Herlufsholm Boarding & Day School - Incidents and Reactions of the Royal Family

[Duc_et_Pair]

There is no any school without bullying. No any.
In all social groupings angelic-faced kids test each other. And yes: kids can be cruel. So far nothing new under the sun.

Prince Nikolai was happy at Herlufsholm. Reportedly Prince Christian is happy at Herlufsholm and would prefer to stay there. That is not so strange. Already at young age children have a fine-tuned antenna for social hierarchy. The social hierarchy of parents outside school is very often mirrored inside school.

The "pack" instinctively knows that being in the circles of children with privileged parents does help their positionings. I can imagine that a Christian of Denmark, a William of Wales, a Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, a Elisabeth of Belgium, a Leonor of Spain were/are high "ranked" in their social cohesions at boarding school.

It seems that Herlufsholm, an excellent educational institution by all accounts, probably was less pro-active, less hands-on, less acting on bullying than it could have been. I would say: "Herlufsholm: learn from it and adapt your boarding school system to prevent bullying".

I see posts in which Herlufsholm should ban communal sleeping for private rooms. But at the same time communal sleeping can be formative. For an example for a certain boy who sleeps in Christian VIII's Palais or at Marselisborg Castle, it can be very formative to sleep with 12 boys in one room.

But lo! There is a Mary... The self proclaimed Jeanne d'Orléans of anti-bullying. And while her son is happy at Herlufsholm, I feel he is offered, pawned, to keep the shiny armour of this Maid of [-]Orléans[/-] Copenhagen spotless. And now the search has started, to a Walt Disney "guaranteed bully-free" school for the future King of Denmark. From rough pillow fights in the communal sleeping room, and setting wood in fire in a forest to sterile one-on-one über-surveilled rooms where perfectly natural and primal group processes are suppressed in an attempt to deliver a sort of model citizen to tick all the right boxes...

 

[Mbruno]

Well, this American thinks it was absolutely the right choice and that the 16-year-old is still a child and doesn't have nearly enough life experience or perspective to know what is fair or unfair. And, if his perceptions are so skewed about what is okay and what is not okay with how his fellow students are treated, that he wanted to remain at that school, then it is a dereliction of their duty as his PARENTS, first and foremost, to raise good, kind, thoughtful, HUMANE persons to allow him to remain there, whether he likes the choice or thinks it's unfair. At its very core, this decision should have had nothing to do with his future role as King of Denmark and everything to do with the character and personality being molded and shaped in these formative and impressionable years.

Being a future King doesn't necessarily put you automatically at the top of the food chain at boarding schools. Prince Charles for example was not, probably because he was an introvert and, well, a little "weird". But Christian, given what appears to be his personality, and in a smaller country like Denmark, most likely is or was at Herlufsholm. And, to be very candid, boys at that age, especially those who belong to the "in-crowd", can be completely oblivious to bullying incidents happening around them (again I am trying to offer a perspective of someone who was once a boy of that age and experienced bullying myself).

I would applaud Frederik and Mary if pulling Christian out of the school was indeed related, as you said, to how his "character and personality is molded and shaped in these formative and impressionable years", or out of genuine concerns about what is/was going on at Herlufsholm. But I am afraid that might not be the case. Based on their initial reaction, I think both parents were actually quite satisfied with the school and their decision to pull Christian out was essentially political and, as they implicitly admit, related to their "position as the Crown Princely Couple". As I said, I wouldn't be surprised if the government itself advised them to do so and, if the ministers were not involved, at least the courtiers certainly were as that was turning into a PR disaster for the Royal Family.

 

[ricarda]

Interesting bits and pieces:

National Agency for Education and Quality has had Herlufsholm under supervision since 2017. In March 2022, the school informed the agency of 13 cases of either bullying, violence or sexual abuse over a period of two years and that although they repel these cases, they don't think it is an overwhelming amount. The agency concludes there isn't a coherent overlap between the cases listed by the school and the cases that have been presented in the press (from the documentary's release in May) and there's a probable likeliness that not all cases have been brought to light.

