit to the locals. Instead of only having the DRF visiting Gråsten during summer. With Joachim there there was a permanent DRF presence in that part of DK. Queen Ingrid spend a lot of time at Gråsten after she became a widow and that was very much appreciated in Southern Jutland.
Anyway after the sale of Schakenborg Joachim and Marie returned quite often, mostly during weekends and they also took part in various local event while there and was generally seen out and about. That dampened the disappointment of Joachim having to sell Schackenborg a little.
And after J&M moved first to France and then USA they have usually visited Schackenborg when they return to DK for visits. After all their house in Copenhagen is rented out, so the alternative is an apartment at Amalienborg and I think they both like the place. Marie has certainly said so. While Alexandra was more of a city-person. Of course such visit must be pretty infrequent and perhaps only a couple of times a year.
So it's good that Nikolai (and Felix?) also visit Schackenborg. After all Nikolai spend his early childhood there and must have pretty good memories of the manor.
It also gives a place more life that someone from time to time come visiting and rearrange the dust.
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Thank you, I am very glad that I was mistaken about Joachim and family and their interest in Shackenborg. And yes, it's really wonderful for Nikolai that he can go "home" and share memories with his girlfriend.
 
Beautiful area and building! Looks like a friend of Nikolai searching for seafood together.
 
hereditarytitles said:
Beautiful area and building! Looks like a friend of Nikolai searching for seafood together.
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They are. The Wadden Sea, with its bird-life and countless clams, oysters and mollusks is pretty close to Shackenborg. It's also time to collect mushrooms - but be careful!
Schackenborg is located on the edge of the Southern Jutlandic Marsh and further to the west is the Wadden Sea, which stretch from southern Denmark to the Netherlands.
It's paradise for birds, specially migrating birds who eat themselves fat before their journey further south.
And there you can often see the hypnotic sight of tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of starlings. A phenomenon we in DK call Black Sun, because the formations block the sun.
But also humans feed from the marine life, or just enjoy the scenery - but beware of the tide! You can't outrun the incoming water.
Oysters can be eaten on the spot, raw. With Schnapps, even though it looks like these two gentlemen prefer champagne.
Between Schackenborg and the Wadden Sea is the marsh:

Where there are many birds there are predators. Eagles are a common sight in that part of DK.
Specifically Kongeørne, as we call them in Danish. = King-eagle = Golden Eagle. King Frederik is sometimes jokingly referred to as Kongeørn.
The Ornithological Association and the Danish Hunting Association keep a close eye on the population of eagles. It is of course totally prohibited to hunt them.
My wife is very much into birds, so we have been in that part of DK quite often.
 
If he is trying to get chased by as many people as Austin Powers, he’s off to a good start. :cool:
 
Is he up for something? He looks good (although that's redundant :cool:).
 
Nikolai and his girlfriend have gone to Tasmania.

Here is an article from Billed Bladet with some of their photos they have been posting on their Instagram Accounts.

www.billedbladet.dk

Se grev Nikolais og Benedikte Thoustrups private feriebilleder: Besøgte dronning Marys fødeø

Grev Nikolai og Benedikte Thoustrup har de seneste dage rejst rundt på Tasmanien, hvor dronning Mary er vokset op.
www.billedbladet.dk www.billedbladet.dk

Here is the website of the Floating Sauna at Derby they visited.

www.floatingsauna.com.au

Floating Sauna Lake Derby

www.floatingsauna.com.au www.floatingsauna.com.au

Derby is an old tin mining town … very small … that has had a new lease of life in the past few years by creating a network of mountain bike tracks.

The Floating Sauna is a major stop for all the Instagram Influencers to visit.

Many places in Tasmania are now Instagram famous.

One of the photos in the above magazine article is of Great Oyster Bay … with the pink granite mountain range called “The Hazards” in the background.

If you’ve followed Mary from the early days and seen the documentary of her and Frederik in Tasmania … you will recall Mary and her family’s connection to this place.

It is on this side of the state that Mary’s sister has the holiday home at Orford, and Spring Beach where the Danish Royals have sometimes been photographed.

