Four years down the track; Is Mary OK now?

[Madame Royale]

But I don't see her as a shallow person because of it.

Neither do I UserDane. Infact, far from it

If some people think Mary is shallow because of her fashion interests then I must be 100 times more shallow than her

 

[ricarda]

it's not only about the industry mary represents. it's not only as her being patron of the danish fashion. it's about her demonstrating shallowness sometimes. don't misunderstand me: i also think mary dresses beautifully and i would love to have some of her beautiful dresses BUT: is this the image she wants to give? of a shallow, superficial person who thinks about how she dresses all the time? i doubt mary could afford any of the clothes she now wears before her marriage, and this gives me a slight impression of her as a 'new rich' as we call it in my language (not sure of the word in english, but if you don't understand it, just tell me). as much as i like dressing nice and professional, even to go to university, i don't like people seeing me as a person who only thinks of that. we rarely see mary and frederik in this spare time, but when they went out, we normally saw mary shopping (mary while in london, mary once shopping with christian under a big 'poncho'...).

I am sure this is not the image she wants to give.
And this is not the image I personally have.

And I am sure Mary does not want to be seen as a person who only thinks of fashion.
Hence here 18 patronages which have nothing to do with fashion.
Hence her workschedule which shows a wide range of different engagements.

None of the current crownprincesses could afford the dresses they are wearing now.
And therefore I think that this argument is really not valid.
Besides, if there is one woman who gives to me the impression of a "new rich"
through her over-the-top-way of dressing it is Maxima. (I still like her, though.)

We actually could see M&F doing other things than shopping in their sparetime.
Mary for example was reading a book about mental illness in her holidays. Now, what does that say about her?
Besides, I have seen photos of Letizia and Felipe or Alexandra or Mette-Marit shopping at least as many times
as I have seen photos of Mary and Frederik shopping.

I hope you don't find this offending but I really think your selective way of perception is the reason
why you have this image of Mary and not Mary's workschedule or sparetime activities.

i hope no one finds it offending. i really try hard to see mary as the nice, 'down to earth girl' everyone wants to see, but there's something about her that just doesn't fit in the image she gives.

I don't understand what you mean.
First you claim that the image Mary wants to give is that of a shallow woman.
And then you say that there is something that just doesn't fit in the image she gives?

 

[ricarda]

i think the royal house should be a bit more selective for the engagements they choose for mary.

if your comment was directed to mette marit in malawi, i must say i didn't in a long time see people who were so delighted by a royal visit. i interpreted it as a sign of warmth and humbleness by mette marit. coming back to your third paragraph, this demonstrates how although in their own country they are wished and expected, the new country offers a much more challenging and ambitious perspective: an opportunity for the royal, for the royal family and for the country she represents to be known. it shows how a royal enters a circle that is unknown to him to begin those diplomatic relations you mentioned before, which is usually harder than just maintaining those that already exist.

ricarda, that's certainly a difficult question to answer and i'm sorry i have not done much research into which royal speeches 'made a difference'. i can however speak as a person who takes part of a large model united nations society, that travels all around the world (this year we are going to oxford, montreal and geneva) to debate different topics, where i have seen the most unexpected reactions towards a speech or a debate. it's indeed a difficult place to be, that's why i personally admire those royals that actively take part in different typr of world conferences, usually reserved for diplomats of politicians, due to the understanding they have on world history and international relations.

i can however mention an example that is maxima and one of her last speeches, which was full of interesting content, not just congratulating, exposing or thanking, but going ahead suggesting new possible methods of doing something. this was very much commented in the dutch forums, if i'm not mistaken, by many members. it already takes a lot of time and effort to expose the facts, but... it takes even more (significantly more) to suggest new ways of doing things, as this means not only research, but understanding.

Carlota, I agree with you in many parts.
But then I disagree in others :
Mary has given speeches at the World Health Organization conference
(there you have your world conference or at least European world conference ),
for the Danish Heart Ass., Mental Health Ass. and so on,
she is patron of 20 organizations, the Danish Refugee Council among others.
And I can't quite see why you consider all this as unimportant.
I also can't see why you think the royal house should be more selective.
IMO her engagements show a good mixture and balance.

How do you know Mary did not make a difference through her speeches and appearances at various functions?
Many organizations she is working with claim she does.
Her activities are focused on Denmark at the moment but then she is CP of Denmark.
And again she is only a CP since 2 1/2 years. I am sure she will steadily sharpen her profile
and in time perhaps even visit countries in need.

