General News about the Swedish Royal Family, Part 2: January 2021 -

[Saragli]

Is speaking so forthrightly a Swedish trait?

To be fair to him, he's not saying anything that hasn't been a part of their public images since birth. Victoria - intelligent, dutiful, and delightful. CP - handsome, friendly, not academically gifted. Mads - a swedish princess Margaret, gorgeous, cheeky, if a bit haughty.

 

[Muhler]

Because Madeleine (and Victoria?) told him her opinion about Lindqvist?
Because Victoria, being more dutiful and realizing she needed this lecture, grit her teeth and endured the lectures?
Or alternatively Victoria and Lindqvist actually clicked? - Or the good Lindqvist sucked up to Victoria?

- Having said that, I'm not sure Victoria is that impressed with Lindqvist today. Would you be, if your former private teacher said that about your siblings?

So what's the truth in regards to Lindqvist and Madeleine and CP?
A) Madeleine was bored stiff and didn't hide it? With CP not even bothering to show up. (Perhaps after having talked about Lindqvist with his sisters.)
B) Madeleine didn't like Lindqvist and that was pretty mutual.
C) Madeleine and CP were spoiled entitled brats who didn't appreciate Lindqvist.
D) Lindqvist was trying to grease them and being a royal who is used to fake people, Madeleine (and Victoria?) saw right through him and cut him off.
E) Lindqvist is/was not nearly as good a teacher as he himself think he is. Or he didn't manage to peak the interest of Madeleine, which is to a large extent the same thing.
F) Lindqvist has a pretty inflated opinion about himself and his ability to judge people around him. But he lacks pli, to use a Danish word = akin to decorum. Otherwise he wouldn't talk about even former pupils like that.

- My personal take is a mix of B, C and F.

 

[Prinsara]

There's also the age gap between Madeleine and Victoria. What Victoria was able to interest herself in, Madeleine may not have been able to. Perhaps he was better equipped to teach someone Victoria’s age. CP may not have wanted anything that smacked of more traditional academics.

He didn’t actually say anything terribly negative about CP or Madeleine. The former is not academically inclined; the latter has been capricious. Not only is he not a doctor, lawyer, or a priest, people already know this. Two stressed and overprivileged kids didn’t behave; one did. So what?

It would have been far more shocking if he’d said anything about Victoria, since she’s so loved and pretty much sacrosanct and eventually dealt with the stress by becoming physically and emotionally ill. Maybe being able to act out and be flawed would have been healthier for her?

 

[Muhler]

Then he could have kept his big mouth shut.
I don't think it's very professional for a teacher to say anything about his pupils, even many years later. And if he has to say anything, don't be negative.
After all no one forced him at gunpoint to say a word, right?
Both Madeleine and CP are still alive. And AFAIK they haven't committed anything so grave that it is in the public interest to know how they acted or performed as pupils.

And his words are in the eyes of the reader:
So I can interpret his words thus:
Madeleine: A spoiled bimbo. A know-it-all who wouldn't listen to me. Me! The esteemed Herman Lindqvist!
CP: Good looking and presentable, but daft as as wet moss and the only chance of CP getting a Nobel Prize is if it drops on his head.
Victoria: Wonderful girl! Beautiful girl! She listened to me and my words of wisdom. She took interest in me and my words of wisdom. She asked questions and wanted to learn more from me and hear more words of wisdom, from me. A perfect pupil, perfect!

- You see my point?

 

[Prinsara]

You can interpret this in terms of Lindqvist’s supposed-egotism and Jante all you like, but he’s still not saying anything about CP and Madeleine that people don’t know. No one’s reputation is damaged. This won’t be national news tonight.

The thought of my teacher or yours talking about me or you is uncomfortable because we’re not public figures. I’m not seeing a great breach of trust. Did CP really come once and decide he couldn’t hack it? Did Madde do something even ruder than treating him like another servant? Did Victoria break down crying one day or throw a book or swear? We’ll never know that.

All I’m seeing is CP and Madeleine behaving pretty much the way you’d expect kids raised under those circumstances might be, and Victoria behaving the way everyone expected her to be. And almost certainly none of that’s got anything to do with Lindqvist — who as the historian is an observer by nature.