There are a few photos of the one of the hiking trails on Cradle Mt too.

That chain … there are a couple of places that have a chain on that track … is the only way to navigate the scree slopes.

A scramble on top of loose shards of rock …going up or down, very hard.

Very typical for me to see them rugged up like it is winter when hiking Mt Wellington … which sits above Hobart … but to be in shorts and bare arms hiking Cradle Mt which is more inland in the North East.

And for Muhler … I saw a post where you said something along the lines of the couple liking Australia, and maybe living here for a few years.

Here is a link to an article in Sydney’s newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” where Nikolai said he is looking for a job here.

It came out on December 10th, but you need to subscribe to the paper to read the details.

Here is a snippet of Nikolai being quoted though …


I’ve seen Benedikte refer to Sydney as her favourite city on her Instagram Account, so I think you are right, they may settle here for a while if things work out for them work-wise.
 
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Alas, behind a paywall.

But I doubt it would be a big problem for both of them to get a work-visa.
They are both young and in good health.
Both are well-educated.
Both come from affluent families.
No history of doing something stupid, like crime or drugs.
Both speak fluent English on commerce level.
- They should be able to contribute to Australia from day one.
 
Muhler said:
Alas, behind a paywall.

But I doubt it would be a big problem for both of them to get a work-visa.
They are both young and in good health.
Both are well-educated.
Both come from affluent families.
No history of doing something stupid, like crime or drugs.
Both speak fluent English on commerce level.
- They should be able to contribute to Australia from day one.
Click to expand...
Australia has pretty strict rules for work visas, so I am not sure what a feasible route would be in their rather general area of expertise. Most likely they need to find an employer who needs to proof that no Australian can do the job. Seems unlikely for someone with little work-related expertise and a very common Bachelor.

Nonetheless, often immigration lawyers can find a way.
 
Somebody said:
Australia has pretty strict rules for work visas, so I am not sure what a feasible route would be in their rather general area of expertise. Most likely they need to find an employer who needs to proof that no Australian can do the job. Seems unlikely for someone with little work-related expertise and a very common Bachelor.

Nonetheless, often immigration lawyers can find a way.
Click to expand...
Similar here.
Because rules are rules (regarding non-EU citizens) and everybody must be treated equal, sometimes people from third countries we really could need and who could be useful for the future of the country, are turned away or the process takes too long so they give up.
While at the same time, people we don't need that much... well...

We can't expect 25 years old to have 20 years of experience either.
 
Muhler said:
Similar here.
Because rules are rules (regarding non-EU citizens) and everybody must be treated equal, sometimes people from third countries we really could need and who could be useful for the future of the country, are turned away or the process takes too long so they give up.
While at the same time, people we don't need that much... well...

We can't expect 25 years old to have 20 years of experience either.
Click to expand...
Same here(concerning the rules).

We don't know if Nicolai and Benedicte are really planning to live there and work, it is so far only speculation. But, the question is, if they would want to do this would they get "special treatment" because Nicolai is a member of the royal family in Denmark? And the Queen of Denmark is of Australian heritage, that is something which I think they would take into account. It would indeed look bad if they didn't, on the other hand it would look bad if they got special treatment because of Nicolai's heritage.

However I don't know the Australian mind about a situation like this.
 
I doubt the Australians would consider that Nikolai is a count.
But what we do have is a young (they've been together longer than many marriages last BTW) educated couple. Fluent in English and at least a couple of other languages. No history of crime or drugs. Fairly affluent in their own rights. They have a background where integration shouldn't be that difficult.
If they were an Australian couple coming to DK I would on the face of it consider them an asset and someone my country could need for the future.
 