So the school was under supervision since 2017 and nothing was known/done until shortly before the TV documentary came out? And now they claim they were misinformed. Sounds to me like the typical blaming game is going on and as if the National Agency should also resign.

And I wonder was the CP Couple informed the school was under supervision and decided to send their child there anyhow? Or did they get the green light from the national agency?

 

[carina_a]

IMO it's the right decision, both for Christian personally, and for the CP family as the future of the DRF.

I personally have always attended academically "top" schools where good grades are everything and the students outperform almost every other school. But never this type of "old money" and exclusive schools, so I cannot really relate. But if the culture at Herlufsholm is so damaging and deep-rooted, I find it hard to believe that Christian will not be impacted by it, mentally or otherwise, if he continues his education there. He just may not be the victim due to his status.

And regarding the academic results, I'm sure there are other excellent schools in Copenhagen or the rest of Denmark who can provide the same level of education. If the choice is between a score of 99 & a horrible bully/bullied person, and a score of 95 & a well-balanced and healthy person, I will surely choose the latter.

And yes, based on the recent criticism of the family, it's definitely a correct move (or at least damaging control) PR-wise.

 

[Frelinghighness]

Why he as ever sent there is beyond me Any 16 year old male is a child. Who cares what he thinks wants, his parents are responsible for him

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Why he as ever sent there is beyond me Any 16 year old male is a child. Who cares what he thinks wants, his parents are responsible for him

Because Herlufsholm is known as an excellent school? Because his cousin Prince Nikolai was happy there? Because Prince Christian is happy there as well? I think many parents would blindingly have their children at Herlufsholm.

 

[camelot23ca]

As I stated above, it is the first and foremost responsibility of his parents to raise him to learn good judgment, kindness, and, the hardest lesson of all - sometimes, you don't get to do exactly as you please in life….

Learning that you don’t get to do exactly as you please in life, and how to carry on and respond to life’s curveballs, may be the most valuable lesson Christian takes away from this experience.

While it’s not a tragedy that a royal teenager has to change from one elite school to another, it is a bit of true adversity for Christian (as opposed to the manufactured and carefully planned “challenges” royal and other privileged kids are sometimes handed). This situation isn’t one that any family would have chosen, but now that it’s happened it does present the opportunity for Christian to learn some valuable life skills.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

It is the same as choosing schools giving best access to the Ivy League in the USA or the Grandes Écoles in France: yes, there might be cases of bullying, or abuse, but does that make parents who have enlisted their kids to these schools "irresponsible parents" by definition?

When the princely couple enlisted their son at Herlufsholm, no any was surprised and it was seen as most Selbstverständlich indeed that the future King went that path. And now the parents need to be chastised for this choice? I would chastise them for taking away their son, who is happy at Herlufsholm, under wokeist media pressure!

 

[victor1319]

The Saga is over!

Bunte online, the German tabloid, cites the Danish TV station DR:

Christian will leave the boarding school Herlufsholm, Princess Isabella will not study there.
https://www.bunte.de/royals/daenisc...e-nehmen-ihre-kinder-von-skandalinternat.html

 

[lucien]

Good they take the kids from this school.TRH´s set an example by doing that,good!

 

[Frelinghighness]

It is the same as choosing schools giving best access to the Ivy League in the USA or the Grandes Écoles in France: yes, there might be cases of bullying, or abuse, but does that make parents who have enlisted their kids to these schools "irresponsible parents" by definition?

When the princely couple enlisted their son at Herlufsholm, no any was surprised and it was seen as most Selbstverständlich indeed that the future King went that path. And now the parents need to be chastised for this choice? I would chastise them for taking away their son, who is happy at Herlufsholm, under wokeist media pressure!

