WA, Máxima & Daughters: Summer Holiday in Argentina & Lawsuit against AP: Summer 2009

[dee4855]

And it "was a really nasty thing" form AP to think they can invade anybodies privacy if THEY so please.No.And NO again.
I think WA's spanish improved tremendously.Bueno!Bravo Alejandro.

This is really the way you want your future King to act toward the press? You honesly think this is going to make it better for them? The press will/can make their lives miserable when they are not at home. They are not any better than any other Royals. Time for WA to grow up, realize who he is, what this kind of thing does to reflect on the Queen much less the Royal House. He is getting quite the reputation for being rude. A rude spoiled brat deserves what he gets when he acts this way.

 

[Marengo]

I agree with you dee4855, the press has been far more nice, friendly and docile here than for example in the UK or Spain. The prince has very little reason to nag about the press. The royal family features in the serious press quite often, they get a lot of attention on television and in gossip magazines. All of this is IMHO needed to keep the monarchy healthy and relevant. Now, the private pictures do not need to be published of course, they have no news value and are only made to fill the pockets of the publishers of gossip magazines, BUT the way the RVD is reacting to it is too much for my taste and they are expecting things that can not be expected. Being left alone in Argentina on a very touristic place.... how on earth can they expect that?

In dutch we have the saying that a donkey doesn't hurt is foot on the same stone twice, which means that you do not make the same mistake twice, but the prince and the princess seem to do just that. Every time in Argentina they are harassed by paparazzi and every time they seem as surprised, angry etc as the first time and as if they didn't see it coming. Well, my crystal ball says that paparazzi will follow them on busy places in Argentina as long as they will visit the country, so either stop visiting busy, touristic places in the country or accept it and get over it. They seem to be fighting windmills here, like Don Quichote.

 

[Regina]

If one of these days, the Dutch press gets tired of all this and take actions against them... the couple will think twice next time.
The prince and the princess forget they need the press... you don't see other young royals doing this!

I know Máxima loves Argentina and that's such a wonderful thing about her. But they should understand why these "argentinos boludos" take pics of them: because people want to see them, because they are popular... not because they want to ruin their great vacation!

Yes, the media code... Well, when you sign an agreement with someone that's because you wanted to sign it. In this case, I guess the media had to sign it or they wouldn't be invited to the next photo session...

For their own sake, they must stop behaving like this. All this anger, rage and verbal violence from WA is not normal, IMO. I think Máxima is a gentle and smart person, I wonder if she agrees with her husband's explosive reactions.

Well next time, go to some ultra-exclusive private island where no one can find you lol

 

[Princess Maxima]

Royal family seeks court injunction against AP over holiday photos
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the court injunction which Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima, have sought against the US news agency, the Associated Press, to force it to stop distributing recent photos of them and their five-year-old daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia, at an Argentine ski resort.

Article: Reporters Sans Frontières

(Reportes without borders)

 

[Marengo]

Thanks for posting that Princess Maxima! Although one can wonder what the news value is of the prince and princess enjoying a holiday in Argentina, the association does have a point that limiting the freedom of the press is a slippery road.

 

[Marengo]

Bas Paternotte, journalist of HP/De Tijd (a political magazine) wrote a letter to the national ombudsman with a complaint against the RVD. He complains that the RVD's threats against an international agency like AP is bad for the reputation of the Netherlands and that it gives the country an image of being small minded, a country that is panicing when a picture of a skiing prince appears.

The article & letter in Dutch:

'RVD zet Nederland te kakken' - HP/De Tijd

-
The magazine has not been too positive about the media code itself either, judging from this article in Dutch: http://www.hpdetijd.nl/2009-08-04/dus-dit-mag-niet#body. The title says: 'So this is not allowed?'. They replaced pictures of the holiday with a big sign saying 'censorship', and provided links to the pictures on the site of reinamaxima.com. Note that the magazine is not the biggest friends with the royal family, they placed the infamous interviews with princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma and her dreadful ex husband.

 

[ahtikavalentine]

The prince of Asturias, who has far more paparazzi attention than the prince of Orange, never snapped at paparazzi, he needs no media code, he doesn't freak out when he, his wife or his daughters are pictured, and in general shows a far more royal and adult attitude than the prince of Orange, who seems like an angry, spoiled and sulking teenager at times.