Muhler said:
I doubt the Australians would consider that Nikolai is a count.
But what we do have is a young (they've been together longer than many marriages last BTW) educated couple. Fluent in English and at least a couple of other languages. No history of crime or drugs. Fairly affluent in their own rights. They have a background where integration shouldn't be that difficult.
If they were an Australian couple coming to DK I would on the face of it consider them an asset and someone my country could need for the future.
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Also, I believe their degrees are both in business IIRC and they have Master's Degrees, right? Degrees that are pretty transferable in the real world that could be applicable to many different areas (unlike other degrees - examples of which I will refrain from listing here). I really think they have fallen in love with Australia and have created a good social circle around them. And tbh, such via their social media alone, they are really great ambassadors for Australian tourism given all the beautiful photos and videos they post! Also, maybe now is a great time for them to live abroad...they are young, have just finished school, gaining more life/work experience and broadening their horizons!
 
True, but it is up to the Australian government to decide whether they fit their criteria if they would apply for a work visa. I am sure there are many others in Australia with master's degrees in business, so while transferable nothing special so far (especially with the lack of experience in a specific industry) - they are just two recent graduates with an overrepresented degree.
 
Somebody said:
True, but it is up to the Australian government to decide whether they fit their criteria if they would apply for a work visa. I am sure there are many others in Australia with master's degrees in business, so while transferable nothing special so far (especially with the lack of experience in a specific industry) - they are just two recent graduates with an overrepresented degree.
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If Australia doesn't want them, there are other places to go.
 
If they have an employer to sponsor their visa, it isn't a problem. However, they don't have skills that are in high demand in Australia, so unless they are sponsored, it'll be hard.
 
Age wise they would qualify for a working visa which would be valid for a year. If they get a job with a company, who is prepared to sponsor either one of them, they can stay longer. However, as someone mentioned the company will have to prove here is no one in Aus who can do the job or want to do the job. Sponsorship takes a while though. Good luck to them.
 
Nice. Even though Sydney harbor is sort of largish that's nevertheless a first class view of the bridge - and on New Years Eve at that!
And tickets to the Sydney Opera, it seems. I'd imagine they would be difficult to get during the holiday season.
I'd enjoy a visit like that as well!

ADDED: Judging form the angle it does look like they are enjoying the fireworks from the restaurant at the Opera.
 
hereditarytitles said:
Same here(concerning the rules).

We don't know if Nicolai and Benedicte are really planning to live there and work, it is so far only speculation. But, the question is, if they would want to do this would they get "special treatment" because Nicolai is a member of the royal family in Denmark? And the Queen of Denmark is of Australian heritage, that is something which I think they would take into account. It would indeed look bad if they didn't, on the other hand it would look bad if they got special treatment because of Nicolai's heritage.

However I don't know the Australian mind about a situation like this.
Click to expand...
Nikolai would be treated as any other non-Australian citizen seeking a working visa in Australia under Australian immigration law. There is no reason why he should have any special treatment,

Nikolai is not biologically related to Queen Mary and being the nephew of Mary's husband does mot give him any "connection" to Australia as far as Australian nationality law is concerned.

In fact, as discussed in another thread, Queen Mary renounced her Australian citizenship when she married then CP Frederik. She was no longer an Australian citizen when her children were born, which means that even Mary's children themselves are not entitled to apply for Australian citizenship by descent.
 
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A summary of Count Nikolai's 2024 with some lovely photos

Count Nikolai of Monpezat on Instagram: "Travel itinerary for 2024 - what a year ⭐️ So grateful that I get to see all these beautiful places! 1. Started the year off in Sydney 2. Went skiing in the Alps in February 3. Quick trip to Paris in March 4.

848 likes, 7 comments - nikolaitildanmark on January 19, 2025: "Travel itinerary for 2024 - what a year ⭐️ So grateful that I get to see all these beautiful places! 1. Started the year off in Sydney 2. Went skiing in the Alps in February 3. Quick trip to Paris in March 4. Went hiking in Sweden...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
kalnel said:
I must admit that every time I read Nikolai and Benedikte are going somewhere, I wonder why he's traveling with his great-aunt.
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It’s the same for me 😅 Before i got used to the thought of his Gf’s name being Benedikte, i found myself wondering many times why he did so much together with his grandmothers sister 😅

If they marry sometime, it is almost good that his title was changed… Otherwise the Danish RF would have had 2 ”Princess Benedikte” 😱 It was confusing enough when they had 2 ”Prince Henrik” 😁
 
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