The truly scathing report on the school could not be characterized as wokist media pressure. Plus, his father didn’t even go there.
Ivy League schools or grands Eccles are colleges and universities, and the students are older, technically adults. These few years make a big difference

Learning that you don’t get to do exactly as you please in life, and how to carry on and respond to life’s curveballs, may be the most valuable lesson Christian takes away from this experience.

While it’s not a tragedy that a royal teenager has to change from one elite school to another, it is a bit of true adversity for Christian (as opposed to the manufactured and carefully planned “challenges” royal and other privileged kids are sometimes handed). This situation isn’t one that any family would have chosen, but now that it’s happened it does present the opportunity for Christian to learn some valuable life skills.

Wow, you really hit the nail on the head. Thank you for your post.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

The truly scathing report on the school could not be characterized as wokist media pressure. Plus, his father didn’t even go there.
Ivy League schools or grands Eccles are colleges and universities, and the students are older, technically adults. These few years make a big difference

I was talking about schools giving best access to Ivy League or the Grandes Écoles. The likes of Boston Latin School, or Trinity School in New York.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

There is a distinction that needs to be made here. "Bullying" is stealing another child's lunch money. Putting a pin on his/her chair. Taunting them or calling them names. Even shoving someone or putting chewing gum in someone's hair.

All of the above happened at the decidedly non-elite middle and high schools I attended, and as Duc has has pointed out...all schools have some form of bullying. Even well run schools.

But what has been described in the government report at Herlufsholm goes way beyond students being teased for having irregular teeth.

Students being raped on campus? First graders rousted out of bed and beaten to teach them who is boss is not garden variety school bullying.

It is criminal behavior that in most civilized countries would land the perpetrators in juvenile reform school or prison.

The idea that people should lay off the "woke" condemnations and leave HRH alone because he is "happy" in such a prestigious setting, and too bad for the poor sods getting raped and beaten and who knows what else is simply unbelievable to me.

The blame for this unseemly mess falls squarely on the shoulders on the DRF in general, Fred/Mary in particular.

Were they so eager to have their Heir schooled among the "right kind of people" that they willingly looked the other way...knowing about the hellish Lord of the Flies environment... only backing down when the bad publicity started biting them in their asses?

Sounds like it to me.

 

[Prinsara]

I was talking about schools giving best access to Ivy League or the Grandes Écoles. The likes of Boston Latin School, or Trinity School in New York.

I don’t know it works in France, but most students in the Ivies do not come from Boston Latin or Trinity or any of the like, so "best access" is a bit misinformed. The public system Stuyvesant in Manhattan on the other hand...

In any case, university in Denmark works even less like that, so much so that a place like Herlufsholm is a mere remnant of elitism, "no any" kind of normal.

 

[Mbruno]

There is a distinction that needs to be made here. "Bullying" is stealing another child's lunch money. Putting a pin on his/her chair. Taunting them or calling them names. Even shoving someone or putting chewing gum in someone's hair.

All of the above happened at the decidedly non-elite middle and high schools I attended and as Duc has has pointed out...all schools have some form of bullying. Even well run schools.

What has been described in the government report at Herlufsholm goes way beyond students being teased for having irregular teeth.

Students being raped on campus? First graders rousted out of bed and beaten to teach them who is boss is not garden variety school bullying.

It is criminal behavior that in most civilized countries would land the perpetrators in juvenile reform school or prison.

The idea that people should lay off the "woke" condemnations and leave HRH alone because he is "happy" in such a prestigious setting and too bad for the poor sods getting raped and beaten and who knows what else is simply unbelievable to me.

The blame for this unseemly mess falls squarely on the shoulders on the DRF in general, Fred/Mary in particular.

We're they so eager to have their Heir schooled among the "right kind of people" that they willingly looked the other way...knowing about the hellish Lord Of The Flies environment, only backing down when the bad publicity started biting them in their asses?

Sounds like it to me.

