General News about Joachim, Marie and Family Part 7: January 2024 -

[Muhler]

I understand from previous interviews that Marie spoke French to her children (they always replied in Danish though, at least when they were younger) while Joachim spoke Danish.
I guess that the children now speak English most of the day, including among friends and schoolmates.
So I guess Joachim try and speak Danish, Marie try and speak French while the children speak the language of whatever mode they are in, with words from all three languages used interchangeably. I.e. a mix of Franglish and Danglish.

Anyway, in another excerpt: Joachim explains how Marie saved his life, when he had his stroke and that was a big change for him. Now, their family has priority and they try enjoy life and have fun in their day to day life.

Prinsesse Marie reddede prins Joachim: 'Vi skal have glæde i livet'

Læs mere her.

www.bt.dk

Marie explains it changed their priorities and life and made them stronger as a couple.

Joachim explains about the family being first priority: "Overall it becomes easier to oversee/cope with more but it's not like there will be less to oversee/cope with. We make a virtue out of laughing. We must have fun. We must have joy in life."
He emphasize that life is easier today - even though there are no fewer commitments.

 

[MARG]

There is an old idiom of caution: "May you live in interesting times" and the position Prince Joachim fills is more important now than I believe it has ever been before. He is well settled into his job and the contacts he has made on behalf of Denmark can only aid both his country and NATO.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I was also wondering whether it might have something to do with Henrik’s schooling.

For certain, the topic has to be kept in mind. And in 2 years' time, it will be a similar situation for Athena.
But all in all, I think its a combination of many things. Joachim seems to be a good job, it will be challenging to find a useful/under the radar position for him in Denmark.

 

[Somebody]

For certain, the topic has to be kept in mind. And in 2 years' time, it will be a similar situation for Athena.
But all in all, I think its a combination of many things. Joachim seems to be a good job, it will be challenging to find a useful/under the radar position for him in Denmark.

For such international moves many things need to be considered. Joachim's contract was supposed to be until 2026; if they are happy for him to stay on another year and it will allow Henrik to finish high school, that seems like a win-win. Athena is almost 3 years younger; so, if they move in 2027, she will supposedly have 3 years left of secondary education, so, it would make a little more sense to move at that point than just before your final year (although of course, the Danish system is different - but they might decide for her to go to an international school instead if that would be a better fit with Athena's previous education).

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

The kids are in a French immersion school, so they speak French all day.

They're not attending Rochambeau but Washington International School. Though I reckon they have a strong language profile that would allow them to retain their proficiency in French as well.

 

[Biri]

And if Count Henrik wants to study in the US?

 

[Queen Claude]

From what I've read it's in actively trilingual households seen as the most beneficial if each parent use their own mother tongue when speaking to their children.
For the children's sake Marie would be better off to speak French with them and Danish with her husband.

Would this convention apply in this case since Joachim grew up in a bilingual household (Danish and French) and is fluent in his wife's mother tongue due to his upbringing and recently living in France? And then in Marie's case, she moved to Denmark, learned Danish and is expressing a concern that she is losing fluency in the language of a country she has not lived in for several years but hopes to return to and serve. Nevertheless, Marie speaks Danish and, since her children spent their formative years in Denmark, she is not teaching her children Danish, she is just the one who is keeping the Danish language spoken in their household.

Their parents speaking English is not needed for them to develop fluency. They easily pick that up at school and will be speaking English with their peers. The harder part is maintaining both Danish and French next to English. Especially Danish, I would assume, as prior to Washington DC they lived in France and will primarily have spoken French I presume.

No, because her Danish would be flawed. If the goal is for the children to be fluent in all three, school should be in English, conversations with Joachim in Danish and with Marie in French (both speaking their mother tongue - although for Joachim French would probably be just as easy/natural as Danish). As a family, it might be helpful to have Danish as the shared language in for example any 'table conversations' (but it seems more likely that would be French as Joachim grew up bilingual and Marie admits to struggling in Danish).

Since when is Marie's Danish flawed? Who knows, perhaps it got rusty living in France and then the US and now she is expressing a concern that she will lose fluency. I do not have strong feelings about Marie speaking Danish to her children but to me it seems like an easy fix, or part of the fix, to the concern she is expressing about losing her Danish fluency.

If the intent is for them to have a trilingual household, I would be concerned that the children would lose their French fluency if the table conversations were in Danish, so why not flip things and have Joachim be the French speaker and Marie be the Danish speaker.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

And if Count Henrik wants to study in the US?

Well he turns 18 in 2 years… Then he decides for himself what he wants to do with his life

 

[Somebody]

Would this convention apply in this case since Joachim grew up in a bilingual household (Danish and French) and is fluent in his wife's mother tongue due to his upbringing and recently living in France? And then in Marie's case, she moved to Denmark, learned Danish and is expressing a concern that she is losing fluency in the language of a country she has not lived in for several years but hopes to return to and serve. Nevertheless, Marie speaks Danish and, since her children spent their formative years in Denmark, she is not teaching her children Danish, she is just the one who is keeping the Danish language spoken in their household.




Since when is Marie's Danish flawed? Who knows, perhaps it got rusty living in France and then the US and now she is expressing a concern that she will lose fluency. I do not have strong feelings about Marie speaking Danish to her children but to me it seems like an easy fix, or part of the fix, to the concern she is expressing about losing her Danish fluency.