Maxima has done a great job with the microfinance but as I pointed out earlier
she started with this engagement 2 years and ~9 months after her wedding.
(And I personally think she could be more involved with Dutch organizations and subjects
that are relevant for a majority in the Netherlands, but that's just my personal opinion.)
Mette-Marit took a year off in London (I wonder what would have happened if Mary had done that?),
her trip to Malawi was in January 2005, 3 1/2 years after her marriage,
the first world conference she attended was this year.

Give Mary a little time to develop (as you were obviously able to give to Maxima and Mette-Marit).

 

[Empress]

Carlota,

Just as an FYI, in case you are not aware. The Dutch Royal family do not have any influence over politics, or business associations, etc. Their speeches are most likely either written for them, or at the very least vetted not only by the RVD, but also by the PM/cabinet. Not to say that what they say is not important, but it might not be their ideas, thoughts or what they would wish to say. I think that perhaps other Royal Families might have more in the way of freedom when it comes to what they can and can not say.

And I have to say that I am with Australian and Lise on this. I think that everyone should just step back, breathe and perhaps read the transcripts of the speeches, which I am sure someone on this board would happily translate if needed.

Just my two cents

Empress

 

[Lady Bluffton]

I guess this entire thread begs the question whether or not Mary was "not OK" in the first place.

Obviously, the one who it counts most to -- Prince Frederik -- thought she was quite OK. Beyond that, she, like anyone else, will have her fans and her detractors. Sorry, but what more is there to talk about?

I think this thread should really be called -- "Mary - yea or nea?"

 

[Empress]

Too true. I was just thinking the same thing this morning. We can discuss this till the cows come home, but in the end our opinion is worth nothing.

What matters is if her husband loves her, and if her adopted country likes and approves of her. A resounding yes seems to be the answer to both of those questions.

 

[carlota]

hi everyone again

Many think she is a beautiful woman, should she try and make herself less beautiful just to please people?

australian, i never said that. in fact, i mentioned in this very thread how i really like most of the times how mary dresses, even when i sometimes find it shallow, as i said.

But QMII also dresses more expensively than most woman her age - as does queen Silvia and queen Sonja. I bet Mette-Marit also dresses more expensively now than she did pre-Haakon.

I have noticed that we see a lot of reuse in Mary's wardrobe now; to me that signifies that her wardrobe has been through a building up phase - which to most of us 'mere mortals' may seem overwhelming but is necessary.

userdane: i understand your point about other royals and how they dress. they will certainly have more expensive and international brand clothes than many of us. but it's in other actions that you see they are laid back: sonja could have chosen a wedding dress from the most expensive norwegian designer. instead, she chose to make her dress herself. about mette marit... she is still wearing the same clothes than she was 5 years ago! there's nothing shallow in that atitude, even when she wore a beautiful valentino at felipe and letizia's wedding or if she wears a nice chanel suit. letizia herself, to mention a princess, wore a skirt that was from hugo boss for the prince of asturias awards. how surprisingly, this wasn't even noticed by anyone and never any reporters critisised her for it, as they are so used to her using spanish brands and not even thinking she could buy from boss. and believe me on this, the spanish press is trying to find every single detail to critisise her...

i don't see mary's wardrobe as ending its build up phase at all, but again, i have nothing against it. she is free to re-use clothes, or to buy new ones, or to give them to charity... i'm not a danish taxpayer, and as long as the danish people are ok with it, i see no reason for me to complain.

None of the current crownprincesses could afford the dresses they are wearing now.
And therefore I think that this argument is really not valid.
Besides, if there is one woman who gives to me the impression of a "new rich"
through her over-the-top-way of dressing it is Maxima. (I still like her, though.)

ricarda, i couldn't have a more different opinion on this: maxima was never a 'new rich' simply because she was always quite a 'rich' person. not only because of having grew up in an upper class argentinian family, but because of her career (i doubt the manager of deutsche bank for latin america would be boarding misery). she even stays loyal to her 'all the time' argentinian brands, and so does her family.

I don't understand what you mean.
First you claim that the image Mary wants to give is that of a shallow woman.
And then you say that there is something that just doesn't fit in the image she gives?

i never said that. that wouldn't be logical. who would want to be considered as shallow?
the other comment meant that there's something strange about her, but i can't tell what it is exactly.

Mette-Marit took a year off in London (I wonder what would have happened if Mary had done that?),

i certainly didn't support the year off in london... i thought it was unnecesary and weird considering they were the future monarchs of a country who just after the wedding decided to live somewhere else.