Rape is a very serious criminal offense and should be dealt with accordingly. Waking freshers up in the middle of the night and submitting them to physical abuse and humiliation to teach who is boss (or, in the actual language of people who do it, to teach them "school values" , believe it or not, that is the wording !) is something, on the other hand, that I am completely against and could be even considered a criminal offense if you want to pursue that route (I'm not a lawyer), but is nonetheless a type of "hazing" culture that is not so uncommon in boys dorms (I've seen it myself). So, what might be shocking for someone who is outside of that culture, actually doesn't look as abnormal for those who are inside.


Again, it begs the question if F&M felt comfortable with their son experiencing that kind of culture, but I sincerely doubt they ignored that things like that (I mean, hazing, not rape) happened at Herlufsholm. And Nikolai lived through that experience himself.


And I apologize if I am being overcritical of the male gender, but put a bunch of boys together in an environment where they get to make their own rules and build their own social hierarchy, and, yes, you will get Lord of the Flies (or a lighter version thereof). We see it in several young male initiation rites as far back as ancient history.

 

[Winnie]

Good they take the kids from this school.TRH´s set an example by doing that,good!

I certainly agree. I give the parents credit. Their child [and he is only a child yet, certainly not an adult] their responsibility and only their business. If they feel it is the correct action for their family [and I am sure along with many family talks] it certainly is correct for them. Period. Bullying might be the common thing in many places and ok'd by even some parents, but many crimes later in life are committed by the youth that were bullied and the authorities of the institutions did nothing about it because they were afraid to lose the money given to "hush" it all up. I know what I am talking about via family member on this subject. So as far as I am concerned, the people that say that is has been going on for years and just part of growing up are certainly a huge part of this bulling problem and nastiness. No excuses should ever be given to bullies. Extreme punishment certainly should, no matter who their parents are. JMO

 

[Izzie]

I guess you just cannot please everyone can you. First it was the child must be pulled! He cannot stay there! An abomination!! The CP Couple will be the worst parents evah!!! We as strangers on the internet DEMAND that he is pulled from the school!!

And NOW that he is being pulled from the school (and Isabella will not be attending at all) after the report that was issued over the weekend....all of sudden, the CPC's decision is all about hidden motives and Mary being some self-entitled twit, or some "woke" agenda (is that throwing shade as us Americans btw?) or pressure from the media, etc. They are obviously NOW ruining Christian for removing him from a school with how some put it a systemic history of bullying, violence against girls, etc. Now it is blame Mary, blame Frederik...the kids were forced...they are unhappy...They will resent their parents! At some point it was even Christian's fault for some reason. IF Mary/Frederik had bowed to outside pressure, they would have yanked Christian long before this. I think it was the opposite actually. They made the decision on THEIR own terms as a FAMILY. They always stated that they would make the most informed decision possible and once the report was published, as they stated, they had the information necessary to make the final decision. Period. Of course they understand their position as CP Couple. If they didn't then they would be criticized for that too! Like I said, they just cannot win for some and maybe it comes down to simple projection of people's opinions onto them. But it is easy to judge people's actions when they don't affect YOU and they don't involve YOU or YOUR kids.

So what I understand from all the comments is that Mary/Frederik were awful for sending Christian to the school AND they were awful if they kept him IN the school AND they are NOW awful for taking him OUT of the school!! Which is it? Please pick a lane here! At this point, I would not be shocked to see Mary and Frederik blamed for the entire historical issues at the school!

 

[Prinsara]

What about blaming Mary and Frederik for sending him to a school like Herlufsholm at all? And still planning to send Isabella after news of the violence, toxicity, and egregiousness broke?

And only pulling the both of them after it was fairly clear keeping the kids there would not only cause a public scandal but damage their own reputations? How about that lane?

In all likelihood they have done the right thing by taking the kids out. It does not mean they've done the right thing up to this point.

 

[Erin9]

Herlufsholm Boarding & Day School - Incidents and Reactions of the Royal Family

This sounds like a hideous, pervasively toxic school for any kid to attend.

