Crown Princess Mary (Denmark)

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Alexandra[/color] is continuing with royal duties. She has been on several international trips lately representing Denmark and she is continuing her patronage of charities.

Regarding the divorce, I think that it was in the works for quite some time but there was a delay announcing a separation in order to avoid "tarnishing" the atmosphere around Frederik and Mary's engagement and subsequent marriage. The house Alexandra now lives in and which is part of her divorce settlement was bought in December 2003 before Frederik and Mary's May, 2004 wedding, but the divorce wasn't announced until September 2004 (while F&M were out of Denmark). Also, during this time they didn't appear together alot (which caused lots of talk) and there were official portraits taken which didn't include the other. My point is that in late 2003 they were far enough along in the divorce talks to buy alternate housing for Alexandra but the divorce wasn't publicly announced for months later because of someone else's (F&M's) circumstances and convenience. From what I can see, I can't really blame her for moving on to someone else--if she in fact did.

Personally, I respect both Alexandra and Joachim because of the way they have conducted themselves regarding the divorce and I doubt either of them is behind any of the gossip. I think (and hope)they are both mature enough and have enough love for their children to forego the character assassination route. And as far as I know it really wasn't a question of Alexandra letting Joachim take the blame, they both are not talking about the reasons for the divorce--period.

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Mary's baby boy at last received a name: Christian Valdemar Henri John.

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It was really nice watching this on TV yesterday. Sometimes it's great that German TV is so crazy about other countries Royals, they show every European Royal wedding, funeral and stuff like this. Mette-Marit and Haakon were adorable and Princess Victoria was so cute sitting behind Mary and Frederik, trying to get the baby's attention. I didn't like Mary's outfit at all but she and Frederik are lovely and their baby is cute. So are by the way Prince Joachim's sons. One is all black haired, the other one's dark blonde like his father.

[Yossarian]

This story, from the Sydney Morning Herald is so cute:

Prince Grabby is the nickname being given to the little Danish prince by the local press after his determination to be breast fed by Crown Princess Mary during his christening.

Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John is the official name of the heir to the throne of Europe's oldest monarchy.

But Prince Pilfinger - most directly translated as Prince Grabby - was the name awarded by the media as he repeatedly reached for the cutting of Mary's jacket, eager for sustenance.

The local tabloid Ekstra Bladet headlined its story "Christian wanted to be fed at the church, but Mary gave him the finger", congratulating the Australian-raised princess for distracting his urgings by letting him suck on the tips of her fingers.

Such eagerness to be fed explains why the baby has gone from a birth weight of 3.5kg three months ago to almost double that now.

"Christian weighs twice as much as when he was born three months ago, he is actually quite heavy now," Princess Mary said after the christening.

"We call him Lillemand (Little Man) and yes, certainly he is easy in the night and sleeps well."

Both Mary and Crown Prince Frederik had tears in their eyes during the ceremony.

"It was a beautiful christening, that we will look back on with joy and pride," Prince Frederik said.

Mary's father John Donaldson attended with his wife Susan Moody and Mary's sisters Jane Stephens - one of eight godparents - and Patricia Bailey.

After the christening and reception, family and friends had a party back at Mary and Frederik's home of Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen.

It is a running joke in Danish society that everyone has to tolerate servings of Prince Consort's Henrik's French-made wine at such royal occasions, but that was reportedly skipped this time.

Instead, Mary served up Tasmanian wine to wash down Tasmanian lobster, fois gras, venison and finished with cake in a champagne butter-cream, with guests then watching a fireworks display through the below-freezing Danish skies.

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Princess Mary was at a funeral for some Danish/Russian czar (Russia's last female czar or something -- I don't know. Her casket was being transferred from Denmark to St Petersburg). Anyway, she had to leave in the middle of it, and they showed a few clips of her looking like she was about to throw up. My guess is morning sickness.
The other possibility, by the looks of Mary, is extreme hunger. Pregnancy or hunger regardless, someone feed the poor girl.

[nuharoo]

beatle2102 said:

Princess Mary was at a funeral for some Danish/Russian czar (Russia's last female czar or something -- I don't know. Her casket was being transferred from Denmark to St Petersburg). Anyway, she had to leave in the middle of it, and they showed a few clips of her looking like she was about to throw up. My guess is morning sickness.
The other possibility, by the looks of Mary, is extreme hunger. Pregnancy or hunger regardless, someone feed the poor girl.

Princess Dagmar of Denmark became Marie Feodorovna and ultimately was the Empress of Russia, Tsarina, and wasn't a ruler in her own right, she was a consort. She was originally intended for Alexander III's older brother, but he died and as a result Marie was passed down to Alexander. She was one of the only members of the Imperial family to survive. By which I mean someone who was directly related to the Romanov Czar.

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beatle2102 said:

Princess Mary was at a funeral for some Danish/Russian czar (Russia's last female czar or something -- I don't know. Her casket was being transferred from Denmark to St Petersburg). Anyway, she had to leave in the middle of it, and they showed a few clips of her looking like she was about to throw up. My guess is morning sickness.
The other possibility, by the looks of Mary, is extreme hunger. Pregnancy or hunger regardless, someone feed the poor girl.

This is the Crown Princess that has taken weightloss to the extreme. Letizia is naturally thin and Mette Marit and Maxima are not obesessed with their weight. Mary looks downright unhealthy especially at the 60th birthday celebrations of the King of Sweden. She looked pale and gaunt in pictures. Obviously she thinks the thinner the better and that is what makes her interesting to the press. She seems to be a slave to her appearance.

[Yossarian]

While I don't doubt that Mary has a definite issue with dieting I just have to chime in to say that I have also almost passed out at a Russian Orthodox funeral. They have so much incense and candles going on that it gets really hot and really stinky - and you have to stand for ages. My grandmother's Russian Orthodox funeral was the only time in my life that I have felt like fainting and I actually had to leave to go and get fresh air. So, maybe there's a simple explanation for Mary's pallor and demeanour. That said, I hope she's pregnant!

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barrie said:

Obviously she thinks the thinner the better and that is what makes her interesting to the press.

And she's right. The only interesting thing about her is the fact that she's disturbingly thin (with the exception of her upper arms). Other than that? Blander than white bread.

Nuharoo -- thanks for the info. Slightly O/T, but is there any difference between a czar and a tsar? I always assumed it was a country thing (like Rome is Rom and Moscow is Moskau in Germany, etc), but is there actually a difference? Like, you can be one but not the other?

[Daisy Pusher]

beatle2102 said:

Slightly O/T, but is there any difference between a czar and a tsar? I always assumed it was a country thing (like Rome is Rom and Moscow is Moskau in Germany, etc), but is there actually a difference? Like, you can be one but not the other?

No difference except for spelling variations. A tsar is a czar (the more Westernized spelling) is a tzar. "Tsar" was a particularly Russian position, and the only other country that ever had a tsar was Bulgaria, which blatantly ripped it off.