Sitting here in the shade
it's time for a feel-good story.
Translation of article in Billed Bladet #30, 2012.
Athena smiler hele tiden – Athena smiles all the time.
Written by Trine Larsen.
Princess Marie and Prince Joachim loves to be on vacation in France and so too do their altogether four children. However it’s only six months old Athena who is with her parents when Billed Bladet meets the Prince and Princess at the Regent Couple’s wine-chateau, Cayx, where they are on vacation and enjoys the sun.
- “Henrik is crossed today and a little impossible because he yesterday had to say goodbye to his older brothers, Nikolai and Felix, who were flying home. He thought it was unfair that his best playmates were going”, tells Prince Joachim with an overbearing smile when the princely couple is strolling up from the wine yards in front of the chateau with their little daughter Athena on the arm.
- “When he’s like that we wouldn’t pressure him but he’ll be good again soon enough”, says Princess Marie about her three-year-old son, who just adores his two half brothers.
- “He thinks they are utterly fantastic a lot of fun to be with. And they are also very fond of him”, tells Prince Joachim, who the day before drove his two oldest sons to Toulouse, so that they could fly home to Denmark after a little more than ten days in France.
Princess Athena on the other hand is in a super-mood. Completely unaffected by the heat and very trusting and curious towards strangers, she sits on the arm of her mother wearing a flowery sun-hat and matching summer dress, that reveals gorgeous well-nourished baby-arms and legs and wearing a big charming smile.
When we say hello and say her name, she smiles even more and happily wave arms and legs, while her little tongue fly back and forth in the mouth, because she is having teeth.
- “Well, she’s a happy little one”, says Joachim and adds lovingly:
- “She has really landed well. She can certainly be determined and that’s fine too, but she’s just quite incredibly happy, easy and calm. She’s actually been that from the beginning”, says the Prince and look utterly in love at his little daughter, whose easy temper he praises highly.
- “Yes, she’s very happy, she’s always smiling. From morning till the evening, that’s so lovely”, says Princess Marie who can get the little Princess laughing just by looking at her – and visa versa. The chemistry and the tight loving bond between mother and daughter cannot be mistaken.
The lovely, relaxed and happy holiday-mood is easy to sense with Princess Marie, Prince Joachim and their little daughter, Athena, who just sits contend and laughs in the arms of her mother and father, while they stroll in the wine yards in front of the chateau Cayz in France, where the weather only during the last week on the holiday has become sunny and warm.
- “But it has been total enjoyment. Wonderful days in both good and bad weather. But lately the swimming pool has been red hot”, says Prince Joachim and tells that the whole family enjoy being at the chateau.
Especially Nikolai and Felix really feel at home here. It is after all farmor and farfar’s (paternal grandparents) chateau, but to them Cayz is really “at home”. “They just have such a cosy time, when we are here”, tells Prince Joachim and adds:
- “And Athena seems to enjoy France just as much as we do”.
Q: Whom do you think she resembles?
- “Well, my family thinks she looks like me as a baby”, says Princess Marie. – “But I think she looks more like her father. She has also turned out more fair, just like Prince Joachim was…. And then she has Felix’ eyes, the same colour and shape”, says Princess Marie who also tells that the little Princess’ eyes was one of the reasons that the Prince and she chose the name Athena.
- We have always been very fond of that name, but it really suits her well. Right from when she was born she had something special in her gaze, some very strong eyes”, says the Princess about her Athena, who is named after a Greek goddess, the daughter of Zeus and goddess for wisdom, science, craftsmanship, art and war.
There isn’t much war in the family, because Athena’s siblings as well love their little sister. There is not even jealousy, says Prince Joachim.
- “Prince Henrik is very aware of his responsibility as a big brother. Of course he had to get used to a new agenda because he has been used to be more alone with us, but he is very fond of Athena and there is not the slightest jealousy. He is really sweet towards her and very interested and (he) doesn’t say baby, but call her Athena, we take that as an expression of full acceptance”, laughs the Prince.
- “At the same time it’s not only a pleasure, but also an advantage that Athena is so easy and calm. Because Prince Henrik can sense that when she is calm, happy and contend, then that gives him more time with us. Not that he doesn’t get his time. That he does, absolutely, because he is still only three years”, says Prince Joachim about his lovely children, who are so fine among themselves, despite the difference in age.
- “That’s a big, big delight. And Nikolai and Felix are exemplary older brothers for their little brother and the biggest idols for their little brother. That’s also why he was so upset with them going home before him”, laughs the Prince lovingly guides his wife (*) and little daughter into the garden, so that they can get inside and have a cosy time with Prince Henrik and get him in holiday-mood again.
(*) Trine Larsen is here naturally using the formal word for wife.
Formal word = hustru.
Informal word = kone.
There are four pictures of Athena in the article, of those three are detailed. He tongue is all over the place and her eyes are smiling.
Joachim and our Marie will also go to the Olympics at some point. This will be her first Olympics.
Trine Larsen also covers the official pictures of Prince Felix on the occasion of his tenth birthday. A now familiar photographer, Steen Brogaard, made these pics.
Joachim says about his son: “Ten years! Yes, that’s fantastic! And incredible, how time flies.
Felix is simply a lovely boy. Utterly fantastic, if I may say so myself! Bright and alert… yes, both are, both Felix and Nikolai, and then they are each other’s best friends and have always been so. Felix is very much looking up to Nikolai and for that I’m certainly not sorry. If Nikolai had been a brat, then I might worry, but he is in no way that.
I’m both proud and happy that Felix has him as a role model. That also means that Felix is very social and he has a lot of very good friends. He has a loving temper and that he now also has status of older brother is something he is incredibly pleased with. He is enormously good and very patient with his little brother, and (he is) perhaps also closer to Henrik than Nikolai, because the difference in age isn’t that big”.