 

[Prinsara]

I do believe/hope Mary and Frederik are not motivated so much by their own reputations but I do believe they've likely been overly indulgent parents up to this point. In emphasizing that Christian was so happy and Isabella wanted to attend, they put out the message that accommodating their own children's comfort and desires were more important than taking a stand for the less-fortunate students (which they have still not done) or even rewarding a school without the terrible entrenched culture (which will now happen anyway).

It's not easy to make decisions when it comes to your kids, but when it comes to this kind of a publicly-accountable life, someone needed to be a little sharper.

Perhaps the Mary Foundation will now be able to work jointly with Herlufsholm on improvements. There is certainly a lot of ground to cover.

Or, we just be cynical and think M&F only put out the fire when it was getting too hot for them. I really don't know.

 

[Mbruno]

I do believe/hope Mary and Frederik are not motivated so much by their own reputations but I do believe they've likely been overly indulgent parents up to this point. In emphasizing that Christian was so happy and Isabella wanted to attend, they put out the message that accommodating their own children's comfort and desires were more important than taking a stand for the less-fortunate students (which they have still not done) or even rewarding a school without the terrible entrenched culture (which will now happen anyway).

It's not easy to make decisions when it comes to your kids, but when it comes to this kind of a publicly-accountable life, someone needed to be a little sharper.

Perhaps the Mary Foundation will now be able to work jointly with Herlufsholm on improvements. There is certainly a lot of ground to cover.

Or, we just be cynical and think M&F only put out the fire when it was getting too hot for them. I really don't know.

Pulling Christian from the school definitely has a negative impact on Herlufsholm's reputation as the school was effectively deemed unsuitable for the education of the future King. However, on the other hand, I wonder, now that Christian is out and Isabella will not attend the school either, if that will actually take some of the heat off Herlufsholm. The school's problems obviously predate Christian's enrollment and some of the allegations are not new, or not even recent, but I still suspect that, if Christian had not been a student there, thus attracting the interest of the press to "dig up dirt" so to speak, many of the incidents that surfaced would have remained buried or would have been just ignored.

I don't know, but I am just being cynical.

 

[kalnel]

Two different issues are getting confused in this conversation: What's right for Christian and Isabella as individuals, and what's right for the royal house's PR.

We have no idea what's right for those kids and saying that they'll be happy or sad about the decision is pure speculation. These teenagers deserve their privacy to every extent possible. (I wouldn't be surprised to see Christian attend a school outside of Denmark next year to take some of the pressure off.)

As for what's right from a public relations perspective, F&M have taken a cautious and conservative approach and waited for the official report about the allegations and the school's response before jumping to decisions. Wise choice.

As far as Mary's anti-bullying campaign, it's an awkward situation, and it demonstrates why it's risky for royals to get involved in even feel-good causes. Every school her children attend going forward will be under the microscope.

 

[Muhler]

A new chairman of the board at Herlufsholm has been appointed
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/...-hoejesteretsdommer-er-ny-herlufsholmformand/

It's a former chief justice, i.e. presiding at the Supreme Court.

So the legislation should be guaranteed not to be breached while he is in charge.
And no serious things like sexual assaults, violence even theft should be left unreported to the police - otherwise his reputation is down the drain.

- Glancing over the many posts I think it's important to keep in mind that M&F are indeed the CP-couple but they are also parents. So there is a lot of personal feelings involved in this.

M&F as I see it, were naive and believed in what friends told them about Herlufsholm (Which was no doubt true, for the children of these friends) - omitting to doing some serious background checks themselves (like through the Ministry of Education.) They have learned an unpleasant lesson.

 

[Prinsara]

A new chairman of the board at Herlufsholm has been appointed
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/...-hoejesteretsdommer-er-ny-herlufsholmformand/

It's a former chief justice, i.e. presiding at the Supreme Court.

