I've been looking at the news and apart from the common street gossip, there really is very little about the birthday celebration.
The portrait book is written about however.
Okay, a few thoughts have gone through my head.
Let's start with Joachim and our Marie.
No attendance at QMII's B-day. They were away on Easter holiday. Presumably with Marie's family in France. And why not? There is no law saying Easter must be celebrated in DK.
Then there is Benedikte's B-day. It's one thing not to show up to a private party, due to other obligations. But this was an official celebration of Benedikte. With various dignitaries from the official Denmark also being invited. Like the PM and the Chairman of the Parliament.
So IMO you need a pretty hefty reason not to show. And if your spouse can't make it, you show up instead. A 75th B-day is a major celebration and cannot be compared to say a 65th birthday.
Marie didn't show up.
Some may say it could be because she didn't wish for her children that none of their parents put them to bed in the evening and wouldn't be there the next morning. But it's no worse when they are away on a job abroad or attend a celebration abroad.
Whatever the reason I think it was bad form.
Based on still fewer attendances from J&M in regards to the DRF over the past few years, it looks to me like J&M are quietly distancing themselves from the DRF - in an official capacity. They may still see each other regularly privately, but when it's official it is beginning to look as J&M's presence is when they are required to. Say at the opening of the Parliament, at the Grand New Year Court and at gala dinners for visiting heads of states.
So I suspect the J&M are in process of doing a Madeleine. I.e. quietly fading away from the official scene.
And they may after Joachim has finished his course in France, find a more civilian employment. I.e. Joachim may become a military attache or otherwise affiliated with the Danish embassy in France (in view of the increased military co-operation between France and DK) or at the NATO HQ in Belgium.
In both cases they are able to live in France.
So I think there is a very good chance that J&M within the next couple of years will move to France for good. And when Christian and Isabella turn eighteen, they will officially settle in France. And basically only return home for the most official events. At that time I find it likely that Joachim will give up his apanage and settle with an expense account instead. He is wealthy enough to be able to do that.
After all at that point there will be little need for Joachim and Marie in the DRF except as an additional back-up.
It's nice to have an experienced adult royal couple around, but they are not strictly speaking a necessity.
It will also mean that it will be easier to argue for Isabella getting an apanage and that she will take over Joachim's role. As the "official reserve."
And why shouldn't J&M settle in France?
It's no secret Joachim is a Francophile. He is half French, married to French woman. His two youngest are 3/4 French. Why shouldn't he grow roots in France, just as his wife managed to feel at home in Denmark?
He wouldn't be the only one dreaming about settling in France.
Also, he is consistently the most unpopular royal in the DRF, and likely to remain so for life. Unless another member screw up big time. Perhaps he feels unappreciated? (And rightly so IMO!) So why not let go? Go from doing a Madeleine to doing a Märtha Louise?
There are several advantages. They can be private citizens in a country where few know them and even fewer care. In a country where they both feel at home.
Their children can have a normal upbringing, getting ready to have lives and careers outside the royal spotlight. They are most unlikely to have an official role by now anyway.
They can even decide to drop the royal titles for Henrik and Athena and the step is complete. - And the problem with surplus royals in DK has been reduced.
Is there a rift?
Nah.
Certainly not between Mary and Marie, when the two of them are together they chat away like a cage full of budgies!
I don't think Marie has any problems within the family, even though I'm certain she very much miss PH.
A rift between Joachim and Frederik then? No, don't really think so. If there is anything, it's more a question of the two of them growing apart. Frederik is much more social than Joachim, who is more reserved. Personality and interest wise they are also very different and no doubt also when it comes to politics and even some way in regards to their ideals.
There is nothing abnormal about that. People you were close to in your childhood and youth don't necessarily remain close later in life.
But perhaps Frederik feels a little let down if Joachim has decided to fade away? That I could imagine.
Is there a rift between Joachim and QMII?
That's more difficult to answer, especially as both QMII and Joachim would rather have all their nails torn out with pliers than admitting to a rift within the family! But I don't really think so. QMII would, I think, understand a wish for J&M to fade out and settle abroad. It would also solve a couple of dynastic problems as well.
In fact QMII has expressed a fondness for Joachim accepting his position, bordering on admiration.
A rift between Joachim and Mary?
No, I don't believe that for a moment. I see absolutely no reason for that.
In fact I think the two of them respect each other a lot, but I don't think they are close.
A rift between Benedikte and Joachim?
No, don't think so. The two are very much alike and IMO share the same reserved traits and as such I don't think they are particularly close either.
They no doubt respect each other but I don't see them wear out each other's chairs.
- Next post will be about Gustav and Carina and here my thoughts are a little more ominous.
And now for Gustav and Carina.
Carina did not show up for the celebration and even though her "husband" was ill, Benedikte is her mother-in-law in anything but name and has been so for years, so that means the two of them are close - regardless of what they might think of each other privately.
So not showing up was very bad form IMO.
I have recently begun to wonder whether there are issues between Gustav and Carina.
Having said that the key to a successful relationship does not necessarily mean you have to together a lot. It is however peculiar to me how much they are apart though. Not least after the death of Prince Richard, where Carina, at least locally, is the lady of the manor in on of the most prominent families in Germany. I can't say whether she is shunned or not openly accepted by the German noble branches. But there are still things she could and perhaps should get involved in around Berleburg.
I also wonder why it is necessary for her to be writing in England. Are there really that many distractions in Berleburg? And Benedikte don't even live there regularly, not even in the same building, so that can hardly be that big a problem.
So my conclusion is that either they thrive on being apart for extended periods, just like Gustav's parents and indeed QMII and PH. - (And for that matter many noble couples beforehand.)
Or, they are growing/drifting apart or simply taking a breather in their relationship. Or it's a sign that perhaps it's time to split up?
We shall see, but I won't fall off the chair if it is announced that Custav and Carina are splitting up.
Even more ominous is Gustav's relationship with his mother.
The last interview he gave was illuminating.
There is little doubt that he is fond of his mother. However, it was very clear to me that at least over the last years he developed a very close relationship with his father - in contrast to his sisters, who seemingly had a more difficult relationship with their father, who was perhaps not the most understanding person in the world to put it mildly!
It is no secret that Benedikte have problems coping with people who are ill. She has admitted so.
When Prince Richard underwent treatment for cancer the first time Benedikte was not much around, something Prince Richard in an interview summarized here years ago, expressed some sadness/disappointment about.
Nor is it my impression Benedikte was much around when he fell ill for the second and last time.
I can very well imagine Gustav as such being deeply disappointed with his mother. Not only did Gustav have to run Berleburg on his own, he also had to look after his sick father - more or less on his own.
So does he harbor bitterness towards his mother in that respect? I think I would.
If so, is that disappointment and bitterness enough for him to catch a "diplomatic belly bug" at his mother B-day celebration?
Perhaps he also feels abandoned by his mother? Perhaps he would have liked to have his mother around to talk things out with his mother in regards to his feelings with his father's death? Or alt least that she would be there as a support when he in earnest taking over Berleburg?
In the recent interview Gustav explained that even though they live on the same estate, in buildings next to each other, they don't necessarily see each other for days.
What I'm saying is that perhaps there are feelings inside Gustav that has not come out and there is the old truth that you hurt someone because you hurt inside yourself. So could this be an irrational payback to his mother?
After all you don't yell at your mother without good reason, if you don't have a history for doing just that, which I very much doubt Gustav has. Ad you sure don't yell at her when she is turning 75 and is a year from having become a widow, - even if it might be healthy to yell a little.
It may not be easier if he is having problems with Carina.
And thus ends this narrative about the thought going through my mind at present.
They do indeed!