 

[Silverpot]

Then he could have kept his big mouth shut.
I don't think it's very professional for a teacher to say anything about his pupils, even many years later. And if he has to say anything, don't be negative.
After all no one forced him at gunpoint to say a word, right?
Both Madeleine and CP are still alive. And AFAIK they haven't committed anything so grave that it is in the public interest to know how they acted or performed as pupils.

And his words are in the eyes of the reader:
So I can interpret his words thus:
Madeleine: A spoiled bimbo. A know-it-all who wouldn't listen to me. Me! The esteemed Herman Lindqvist!
CP: Good looking and presentable, but daft as as wet moss and the only chance of CP getting a Nobel Prize is if it drops on his head.
Victoria: Wonderful girl! Beautiful girl! She listened to me and my words of wisdom. She took interest in me and my words of wisdom. She asked questions and wanted to learn more from me and hear more words of wisdom, from me. A perfect pupil, perfect!

- You see my point?

Haha, indeed!
I have met Lindqvist quite a few times, since I've been working in the book business my whole life. It was a surprise to everybody that they chose him as a teacher actually. And that's about all I have to say about him. I try to live by that device you mentioned; if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything.

 

[Minister of Court]

Hasn’t Lindqvist been a persona non grata in the Court since bashing the choice of name for Estelle?

Anyhow, the change in the succession saved the Swedes from a fate worse than death…

 

[Muhler]

You can interpret this in terms of Lindqvist’s supposed-egotism and Jante all you like, but he’s still not saying anything about CP and Madeleine that people don’t know. No one’s reputation is damaged. This won’t be national news tonight.

The thought of my teacher or yours talking about me or you is uncomfortable because we’re not public figures. I’m not seeing a great breach of trust. Did CP really come once and decide he couldn’t hack it? Did Madde do something even ruder than treating him like another servant? Did Victoria break down crying one day or throw a book or swear? We’ll never know that.

All I’m seeing is CP and Madeleine behaving pretty much the way you’d expect kids raised under those circumstances might be, and Victoria behaving the way everyone expected her to be. And almost certainly none of that’s got anything to do with Lindqvist — who as the historian is an observer by nature.

Then we shall graciously disagree on our views of the remarkable Herman Lindqvist.

Two things though: A teacher is a teacher. A position of trust. Whether his pupils are royals or whether they like me are akin to but a speck of dust on Lindqvist's sleeve.

I don't personally adhere much to the Law of Jante, but I believe even historians can be, shall we say, aloof.

Haha, indeed!
I have met Lindqvist quite a few times, since I've been working in the book business my whole life. It was a surprise to everybody that they chose him as a teacher actually. And that's about all I have to say about him. I try to live by that device you mentioned; if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything.

To quote Monty Python: Say no more, say no more. Say no more!

 

[JR76]

Then we shall graciously disagree on our views of the remarkable Herman Lindqvist.

Two things though: A teacher is a teacher. A position of trust. Whether his pupils are royals or whether they like me are akin to but a speck of dust on Lindqvist's sleeve.

I don't personally adhere much to the Law of Jante, but I believe even historians can be, shall we say, aloof.


To quote Monty Python: Say no more, say no more. Say no more!

Its pretty much common knowledge in Sweden that nobody speaks as well of Herman Lindqvist as the man himself. He's also known for not letting the truth getting in the way of the truth. Both privately and on the job.

 

[Silverpot]

Then we shall graciously disagree on our views of the remarkable Herman Lindqvist.

Two things though: A teacher is a teacher. A position of trust. Whether his pupils are royals or whether they like me are akin to but a speck of dust on Lindqvist's sleeve.

I don't personally adhere much to the Law of Jante, but I believe even historians can be, shall we say, aloof.


To quote Monty Python: Say no more, say no more. Say no more!

I'll say something about his books. He's a very good writer, his books are greatly entertaining. However, he's completely unreliable. He makes things up to fill gaps in the historical documentation. He's not a historian, he's a journalist, he wants to tell a good story . We always joked about that maybe we should label him "historical fiction" and not file him under history. He got a lot of flack from Academia, rightfully so.
That's why eyebrows were raised when he became Vic's history teacher.