Well, they are not angels either. Remember (last year, I dont really remember) when the media published some pics of princess Letizia wearing a bikini, a big trouble for spanish media

But, as Regina said, they NEED the media, can you imagine a royal family without media? They would not have any importance in their own country. Too bad for this kind of behavior.

 

[lucien]

This is really the way you want your future King to act toward the press? You honesly think this is going to make it better for them? The press will/can make their lives miserable when they are not at home. They are not any better than any other Royals. Time for WA to grow up, realize who he is, what this kind of thing does to reflect on the Queen much less the Royal House. He is getting quite the reputation for being rude. A rude spoiled brat deserves what he gets when he acts this way.

And who said he said all that in the first place?Right.A journalist.

 

[ahtikavalentine]

And who said he said all that in the first place?Right.A journalist.

And who didn't?

 

[dee4855]

And who said he said all that in the first place?Right.A journalist.

originally Posted by lucien
And it "was a really nasty thing" form AP to think they can invade anybodies privacy if THEY so please.No.And NO again.
I think WA's spanish improved tremendously.Bueno!Bravo Alejandro.

Who was applauding him for his improved Spanish? You, or the press?
If it was you, you must believe what was said by the journalist.

 

[ashelen]

I just wonder how Macima feel s reagrding her husband insulting argentineans, after all she born there, I would not feel very weel listen my husband doing that! and like most of the people her I do not agree with his behaivor, very disapinted to me!! whois W-A really , it looks that he has a mask under neath may be a different completely person that what we think!

 

[Lakshmi]

I have hard time believing that W-A insulted Argentinians, when his wife is Argentinian.
Maybe he said something harsh, that was later exaggerated by reporters.
I don't blame W-A for being sick and tired of reporters sometimes. they can be aggressive, what has nothing to do with freedom of press.
Yes, I like looking at private pictures of royals taken by paparazzi, but we have to remember they are done at royals private life expense.
I wonder if there will be any statement from W-A explaining this incident with Argentinian reporters when they felt insulted. Probably not.

 

[Marengo]

Just to set the record straight, 3 magazines say that the prince insulted argentinian paparazzi; not Argentinians in general!!

 

[Guido]

The Dutch royal house PR advisors handle childishly the media. They make the same mistake over and over again. Royal persons are not common people. The press, paparazzos, media is part of public persons' life and they finally have to accept it. The common people wonder public persons's private life rather than their works and the press and paparazzos know it very well.

 

[carlota]

Apparently the prince yelled to the Argentinian paparazzi again, he did the same in London, made ungracious remarks in New Zealand etc. What is he hoping to achieve with this? And why is he the only one doing this. The prince of Asturias, who has far more paparazzi attention than the prince of Orange, never snapped at paparazzi, he needs no media code, he doesn't freak out when he, his wife or his daughters are pictured, and in general shows a far more royal and adult attitude than the prince of Orange, who seems like an angry, spoiled and sulking teenager at times.

indeed. it's not the first time it happens and it's such a rude, shameless behaviour. particularly when you are the crown prince and future king, not any celebrity. he should really try to control those nerves - when it happened before i thought it was just a tantrum, but since it's being repeated...

 

[Regina]

The Dutch royal house PR advisors handle childishly the media. They make the same mistake over and over again. Royal persons are not common people. The press, paparazzos, media is part of public persons' life and they finally have to accept it.

Exactly, Guido, I agree. What surprises me is that WA knows that since he's a child (or he should so) and Máxima was surely informed that life wouldn't be the same after a royal marriage.

About if these pictures have or not informative value: the pictures are not indecent, they were shot outdoors and children were respected. They have the same informative value as allowed informal photo-sessions.

 

[Maura724]

Are they suing in an American court since AP is an American agency? If so, the facts of the case all seem pretty silly: the Dutch royal family has an agreement with the DUTCH press, some foreign photographers take some innocuous photos on their vacation, and they're suing in a country where freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution?

I understand that it's probably annoying for WA and Maxima and all the other royals to have to deal with paparazzi and to have pictures being taken of you when you're trying to relax on a private holiday and so on. However, this is just a normal part of their job. Everybody has a stressful part of their job, and this just happens to be the stressful part of being a prince or princess. Yes, royals do have to make sacrifices in terms of their privacy and such that aren't required of the rest of us, but they also have great privileges that very few other people, outside of the very rich, share. For instance, these people never have to worry about money, deny themselves things to send their kids to good colleges, or make decisions based on money. That's a huge blessing, and I don't think it's asking to much to have to have your picture taken on occasion in order to enjoy those sorts of privileges.