So the legislation should be guaranteed not to be breached while he is in charge.
And no serious things like sexual assaults, violence even theft should be left unreported to the police - otherwise his reputation is down the drain.

- Glancing over the many posts I think it's important to keep in mind that M&F are indeed the CP-couple but they are also parents. So there is a lot of personal feelings involved in this.

M&F as I see it, were naive and believed in what friends told them about Herlufsholm (Which was no doubt true, for the children of these friends) - omitting to doing some serious background checks themselves (like through the Ministry of Education.) They have learned an unpleasant lesson.

Muhler, how naive could they be when they said they would still send Isabella just weeks ago? Unless they do some serious groveling, I think they probably deserve whatever consequences arise from this, at least for a while.

 

[lucien]

This sounds like a hideous, pervasively toxic school for any kid to attend.

My thoughts exactly!!

 

[Muhler]

Muhler, how naive could they be when they said they would still send Isabella just weeks ago? Unless they do some serious groveling, I think they probably deserve whatever consequences arise from this, at least for a while.

Because they believed in the reassurances of the then board that things were changing and being taken care of?
And because they wanted to give the board a chance of actually making some radical changes?

 

[Izzie]

A new chairman of the board at Herlufsholm has been appointed
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/...-hoejesteretsdommer-er-ny-herlufsholmformand/

It's a former chief justice, i.e. presiding at the Supreme Court.

So the legislation should be guaranteed not to be breached while he is in charge.
And no serious things like sexual assaults, violence even theft should be left unreported to the police - otherwise his reputation is down the drain.

- Glancing over the many posts I think it's important to keep in mind that M&F are indeed the CP-couple but they are also parents. So there is a lot of personal feelings involved in this.

M&F as I see it, were naive and believed in what friends told them about Herlufsholm (Which was no doubt true, for the children of these friends) - omitting to doing some serious background checks themselves (like through the Ministry of Education.) They have learned an unpleasant lesson.

IMO I do think they've learned a lesson with this situation. Unless that is just my naivety showing.

Do I think that they fumbled the football at the start...Yes. And that fumble should be a wake-up call for them to seriously evaluate their communications strategy and PR protocol and maybe engage someone to their employ that is capable of handling these types of issues in a 21st century manner.

I think, as parents, they wanted to make their kids happy. No fault in that. They thought as parents first and CP Couple second. A totally human thing to do. Lest anyone forgets that Mary and Frederik and their children are actual human beings (flaws and all).

I just don't understand all the piling on Mary and Frederik right now! None of us know all the details of what they were facing or dealing with. And NO, I don't think they need to go on some Mea Culpa tour or grovel in front of anyone!! And what punishment are they supposed to receive? A public flogging in Amalienborg square? A public talking to in front of Parliament"? Should they be stripped of patronages? Should Mary disband The Mary Foundation? It is like everyone wants their pound of flesh now!

I swear comments sometimes make it sound like they literally slaughtered puppies and kicked old ladies into the harbor!! Sorry if that sounds extreme..but geez, you'd think they'd committed murder!!

From the start they called out what was happening. More than once they said that they basically were waiting to make the most informed decision possible. It is obvious now that they were waiting to for this official report to be released. As their statement said, they now had the information needed and the kids would not be going to the school. Period.

And no, they didn't bow to public pressure or some "woke" voices. I don't think this was reactive at all tbh. They've been in the spotlight of this for months and they didn't yank the kids willy nilly. THAT would have been reactive. At least in my naive opinion.

 

[Somebody]

(...)
And I apologize if I am being overcritical of the male gender, but put a bunch of boys together in an environment where they get to make their own rules and build their own social hierarchy, and, yes, you will get Lord of the Flies (or a lighter version thereof). We see it in several young male initiation rites as far back as ancient history.

I'd say the above is a big part of the problem. It were indeed the boys together making their own rules and building their own hierarchy (with some influence from whose parents were best connected) instead of the school making sure it was a safe and healthy environment for all.