If the intent is for them to have a trilingual household, I would be concerned that the children would lose their French fluency if the table conversations were in Danish, so why not flip things and have Joachim be the French speaker and Marie be the Danish speaker.

I am not sure Marie expressed a desire to be a trilingual household but merely stated a fact. Flipping things around is not recommended. Marie’s command of Danish is not at the same level as Joachim’s, it never was (a mother tongue speaker using highly sophisticated language vs someone who learned the language at a later age, lived in the country for a few years and moved a way). So, Marie’s and the children’s vocabulary will be more limited than Joachim and they most likely also make more grammatical errors in Danish.

All research is very clear that the mother tongue speaker should continue using that language; and assuming they have one-on-one conversations with both parents, the children will continue to use both languages. That leaves the question what language to speak between the couple - my guess is they would use French as they would best be able to express themselves in that language - and what language to use in family conversations, for which Danish seems recommended for members of the Danish royal family living abroad.

I will leave it at that and not comment any further (unless relevant research suggesting a different approach would be presented) to avoid going in circles.

 

[polyesco]

More from the interview
"- The prince and princess speak of Queen Margrethe as someone they have regular contact with, and they mention "the line is open to Amalienborg", so it seems that the contact goes both ways, explains Marianne Singer."

Nyt interview med prins Joachim og prinsesse Marie: Skruer helt ned for fortidens familiedrama

Prins Joachim og prinsesse Marie sender særligt budskab i et nyt interview med Berlingske, mener kongehusekspert.

www.billedbladet.dk

 

[Blog Real]

Princess Marie confirmed, in an exclusive interview with BILLED-BLADET magazine on the occasion of her 50th birthday, that she and her family will definitely return to live in Denmark next year.

"The most important thing for me and my family is the years ahead of us. Right now, as you know, we're going to stay in the US for another year and a half. That way, the children can finish their studies. Henrik will finish high school, he'll be 18, and then we'll come back. Athena will start high school here in Denmark. I think Henrik will continue his studies immediately, but we'll see. He loves chemistry, physics, and mathematics. But he'll have to work hard."

And he confirmed that the family will return to Denmark when Prince Joachim's work contract at the Danish Embassy in Washington expires in August 2027.

"Yes. We are very much looking forward to it. It has been very exciting to be abroad and to be able to support Denmark from overseas."

Nu bekræfter prinsesse Marie: Vi flytter hjem til Danmark

Prinsesse Marie bekræfter i et stort eksklusivt interview med BILLED-BLADET i anledning af hendes 50-års fødselsdag, at hun og familien med sikkerhed flytter hjem til Danmark næste år.

www.billedbladet.dk

 

[Hans-Rickard]

It will be lovely to see more of them in Denmark… Especially of the always elegant Princess Marie…

I guess they plan to stay in Denmark for at least 3 year then as Athena will attend gymnasium in Denmark.

Maybe with Joachim traveling back and forth if he gets some assignment somewhere in Europe.

 

[Muhler]

It will be lovely to see more of them in Denmark… Especially of the always elegant Princess Marie…

I guess they plan to stay in Denmark for at least 3 year then as Athena will attend gymnasium in Denmark.

Maybe with Joachim traveling back and forth if he gets some assignment somewhere in Europe.

Indeed.

My guess is that Joachim will be promoted to major general and that he will teach about his experiences in Washington. He must have gained very valuable experience in France and USA as well as building up a network. These are things that would be critical to share these days.

 

[polyesco]

Marie's 50th birthday

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid028GwBKsEpuaukcistYrTfUtDWtcCVzqCv24EA47uJGJs9dspkdRiFBaMKNk8PJvnul&id=100044636580170

 

[iceflower]

Lovely photos of the family and great setting!

Here you can download the high quality versions:

Mediebank

I forbindelse med redaktionel omtale kan der på denne side downloades fotos til redaktionelt brug. Retningslinjer for brug skal altid følges. I fanebladene nedenfor kan man finde pressefo...

www.kongehuset.dk

H.K.H. Prinsesse Maries fødselsdag

H.K.H. Prinsesse Maries fødselsdag

www.kongehuset.dk

 

[maria-olivia]

No celebration in Denmark with the Royals ?

 

[blooms_rulers]

It is a regular school day in the US for her kids, so she likely wouldn't be in Denmark.

 

[Muhler]

Marie has a fear of flying. She admits that in a BB interview.

Prinsesse Marie overrasker: Afslører ny fobi

Prinsesse Marie fortæller, at de færreste ved, at særligt én ting gør hende bange.

www.bt.dk

Q: Few know about me that...
M: "I am afraid of flying. Yes, really scared. I have a phobia against flying. It's dreadful."

 

[Emmily]

I share that fear with Marie!

 

[An Ard Ri]

Marie has a fear of flying. She admits that in a BB interview.

Prinsesse Marie overrasker: Afslører ny fobi

Prinsesse Marie fortæller, at de færreste ved, at særligt én ting gør hende bange.

www.bt.dk

Q: Few know about me that...
M: "I am afraid of flying. Yes, really scared. I have a phobia against flying. It's dreadful."

That must add extra anxiety to trans Atlantic flights for the Princess!

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Not easy to have a fear of flying, living in USA, and knowing that you has to fly regularly to Europe for royal engagements, and also to see your own family…

I’m sure it will be nice for her to move back to Denmark next year.