 

[claypoint2]

Do you know who this girl is (of course, the one who's next to Máxima)? [URL]http://www.reinamaxima.com/img/laangosturyya%20(7).JPG[/URL]

Her elder sister Dolores,the artist,I believe.

I think she is Florencia Di Cocco, one of Máxima's best friends

I also think that it looks like Florencia Di Cocco, not Dolores. Along with Samantha Dean, Florencia was one of Máxima's witnesses at her wedding to Willem-Alexander. (Remember? Samantha wore a red dress with a black hat, and Florencia wore a camel-colored dress with an X design across the front & a wide-brimmed hat. They both looked lovely).

 

[ahtikavalentine]

I also think that it looks like Florencia Di Cocco, not Dolores. Along with Samantha Dean, Florencia was one of Máxima's witnesses at her wedding to Willem-Alexander. (Remember? Samantha wore a red dress with a black hat, and Florencia wore a camel-colored dress with an X design across the front & a wide-brimmed hat. They both looked lovely).

Yes, I agree with you and princess Máxima, also because the girl in the photo doesn't look like her, take a look
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/ahtikavalentine/PPEMAXIMA07a.jpg

 

[dee4855]

I have hard time believing that W-A insulted Argentinians, when his wife is Argentinian.
Maybe he said something harsh, that was later exaggerated by reporters.
I don't blame W-A for being sick and tired of reporters sometimes. they can be aggressive, what has nothing to do with freedom of press.
Yes, I like looking at private pictures of royals taken by paparazzi, but we have to remember they are done at royals private life expense.
I wonder if there will be any statement from W-A explaining this incident with Argentinian reporters when they felt insulted. Probably not.

The ones that work for them to have that kind of private life might like to know how their hard earned dollars are being spent. As long as they take funds yearly from the people they should be able to put up with a few photos. Not many people get to go on vacations as often as the Royals do. Let us be totally honest here. The Royals (none of them) are over worked. I would love to work 4-5 days a month for 3-4 hours daily, dress in beautiful clothes and jewels, have someone to drive me around and open and close my door, live in a palace with servants, travel all over the world 1st class and have no one to answer to. All of this done at some other person working daily trying to make ends meet with what is left of their weekly salary. So, I do not think it is to much to ask for WA to put on his big boy pants, act human, smile, and make nice with the paparazzi. Make a deal, take a couple of pictures and leave us alone. The only Royals I have seen that have a clue what an eight hour work day might be is the Spanish Royals. They seem to be nice to the press regardless of how they may feel it intrudes on their lives.

 

[Verde Esmeralda]

If one of these days, the Dutch press gets tired of all this and take actions against them... the couple will think twice next time.
The prince and the princess forget they need the press... you don't see other young royals doing this!

I know Máxima loves Argentina and that's such a wonderful thing about her. But they should understand why these "argentinos boludos" take pics of them: because people want to see them, because they are popular... not because they want to ruin their great vacation!

Yes, the media code... Well, when you sign an agreement with someone that's because you wanted to sign it. In this case, I guess the media had to sign it or they wouldn't be invited to the next photo session...

For their own sake, they must stop behaving like this. All this anger, rage and verbal violence from WA is not normal, IMO. I think Máxima is a gentle and smart person, I wonder if she agrees with her husband's explosive reactions.

Well next time, go to some ultra-exclusive private island where no one can find you lol

Well said, Regina!

I think WA's spanish improved tremendously.Bueno!Bravo Alejandro.

Your Spanish is really good Lucien!

But honestly, I would have hoped that W-A's was going to be much better than this, after 7 years of being married to an Argentinian (and ten dating in total)

Even if he doesn't need to master it, I figured out he would, considering the effort that his wife put into learning Dutch language (I am being a little bit too romantic here, but still)

 

[lucien]

Just to set the record straight, 3 magazines say that the prince insulted argentinian paparazzi; not Argentinians in general!!

Thanks for that Marengo.
He only yelled at the press crapule.