In addition, those responsible for the boarding part of the experience keep complaining (according to the report) that they cannot be expected to take care of each student under their care in the way it was requested by the inspection... So, they were NOT open to change at all.

I guess you just cannot please everyone can you. First it was the child must be pulled! He cannot stay there! An abomination!! The CP Couple will be the worst parents evah!!! We as strangers on the internet DEMAND that he is pulled from the school!!

And NOW that he is being pulled from the school (and Isabella will not be attending at all) after the report that was issued over the weekend....all of sudden, the CPC's decision is all about hidden motives and Mary being some self-entitled twit, or some "woke" agenda (is that throwing shade as us Americans btw?) or pressure from the media, etc. They are obviously NOW ruining Christian for removing him from a school with how some put it a systemic history of bullying, violence against girls, etc. Now it is blame Mary, blame Frederik...the kids were forced...they are unhappy...They will resent their parents! At some point it was even Christian's fault for some reason. IF Mary/Frederik had bowed to outside pressure, they would have yanked Christian long before this. I think it was the opposite actually. They made the decision on THEIR own terms as a FAMILY. They always stated that they would make the most informed decision possible and once the report was published, as they stated, they had the information necessary to make the final decision. Period. Of course they understand their position as CP Couple. If they didn't then they would be criticized for that too! Like I said, they just cannot win for some and maybe it comes down to simple projection of people's opinions onto them. But it is easy to judge people's actions when they don't affect YOU and they don't involve YOU or YOUR kids.

So what I understand from all the comments is that Mary/Frederik were awful for sending Christian to the school AND they were awful if they kept him IN the school AND they are NOW awful for taking him OUT of the school!! Which is it? Please pick a lane here! At this point, I would not be shocked to see Mary and Frederik blamed for the entire historical issues at the school!

People have different opinions; that's one of the beautiful aspects of a forum such as this one. As far as I can see those that were critical of them leaving Christian in such an environment are glad they (finally) made a different decision; and those that were happy with him staying now express the view that they shouldn't have pulled him out. And some might have been fine previously but now more information is available understand why they've made this decision. I don't see a discrepancy in different people having different opinions. I would be concerned if they didn't.

Two different issues are getting confused in this conversation: What's right for Christian and Isabella as individuals, and what's right for the royal house's PR.

We have no idea what's right for those kids and saying that they'll be happy or sad about the decision is pure speculation. These teenagers deserve their privacy to every extent possible. (I wouldn't be surprised to see Christian attend a school outside of Denmark next year to take some of the pressure off.)

While we don't know what Christian and Isabella think now, we do know that they wanted to continue going to or starting at Herlufsholm after the documentary that showed very problematic things happening had been aired. So, the fact that these things were happening did not deter them (and Christian most likely has at least seen some of it - it is impossible to keep these traditions that are considered part of the school culture hidden). So, it us unlikely that they suddenly changed their mind based on this report.

Muhler, how naive could they be when they said they would still send Isabella just weeks ago? Unless they do some serious groveling, I think they probably deserve whatever consequences arise from this, at least for a while.

Because they believed in the reassurances of the then board that things were changing and being taken care of?
And because they wanted to give the board a chance of actually making some radical changes?

I can see how they might have taken that route with Christian who was already at the school (so giving them some time to fix it instead of uprooting him makes some sense) but to have your daughter switch schools in her final year (so uprooting her!) to attend a school that has serious issues and has mostly paid lip service to making changes is quite a gamble. Much better to wait until those necessary changes have been made...

 

[Muhler]

IMO I do think they've learned a lesson with this situation. Unless that is just my naivety showing.

Do I think that they fumbled the football at the start...Yes. And that fumble should be a wake-up call for them to seriously evaluate their communications strategy and PR protocol and maybe engage someone to the employ that is capable of handling these types of issues in a 21st century manner.

