Monday 26 November 2007

1015-K: Letting the daylight in

1015-K is the postal code of the royal palace in Copenhagen. It is also the title of a recently launched controversial book on the Danish royal family by former royalty reporter Trine Villemann. It is controversial, because it takes a �reality check� on the popular royals, who - for the same reason - have been spared from scrutiny by a complacent media corps with a few republican exceptions. Generally speaking the Danes are proud of their royal family and any public criticism is almost regarded as treason!

In recent years however cracks have begun to materialise in the fabric of the Danish royal family. After the death of the respected (dowager) Queen Ingrid in 2000, the family lost the glue which held the firm together. There is the perpetual hesitant heir apparent Crown Prince Frederik. There was Prince Henrik�s �strike� back in 2002 with the ensuing damage control. There was Princess Benedikte�s na�ve attempt to conceal the real reason for the postponement and eventual cancellation of her son, Prince Gustav�s wedding to Elvire de Rochefort (not mentioned in the book) and last but not least, there was the divorce of Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra.

While not a brilliant opus, �1015-K� is not as bad as its reputation. Villemann�s use of anonymous sources is questionable, which she frankly admits in the foreword! However there is no doubt that it was the only way she could go about her book. Apparently she picked up gossip and rumours about the royal family and attributed them to a number of unnamed sources. She then corroborated them with available facts in interviews, biographies and her own observations. �1015-K� may offer few genuine revelations; much of it�s contents is made up of widely known �open secrets� and rehashed news! However I am willing to give Ms.Villemann the benefit of the doubt knowing, that there is never smoke without fire! In a country with 5.4 million inhabitants it is almost impossible not to come across someone, who has been in contact with the royals one way or another. The real sensation of �1015-K� is that the inevitable gossip and rumours about our royal family been have been published, and despite the devastating reviews, the book has topped the charts for the past weeks!

Ms. Villemann's objective is to explain why the Danish Royal Family has hit the doldrums. Why they are hesitant to adapt to a modern, pluralistic society. She thinks �that the Danes deserve a better monarchy�. Ms. Villemann takes a scrutinizing look at the individual members of the family and insists that we (the Danes) should know more of the private individuals behind the public personas and what shaped them into what they are.

Taking stock of the monarchy

Villemann concedes that Queen Margrethe has been an excellent monarch. Now that she is getting on in years and visibly ailing, it is time to take stock of the monarchy and look to the future. It is time to get Crown Prince Frederik into action for the simple reason, that the �waiting vacuum� is obviously frustrating the almost 40-year old heir apparent.

It is an open secret that the intellectual and artistic Queen did not inherit her mother�s social skills. Tales of her discomfort are legion and it shows especially when a royal duty somehow departs from the script. According to Villemann the Queen prefers the company of the nobility and the �old families�. Contrary to her husband, she is uncomfortable in the presence of the nouveau riches, many of whom are buying their way into the royal echelons.

It is old news that the Queen was an absent mother, which especially affected the sensitive Crown Prince Frederik. (In fact she admitted to her maternal shortcomings in a recent interview - Viv). It is old news that the French-born Prince Consort was a disciplinarian father.

The story of Frederik�s childhood and upbringing is eerily familiar to watchers of the British Royal family, and the word "dysfunctional" also creeps up in Villemann�s pen.

Less known perhaps is, that CP Frederik often bonded with his teachers and the parents of his girl friends for the want of "parental guidance". Contrary to his British counterpart, Frederik did not go organic, but took the action-man course to prove himself.

On marrying foreigners

As for the younger generation Ms. Villemann wonders why the royal family rigidly stick to the "marry foreigners" principle, when there were beautiful, accomplished and loyal Danish girlfriends at hand. The Queen�s argument, that a foreigner leaves "the past" behind in her old country does not hold water in an Internet- age, and as Villemann observes correctly, both sets of in-laws have been living in Denmark for a number of years!

The author claims that CP Frederik proposed to Katja Storkholm, whom he dated from 1994 to 1996, however the Queen put her foot down. Whether true or not, there is no doubt that the relationship was serious. His younger brother Prince Joachim was in a long-term relationship with Iben Detlefs. The Danes were genuinely surprised to see her at Prince Joachim�s side at the regal couple�s silver wedding celebrations in 1992. However before they could speculate on an engagement, Prince Joachim was shipped off to Hong Kong for an internship with Danish Maersk Line. As it turned out, fate had something in store for Joachim in the then British Crown Colony.