Give Mary a little time to develop

perhaps it is a matter of time. i was quite hard on mette marit and letizia (and even on maxima at the very start), to mention a few, but they both surprised me, in a realy good way, after some time.

Just as an FYI, in case you are not aware. The Dutch Royal family do not have any influence over politics, or business associations, etc. Their speeches are most likely either written for them, or at the very least vetted not only by the RVD, but also by the PM/cabinet. Not to say that what they say is not important, but it might not be their ideas, thoughts or what they would wish to say. I think that perhaps other Royal Families might have more in the way of freedom when it comes to what they can and can not say.

i think the opinions of the royals in the netherlands have an important influence. if not, why was maxima given a seat at the very respected council of state? as far as i know, no other princesses hold a similar position.

 

[Empress]

Carlota,

The Dutch royals do not have a public political opinion at all. It is simply not allowed. The queens speeches on Princes day in September are written for her.

Maxima might hold a seat, by virtue of her background in business, and she might offer thoughts, but I would seriously doubt if she opines on anything of political importance or takes a stand on a specific issue. My husband is Dutch and I lived there for quite some time, and it is simple, the Queen and the royal family do not have a political position.

 

[Mandy]

Let's remember that the name of this thread is "Four years down the track; Is Mary OK now?" and so, let's not stray too far down the road from this topic.

Thanks,

Mandy

 

[Empress]

I think that Mary was GREAT then and better now

 

[tabbitha]

Carlota I'm with Australian on this, I think it's the image the media has given Mary. I think Mary would never have been able to afford the clothes she wears now pre-Fred. I would also expect someone in Mary's 'job' to wear the clothes she does. I'm sure she'd be criticised if she didn't.

I'm with you here too Lise,
there is no way Mary could get away with wearing just ordinary clothes and that goes for all Royals.I don't mean she has to be dripping in diamonds either when she goes to a charity but she dresses for the occasion and even recycles her things but even then some don't appreciate this either...I do believe that the build up and hype is the press- they like to create that image to keep the public interested- it's all great PR for Denmark and Australia.

 

[Charlotte1]

Carlota,

The Dutch royals do not have a public political opinion at all. It is simply not allowed. The queens speeches on Princes day in September are written for her.

Maxima might hold a seat, by virtue of her background in business, and she might offer thoughts, but I would seriously doubt if she opines on anything of political importance or takes a stand on a specific issue. My husband is Dutch and I lived there for quite some time, and it is simple, the Queen and the royal family do not have a political position.

The only speech that is written for the queen is the one she delivers on Princes Day, ( same as in the Uk where the government of the day write the speech the monarch delivers on the Opening of Parliament, also Sweden) the Dutch royals do actually write their own speeches. Maxima holds her seat on the State council not by virtue of her business background but because she is a royal, she was granted this seat after 2 years of "princess training" the queen and Prince of Orange are also on the council.
In Denmark, CP Frederik attends State Council meetings ( as does the Queen) but not Mary. ( Not totally off topic moderators! )

Dutch royals, especially the queen are quite political, in an understated way. Henri M could probably give far more examples, but here are the ones I'm aware off. During the Russian State visit, the queen made sure that members of Amnesty International were invited to events where they would meet President Putin. During the Dutch State visit to Argentina, Beatrix met privately with the Grandmothers of the Disappeared, Maxima too, and made sure that the news of this meeting was released. At the contra-event, Argentina's first openly gay couple were invited as were members of Amnesty Internation. Again news of their invitation was released.
Before Maxima was involved with microcredit, she was involved in The Netherlands with integration of migrant women.

 

[Little_star]

I, too, have an LLB, amongst others, from an Australian university. What you believe is compatible between the Uk and Australia just ain't necessarily so.

Well, that's why I asked what the differences were.

For instance, my brother had a postgraduate Arts degree from Australia and only needed a minimal amount of time to become a barrister in the UK. He needed no specific academic experience at all to practise in law, but did need experience, which he gained from Chambers.

So he had to do a pupillage? When you say minimal, do you mean 1 year, 2......

So: your point about CP Mary is?

I didn't have a point about Mary, per se, but about the Australian system and about her degree in particular. As she took a joint honours degree, would she have even be able to undertake formal legal training if she wanted to?

Like so many of us, the princess studied Law, which gave her the entre into an enormously wide field of business. That she didn't complete her one-year's legal 'apprenticeship' in a law firm to enable her to be a practising lawyer, is really of little consideration.

