No, the wedding was no disappointment, the Scandinavians can display some serious royal grandeur. But in another debate on this forum a poster wrote "The monarchy is tradition, honor, exemplariness, gestures ...". Then seeing Ms Hellqvist -pardon,
Princess Sofia of Sweden- splashed out in bikini, on the internet, in internatonial magazines and being described as "Real Life Soap Star and Bikini Model", that makes my loyal royal heart cringe. I am often slashed on this board for being oldfashioned in my desire that royals should go for the longer term interests of their monarchy and marry "suitable" partners.
Averyone, from the man in the street to the lady behind her laptop somewhere in Australia sees that it does not matter at all. You were the personal sports instructor of the Crown Princess? Welcome His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden! You were a bikini model and real life soap actress? Welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia of Sweden! You were an unwed mother with a son from a guy somewhere? Welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Mette-Marit of Norway! You were splashed out on the Spanish TV-screens, day in, day out, reading the news? Welcome Her Majesty The Queen of Spain... suddenly you are no longer a journalist, a sports instructor, a bikini model or a waitress in a bar but a "Royal Highness"....
People start to see that it is all just theatre and that apparently the standards of what was once seen as "an acceptable choice" have immensely lowered. It is clear that the monarchies, delivering heads-of-states some of the world's most developed and modern countries has become more and more a
vaudeville, a real life soap opera
avant la lettre.
Popularity? Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, her mother a Countess Komorowska, her sister a Marchioness Pallavicini, her another sister a Baroness Janssen and her brother a Count d'Udekem d'Acoz, all firmly rooted in the aristocracy, hits all popularity polls as the most beloved royal in Belgium. So being from a traditonal backgroud is not at all a hindrance. Look at Lady Diana Spencer, a deeply blue-blooded lady dubbed "The People's Princess". I think people somehow deep inside will see a Lady Spencer, a Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz or a Countess de Lannoy as more "suitable material", but tja... we are "democratic" and "politic correct" aren't we? Who claims that a daughter of one of the
Grandes, of a
Duque there or a
Conde there would never be "popular". I bet she could easily outpower the bleak and uninspiring Letizia Ortiz.
Queen Máxima was the star of the day, in a fantastic dress and sporting great Jewels from the Orange-Nassau collection. Still, every time I see her, I can not suppress a feeling: "Girl, you are no royal... you
play, you
pretend that you are royal." I have exactly the same feeling with Sophia Hellqvist: "Girl, you are standing next to the wrong dude, you can
not stand in the shadow of a Sybilla von Sachsen-Coburg, of a Margaret Connaught, of a Victoria von Baden!"