Villemann�s comments on Crown Princess Mary made news in her native Australia, however they were quoted out of context. The author is not worried about the human qualities of the crown princess; she believes that Mary eventually will make an excellent queen consort once she stops "trying too hard". Nor is she questioning the affections of the couple.

Villemann�s reservations are based on the observation that the transition from a carefree Australian commoner to a high-profile royal was difficult. Not only did Mary Donaldson have to familiarize herself with a new country and new in-laws, she also had to learn the do�s, don�t and antics of a royal family. Frederik�s romantic past seems to be a sore spot. There is the story about Mary bursting into tears at a private birthday-bash in Paris because Crown Prince Frederik had a dance with Bettina �dum, an old flame, who was due to marry a few months later anyway (in fact, reports of this incident circulated in Denmark soon after - Viv) . The Danes know that princes Frederik and Joachim remain friendly with most of their former girlfriends without actually camping on their door-steps. The Paris-incident makes Villemann question the wisdom in importing a middle-class foreigner, who is completely unfamiliar with the royal way of life, including their not so middle-class outlook on marriage!

Then again another import, Alexandra Manley took to royal life like a duck to water. Prince Joachim as well as the royal court were quick to deem the confident and ambitious Hong Kong born stockbroker princess material. In hindsight they also had to admit that things went too fast! The couple had nothing in common and the marriage was disastrous from the onset. Princess Alexandra soon found herself bored at the rural Schackenborg estate, a far cry from the busy Asian metropolis (reports of marital trouble surfaced as early as 1998 - Viv). According to Villemann, Prince Joachim was prepared to keep the marriage together, while Alexandra was not. At the bottom line she was just another princess, who refused to comply with the royal rules. Allegedly Alexandra threatened to blow the whistle on a "secret", however the author leaves the reader in suspension. If the "secret" is what I picked up somewhere else, it was nothing more than the result of a marital row.

The royal spin-doctor

The most interesting chapter is on the late Queen Ingrid�s involvement in the 1953 change of the succession law. Rumours about the influence of the intelligent and politically savvy queen consort were quick to emerge at the time, and they have been vehemently denied ever since. A former named aide to the then prime minister was willing to confirm to Villemann what many suspected. Considering that relations to the sidelined Prince Knud-branch of the family was seriously damaged in the aftermath, there is every reason to believe reports of "King" Ingrid�s manoeuvres, which no doubt saved the Danish monarchy in the long run.

Pros and cons

Villemann�s royal heroes are the dutiful and quick-witted Prince Joachim, the loyal and attentive Prince Consort (minus his antiquated outlook on child-raising!) and to some extend Crown Prince Frederik, who is described as charming and very empathetic in one-to-one situations. His main problem is that he needs something to do and advisors to boost his self-confidence.

Villemann would also like to see a slimmed down monarchy. I fail to understand her idea of reducing the line of succession, and I object to her suggestion of turning Fredensborg, the Danish equivalent of Windsor Palace, into a museum. I agree however, that at least one of the other two state-owned royal palaces could serve other purposes.

Trine Villemann claims to be a royalist. If so she fails to understand that the mystery surrounding the royals is a part of the package! If she is indeed a royalist, she could eventually find herself the useful idiot of the publisher of �1015-K�, the republican tabloid Ekstra-Bladet!

She wants to save the Danish monarchy for future generations and she wants a royal family in tune with a modern and diverse society. If so, I happen to agree with some of Villemann�s points. Living in a relatively small country, where the royal family has almost pseudo-religious standing, mostly unchallenged by the media and the public, a certain royalty-fatigue is likely to set in! As a royalist, albeit of the critical sort, I would also like to see our royal family embracing tradition as well as renewal.

Walter Bagehot famously said that you should never let the daylight in on the royalty. Villemann ignored his advice, but thankfully she only took the blinds half-way up!

Whether �1015-K� leaves any constructive impact remains to be seen!

- Viv Rosendahl