 

[dee4855]

Thank you both! I think someone (Queen B) needs to remind him of who he is, that is not the way a future king acts. Look what he is teaching the future Queen to act like.Not a very good role model for his daughter. I hope Maxima will be able to help her learn her role with the press. She certainly does not need to follow the examples, or lessons, from dear ole dad. You could tell in London when he had his tantrum Maxima wanted to crawl under the car seat the way she was trying to hide her face. I was taught at a very early age there is never any reason for rudeness regardless of the situation.

 

[RubyPrincess168]

initially, the lawsuit against AP: i can understand that they want to protect their kids, but it seems to me the agreement is with the dutch press. therefore, if they are in another country, with press from another country - i'm not sure how the agreement applies.

I think they're very badly advised taking this on. They're talking about suing the AP in the United States, where the media has the right to take pictures of people (including children) out in public. There's not a chance a U.S. court will rule that the AP should have honored a Dutch "gentlemen's agreement" about the family's vacation, especially in a public resort in a third country.

It's actually pretty ironic that they're suing a U.S. media outlet over this, since they get absolutely no media coverage here. We see stories about the British and Monagasque royals, but that's about it. You could project images of the entire Dutch royal family on giant screens in the middle of Times Square and you would not find five people who would have any idea who they were. (Unless a convention of royalty buffs was in town!)

Are they suing in an American court since AP is an American agency? If so, the facts of the case all seem pretty silly: the Dutch royal family has an agreement with the DUTCH press, some foreign photographers take some innocuous photos on their vacation, and they're suing in a country where freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution?

I'm not sure the Dutch Royal Family can sue an American media company in American courts for violating an arrangement that the DRF has with the Dutch Press in Netherlands. That seems rather silly, and kind of a no-brainer that it'll be thrown out. I'm sure there aren't many Americans (who aren't royal watchers) that are even aware that there is a Dutch Royal Family, much less be able to identify them in photos.

 

[Katrianna]

I have to agree with Marengo that the constant lawsuits and threats of them from this couple is getting quite old and tiring. The family was skiing at a public resort and the photographers were at a distance and not in their faces or their daughters so they were hardly threatened. The agreement with the media was with the Dutch media and not with international agencies outside of the Netherlands. If they wanted privacy, then go to a private ski agency.
I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but the only people caring to see photos of Willem and Maxima are royalty fans and gossip mags. In the US the general population doesn't know European Royals nor do most care.
It's true that other Royal couples don't routinely cry,"Lawsuit" and I'm sure none of these couples and their families are thrilled at having pictures taken of them on holiday, but they cope. I'm sure they would like to scream.
Today, when one makes an enemy of the press, it's the individual that pays and the media can make life for him/her tough.
When Willem and Maxima visit NY there was probably not going to be a lot of news coverage, but now there may not be any. From the AP especially.

 

[Katrianna]

I just have to add that during the Olympics in Turin, the US network interviewed the Prince and he was very personable and struck me as a very nice person. I understand his and Maxima's frustrations, but they can't just threaten legal action all the time. It isn't always going to work for them and many times backfires.

 

[Lena]

Thanks for that Marengo.
He only yelled at the press crapule.

Ehm, if he was indeed saying "argentine idiots", he used "argentine" as swear word.
You might disagree, but since he could have also said "idiots" only, many would understand it as attack against argentine in general...and "many" is the point...

However...jetset WAX is losing all sympathies, he once had with me. Then I didn´t know really about his temper problem...and I guess many dutch don´t either...thanks to RVD...ironic somehow

 

[ashelen]

the other thing I think they are in the middle of their vacation and to take time to contact their assistance to start a legal issue, sueing and all the it is a little too far to , go and enjoy the holidasy , insted of thinking in a lgal battle with the press!, someone mantion in the forum the press was far away so why did he insult them? just not very good ecample for the kids and i am sure not esay for maxima, i wonder really what she thinks, he might be this persons who two faces, nice on public and with bad character in private! who knows i know some people are like that, any litte thing make them o switch ti a bad character

 

[Tilla]

If you permit, and a am probably 99,8 % wrong, you may correct me, please, but my opinion is, that for one time, that WA and M are NOT smiling or laughing, as usual, they are so horrified, that they are shown with normal severe and even meditative faces, that they cannot bear, to be shown like this. But this is not, what the population demands. The population can stand to see them with faces of not so good temper or of reflection... which is normal for every human being. It is not necessary to smile all the time.

 

[Kelly]

It looks like from the pictures that C-A is a good skier! How wonderful for the family to relax and enjoy.