Well it is when she's described as a lawyer.

 

[ricarda]

We are really far away from our topic now.
Thanks for the interesting informations, though.

My final remark on this topic now:
Although I like Maxima a lot and think she is doing a great job right now,
I think Mary has done a much better job than Maxima in her first 2 1/2 years.
IMO Mary has shown a great dedication to her new role right from the beginning
and the will to do what is best for Denmark and Danish economy.
I was quite sceptical towards her in the beginning - though I guess she was ok -
but she surprised me in a positive way.
And it took her less time to give me a positive impression of her work than Maxima and Mette-Marit.

Before Maxima was involved with microcredit, she was involved in The Netherlands with integration of migrant women.

That is correct.
Still, her engagement did not start before 2004.
IMO she really took it easy the first two years of her marriage.

ricarda, i couldn't have a more different opinion on this: maxima was never a 'new rich' simply because she was always quite a 'rich' person. not only because of having grew up in an upper class argentinian family, but because of her career (i doubt the manager of deutsche bank for latin america would be boarding misery). she even stays loyal to her 'all the time' argentinian brands, and so does her family.

Maxima was wealthier than others but her wealth was nothing to the wealth of her new family.
Perhaps she could afford an expensive dress once in a while but if you look at pictures of the pre-wedding-Maxima
she certainly was not dressed as expensive as she is dressed now and did not wear juwels and fancy hats.
There certainly has been a change of style and an improvement of wealth.

Besides, if I say "new rich" I mean "showing off your wealth", "dressing in a loud way".
Even people with "old" money or from upperclass families can do that.
And it's even worse in their case.

 

[Oppie]

This isn't meant to go off topic but since a number of posts seem to deal with 'what is a patron', 'what does a patron do' I thought I would post this.

It is from the British Royal Family but since it seems (at least to me) that royal patrons 'jobs' are very similar in each country this gives a good overview.

I'm not posting it here so that people can comment on the BRF, just for those who are unsure about what the 'job' entails it gives a good overview.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page1729.asp

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

Can we return back to the main topic of discussion here, Four years down the track; Is Mary OK now?, please.

 

[Polly]

Once again, I'm very late with my comments.

Nevertheless, I think that CP Mary and the other 'newbie' CPs in Europe are all dong well. Every credit to them. It can't be easy for these women with people such as we criticising and carping at their every action.

In my view, CP MAry is more than O.K. I think her intelligent; elegant; motherly and a good wife. I also think that she exhibits due deference to the people and Throne of Denmark, and that they're lucky to have her.

Polly

 

[auntie]

I don't have patience to read all the 256 posts on this thread, but from being an avid royalty watcher I can say the following: ( I hope noone will shoot me PLEASE...)In my opinion, the reason Mary gets the most criticsm of being fashion conscious, shallow etc. is because she, as a crown Princess, has changed the most. Maxima is more groomed than before, but there is still something of the vivacious fun-loving Maxima apaprent to all, Mette Marit has come a long way since her single mother days, in more ways than one, but she still has something of the common touch about her, even in designer suits etc. Letizia, being in the limelight before meeting Felipe, knew how to behave, dress etc. in public, Mathilde is aristocratic and classy as she always was. Maxima, Mete Marit, Mathilde, Letizia of pre-royal days IS STILL HERE!
Whilst Mary, who was an average nice girl from a normal warm family, IS NO LONGER APPARENT! she is still there, undreneath, but you can't see her!

 

[Lady Bluffton]

Whilst Mary, who was an average nice girl from a normal warm family, IS NO LONGER APPARENT! she is still there, undreneath, but you can't see her!

If Mary completely redesigning herself into a fashionista and "CP" is what it takes for her to be "OK", then I agree she is. Auntie, you are so correct...what happened to the little Tassie girl?

 

[ricarda]

"Whilst Mary, who was an average nice girl from a normal warm family,.."
"what happened to the little Tassie girl?"

I am always astonished when I read comments like that.
Did you know Mary personally before she became a crownprincess?
How do you know she was an "average nice girl" or a "little Tassie girl"?
On the other hand how do you know she isn't still "an average nice girl from a normal warm family"?
How do you know whether her personality has changed or not?

I only took notice of Mary a few months before her engagement with Frederik was announced.
Although not having been in the limelight before she met Frederik, like Letizia,
she knew from the very beginning how to behave and how to dress appropriately IMO.
I never saw bad manners or fashion desasters.
I never saw a "little Tassie girl", whatever that means.

