Well, the editorials this morning are very harsh! Even the first political comment is very hard.
Eksperter: Prins Henrik straffer Dronningen og tager den ultimative hævn - TV 2
The serious royal reporter from the conservative newspaper Berlingske, Thomas Larsen, says under the headline: Prince Henrik's fatal letdown of the Queen:
"With his demonstrative and selfish decision about not wanting to be buried next to his wife (formal), Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik is creating an unworthy end to his marriage and work for the DRF".
The serious and mainly republican newspaper Politiken believe PH is punishing QMII for not becoming king in Denmark. "That's why his annoyance reach into death, and he plays the trumph and in that punish and discredit both the Queen and the royal family".
Royal corespondent from DR1, Anette Kokholm, says: "I think people must understand it like that the dissatisfaction which Prince Henrik has expressed for a lot of years has not gone away and that it is so overwhelming that he presents the ultimate revenge".
The businessman, Asger Aamund, who is often heard in any debate, says: "It's not a good idea he has had. He has known all along what he went into.
So you can't come in in the middle of the whole thing and want to be king. It's sad for the Queen that he out with this primitive rebellion. She didn't deserve that".
The self-declared ultra royalist, Jim Lyngvild, who is also not afraid of speaking his mind when a member of the DRF goofs, says: "It might be that the man is suffering from mild dementia or going nuts. But I will not stand for this. That you first say: that I will not celebrate my golden anniversary with the women who has been by my side for a whole life, and that you will not be buried with her. Then get a divorce. Leave her. Renounce your apanage, you old a**hole".
The long-time royal reporter, Lally Hoffmann, believe it's nonsense that PH is not acknowledged within the DRF: "The Queen has carried him forward and done everything in order for him to be treated as her equal. That he isn't equal is only in his own head".
A leading spokesman for the Conservative party, Naser Khader, says: "It's silly and childish. He's unfair in the way he is treating the Queen. (Actually the expression is even more rebuking towards PH, but this is the best translation I can come up with). It might be that there is a discrimination in him not being made king, but that is an unreasonable reasoning for not wanting to be buried with her".
Det skriver aviserne om prins Henriks beslutning: Han sætter sig selv over pligten - TV 2
Berlingske's editorial (by Thomas Larsen) says: "With his wish about not being buried next to Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik has both formally as well as privately damaged the DRF as well as his own reputation.
It's an unecessary and way too demonstrative decision Prince Henrik has made. It must fill every supporter of the Danish monarchy with tristesse (sadness).
The decision is not only a personal low, the 83 year old Henrik also risk losing all the sympathy and respect he has build up over his many years in Denmark.
His decision is also a totally unreasonable treatment of the Queen. It puts the Monarch of the realm in a pretty impossible situation. She doesn't deserve that".
On top of that it can damage the reputation of the monarchy. The high approval of the monarchy among people is very much due to the members of the DRF are aware that with the privileges follow duty.
"With his inconsiderate/ill-considered decision Prince Henrik, in the eyes of many Danes, no doubt puts his own person above duty. That's not good".
Ekstra Bladet (trashy tabloid, but read by many) believe "Prince Henrik makes the DRF a laughing stock abroad where no one has an understanding for his impossible expectation for a king-title".
BT, another tabloid, label PH's decision as "spoiled and wrong" - "Spoiled, because Prince Henrik has always known what the job as Prince in Denmark entailed - to follow his Queen for better or worse.
And wrong, because he in this way puts his own person above the position as Prince of Denmark and disregard the historical tradition he has signed up to".
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Especially Thomas Larsen from Berlingske is harsh! I cannot recall him ever being this hard before!
Okay, let's put this into perspective: While this will be immensely damaging to PH, probably fatally damaging, it will not harm the monarchy as a whole.
It's after all not a case of PH being caught pants down committing adultery, being involved in corruption or having killed someone by running them over by a car.
PH
will have his place in history! Not as a man who remained faithful to his wife. Not as a man, who despite considerable problems, did his duty and eventually endeared himself to the Danes. Not as a devoted grandfather. Not as a fun-loving, funny and eccentric dresser with a great sense of humor. - No, he will be remembered as a petty man who snubbed his wife of 50 years, who in a fit of pique, snubbed the monarchy.
That's what is going to be remembered when people stand at the tomb in Roskilde Cathedral in a couple of generations from now.
It will also cast a shadow over QMII's reign, because historians and royalists are going to focus quite a lot on this, rather than what she accomplished; raising the Danish monarchy from a not that popular and deeply conservative and old-fashioned institution, to being immensely respected and having a very high approval rating indeed.
This is also hurtful for the other members of the DRF. They are going to see an entire country basically turning its back on a beloved father, and by all accounts a loving father-in-law as well. And they can't do anything about it. If they go out and support PH, it will be seen as them going against QMII, their mother, against tradition.
Apart from angering the Danes by his behavior, he is hurting his own family. He is in particular hurting his wife, that I think is the worst part in the eyes of the public.
He has known from day one, that he was destined to be interred at Roskilde and quite a lot on money has been put into the preparations. If he had other wishes, he had ample opportunity to say so. And people might understand, if he wished to be buried in France with his family. A break with tradition perhaps, but nothing worse than that. But this? Now?
We have discussed PH's psychology at length in the retirement thread, and I won't pretend that I know how he thinks, (because I don't!) I can only offer my theory. And that is that PH is indeed very spoiled, and very egocentric with a very megalomaniac streak.
He sees himself as the patriarch of the DRF and he simply cannot understand why everybody else don't see him that way. He cannot understand why he, the patriarch of the DRF, is not as a matter of course, involved in the constitutional matters of the head of state. I think he sees himself as a kind of Prince Albert, who in many ways ruled on behalf of Queen Victoria - and that's how it should be.
If he married a president of a republic, he would insist on not only being involved in the political affairs, but also be publicly acknowledged as being equal to the president.
That in my opinion is megalomania, which since he is obviously brooding more and more over that, takes up ever increasing proportions in his mind and world-view. Now to the extent that he is going completely irrational. Also to the point that he completely disregards the feelings of those nearest and dearest to him. - And he cannot see it.
Without suffering from dementia or insanity he is going juvenile. He acts like the spoiled child, without considering the longterm consequences.
With a child you can at least grab hold of them and rein them in. But an irrational adult? What are they going to do? Put him under palace-arrest? Exile him?
Now, each time he doesn't get his way, and at the end he will really only settle for being
the monarch, he will find a way to retaliate. Even to the point where it's completely irrational!
We are witnessing a meltdown!
And unless PH is eventually declared of being not of sound mind (and that's very difficult!) he may come up with more crazy stuff.
And that's why I believe there is a genuine possibility that QMII may decide to abdicate. Because then it's no longer the Monarch's husband who is going nuts.
There may come a point where PH's behavior detracts so much from QMII, that it dominates the agenda. Because it will not end here.
Once PH finds out that this act did not help. That people still refuse to grant him his rightful title as king and refuse to acknowledge what a great man he is, he will come up with something else. If for no other reason than to take a childish revenge on those who have slighted him: QMI, the court, Denmark and the Danes. Then it may be better for her to bow out, rather than have this be what people will remember her for. That's the highest sacrifice on the alter of duty, she can possibly do and QMII has a very high sense of duty. She will not remain sitting on the throne if she feels it is better if she didn't.