I think, as parents, they wanted to make their kids happy. No fault in that. They thought as parents first and CP Couple second. A totally human thing to do. Lest anyone forgets that Mary and Frederik and their children are actual human beings (flaws and all).

I just don't understand all the piling on Mary and Frederik right now! None of us know all the details of what they were facing or dealing with. And NO, I don't think they need to go on some Mea Culpa tour or grovel in front of anyone!! And what punishment are they supposed to receive? A public flogging in Amalienborg square? A public talking to in front of Parliament"? Should they be stripped of patronages? Should Mary disband The Mary Foundation? It is like everyone wants their pound of flesh now!

I swear comments sometimes make it sound like they literally slaughtered puppies and kicked old ladies into the harbor!! Sorry if that sounds extreme..but geez, you'd think they'd committed murder!!

From the start they called out what was happening. More than once they said that they basically were waiting to make the most informed decision possible. It is obvious now that they were waiting to for this official report to be released. As their statement said, they now had the information needed and the kids would not be going to the school. Period.

And no, they didn't bow to public pressure or some "woke" voices. I don't think this was reactive at all tbh. They've been in the spotlight of this for months and they didn't yank the kids willy nilly. THAT would have been reactive. At least in my naive opinion.

That pretty much sums it up IMO.

 

[Prinsara]

And I apologize if I am being overcritical of the male gender, but put a bunch of boys together in an environment where they get to make their own rules and build their own social hierarchy, and, yes, you will get Lord of the Flies (or a lighter version thereof). We see it in several young male initiation rites as far back as ancient history.

It's hardly "male gender" alone. The Duchess of Cambridge suffered very serious bullying (essentially, assault) at her all-girls' boarding school that led to a move to Marlborough.

IMO I do think they've learned a lesson with this situation. Unless that is just my naivety showing.

Do I think that they fumbled the football at the start...Yes. And that fumble should be a wake-up call for them to seriously evaluate their communications strategy and PR protocol and maybe engage someone to the employ that is capable of handling these types of issues in a 21st century manner.

I think, as parents, they wanted to make their kids happy. No fault in that. They thought as parents first and CP Couple second. A totally human thing to do. Lest anyone forgets that Mary and Frederik and their children are actual human beings (flaws and all).

I just don't understand all the piling on Mary and Frederik right now! None of us know all the details of what they were facing or dealing with. And NO, I don't think they need to go on some Mea Culpa tour or grovel in front of anyone!! And what punishment are they supposed to receive? A public flogging in Amalienborg square? A public talking to in front of Parliament"? Should they be stripped of patronages? Should Mary disband The Mary Foundation? It is like everyone wants their pound of flesh now!

I swear comments sometimes make it sound like they literally slaughtered puppies and kicked old ladies into the harbor!! Sorry if that sounds extreme..but geez, you'd think they'd committed murder!!

From the start they called out what was happening. More than once they said that they basically were waiting to make the most informed decision possible. It is obvious now that they were waiting to for this official report to be released. As their statement said, they now had the information needed and the kids would not be going to the school. Period.

And no, they didn't bow to public pressure or some "woke" voices. I don't think this was reactive at all tbh. They've been in the spotlight of this for months and they didn't yank the kids willy nilly. THAT would have been reactive. At least in my naive opinion.

At, seemingly, the whims of their teenagers, they left Christian in a place and enthusiastically promised to enroll Isabella where crimes were being committed against other students.

And only took them out once the overwhelming nature of it all became public fodder — because I am guessing they themselves had some idea. Or at least access to this report or its contents slightly before.

It's not only not a good look, it's about a bit more than just bad PR. (Although I am told egalitarian Denmark is not thrilled atm.)

If your job is literally to respond to national tragedies? Figuring out how to respond to this one not-through-issued-statement would seem to be in pretty short order. (And no, pulling the kids is not enough. That would have been enough before, maybe. Now they ought to do more.)