To me Mary always seemed very discreet, dignified, stylish (though dressed less expensive),
not a very outgoing or extrovert person, but intelligent, courageous and strong-willed.
That's all I could see in her, it's my personal impression of course and might be wrong.
And in my eyes she hasn't changed that much, regarding what I assume is her personality.
(Actually I do remember having seen an interview with a Tasmanian woman who knew Mary before
and who said Mary hasn't changed, just her look has.)

On the other hand I think that Mette-Marit and Letizia seem to have changed much more than Mary,
regarding what I assume were their personalities.
Where is that power-woman Letizia?
Where is the unconventional Mette-Marit?
Gone with the wind.

But of course their looks haven't changed that much.
Which makes it easier for people to believe they are still the same.

 

[Madame Royale]

I don't see Mary as having changed the most

I do see a woman who's past, compared to her counterparts isn't as 'interesting' and some often like to exploit this fact and make it into a negative by trying to either find things that aren't there, or challenge the authenticity of the things that are.

what happened to the little Tassie girl?

My guess would be she grew into a woman like the rest of us .lol.

I see this "Little Tassie Girl" comment quite a bit and being an Australian I don't make much sense of it. What does Mary have to posses that's meant to represent the "Little Tassie Girl"? what are the grounds for that?

Its like saying the "Little Argentinean"! Where's the latin dancing, crazy haird vixen who likes chillies known as Maxima?.lol. See, Its just such a perculiar statement. Does Maxima put on a display of Argentinean values or ways? No, why would she? Why should Mary do the same with her homeland? Mary's relationship (connection) with Australia is sentimental and life long, but she isn't Australian. She is Danish. Her upbringing has made her who she is and I see a very warm and sincere lady. Not because I wish to see it, but because that's what I see.

 

[Xeara]

Wow, Madame Royale...some great pointsand well made...I agree with you when you say her "connection with Australia is sentimental and lifelong, but she isn't Australian...she is Danish"...I think that is the main reason for their recent Australian visit...Mary was probably nostalgic for her old life due to her new life of hobnobbing with the rich and influential and its inherent constraints...but I think when she got here she realised how GREAT her new life actually is...you get to socialise, wear nice clothes, get things done for you (child-minding, cooking, cleaning, shopping) and have interesting things to do and interesting places to go (the rest of Europe)...and she probably pitied her poor hardworking sisters who have to do it all (work and raise a family)...

And I would like to make another point about Mary "being Danish"...she HAS to be Danish due to the fact that she just didn't marry any Danish guy, she married the Crown Prince of Denmark...so she has to live in that country and represent Danish values, customs and traditions and speak their language...Look, if she just married any "Soren Jorgensen" she may have got away with not having to learn the language so quickly...heck, they could have even settled in Australia and we would have been none the wiser and little "Mary Donaldson-Jorgensen" could have slipped into relative obscurity...but the fact is he was a Danish prince and he had more to lose and she had all to gain...

I am not sure what point I was exactly trying to make...maybe that Mary just didn't marry any Dane, she married THE Dane and all that goes along with it...and I want to ask all of you: we all know small details of how Mary and Frederik met...at the Slip Inn during the Olympics...friend of a friend of a friend kind of situation...Mary's flatmate, Andrew knew Beatrice who knew Bruno the cousin of Prince Pavlos who is cousin to Prince Frederik...so anyway they met and they talked...Mary didn't know who he was until later...do you think she would have found him "alright" at first but after she found out who he was he (Frederik) became more attractive and desirable? and then she did everything in her womanly power to achieve the "goal" of marrying him?

I only ask this because of the Andrew Denton interview when asked if there were fireworks when they met...Mary says NO, not really and Frederik looks genuinely surprised at her answer...His look says "what? there were fireworks for me...love at first sight...you told me there were "fireworks"...like she is telling him one thing and feeling another way...telling him what he wants to hear, biding her time, massaging his royal ego...Well, that's the impression I got anyway...

 

[Currier]

For years many of the comments about Mary were vicious and cruel. I write to lend my support to a woman who has made Frederik happy and provided the Queen and the Danes with a CPrincess who has not been an embarrassment. Why are some demanding 100% perfection? Currier

 

[linda85]

my comment- Frederick seems to be the happiest ever. Mary has made him happy as a wife and mother to his children. He doesn't have the lost look that he had a while ago. I have seen it is the lot of the Crown Princes who were allowed to marry the woman on their choice. They seem to be happier and will fufill their duties better with a devoted spouse at their side.

 

[crisscross1]

I only ask this because of the Andrew Denton interview when asked if there were fireworks when they met...Mary says NO, not really and Frederik looks genuinely surprised at her answer...His look says "what? there were fireworks for me...love at first sight...you told me there were "fireworks"...like she is telling him one thing and feeling another way...telling him what he wants to hear, biding her time, massaging his royal ego...Well, that's the impression I got anyway...

I think it would be easy to read anything into her response. My feelings are that she probably wanted to keep that sort of information private, between them. I saw the interview and his look of surprise seemed to be in fun, which is perhaps why they still look so happy and in love.

I have always thought that Mary was doing an ok job as CP and I still do.

 

[Little_star]

I don't see Mary as having changed the most

I cannot speak for all, but I think most people are refering to her physical appearance when they say this. After all, the woman in the Starmakers photos is drastically different form the Mary seen today.

 

[Australian]

but i am positively sure that anyone who is about to enter the media and world spotlight WILL upgrade their appearance. It's not a fault, it is a sign that she cares about how her people see her and how she represents her new country, by upgrading her appearance.

 

[bebajp]

Ok...

With all the respect to everyone and I didn't read all the post replies here's my comment about the this thread:

I think Mary has been doing a good job considering she was a COMMONER like most of her counterparts (except Mathilde). Most of the people at the beginning had a lot of criticisim towards her: because she wasn't POLISHED 100%, because her accent sometimes was not good enough, etc. But she doing her best to do jer JOB, even when for the rest of the world apparentely sounds EASY to do: get dress very well (designer clothes, which she wisely recycles), jewerly (not all, because some Queen's pieces not belong totally to the RF), having a cute husband (who someday will be King of Denmark), go to charity events, having might we call a "laid back, luxury life". Buttttttt... with all those "benefits", there's some responsabilities she has to accomplish: have a heir (which she already did), give up her private life, everything she does it will be under escrutiny and magnified 10 times, she had to move to another country, learn a complicated language (at least for me it is), culture, lifestyle.

Seems simple, but WE DON'T REALLY how hard (might) was for her decided to leave Australia and move to Denmark. If she was really (like some people said in the past) after his money or media attention, she have nothing but to loose in case there's a divorce (I hope this never happens). My point is, even when we see all those glamorous things, maybe they have problems like any other normal couple, the difference between them and us, it's their life will be surrounded by media, anything they do, good or bad will be criticize. I give her credit for managed gracefully and with intelligence.

What it looks outside as a simple duty, sometimes it isn't. What it seems to be a job for ANYONE.... I think not ANYONE would do it with grace, charisma, intelligence, as her.

I hope I didn't sound rude to the forum community.

 

[lisamaria]

I only ask this because of the Andrew Denton interview when asked if there were fireworks when they met...Mary says NO, not really and Frederik looks genuinely surprised at her answer...His look says "what? there were fireworks for me...love at first sight...you told me there were "fireworks"...like she is telling him one thing and feeling another way...telling him what he wants to hear, biding her time, massaging his royal ego...Well, that's the impression I got anyway...

I'm not sure if I fully understood what you tried to say, but I think it is a perfectly normal answer; Mary said already in a documentary done before the wedding that it was just a normal, nice meeting of two people, nothing big or dramatic - I don't think that despite of his act there, Frederik saw fireworks either. In other people's world that is called courtship or dating - time of trying to figure out if the positive in any given person outdoes the negative I have never fallen in at first sight, and the older I get the less likely I find it to ever happen like that. There may be chemistry and lust and what not, but real love? Doubt it.

 

[eireann]

I'm not sure if I fully understood what you tried to say, but I think it is a perfectly normal answer; Mary said already in a documentary done before the wedding that it was just a normal, nice meeting of two people, nothing big or dramatic - I don't think that despite of his act there, Frederik saw fireworks either. In other people's world that is called courtship or dating - time of trying to figure out if the positive in any given person outdoes the negative I have never fallen in at first sight, and the older I get the less likely I find it to ever happen like that. There may be chemistry and lust and what not, but real love? Doubt it.

Sometimes the man gets fireworks before the female. I know my boyfriend of almost 3 years fell in love with me the first evening - whereas for me it was like Mary, just a nice normal meeting of two people. I think Mary keeps her relationship with Fred very private and is very careful about what she discloses to the press.