Willem-Alexander & Máxima Visit Australia & New Zealand: October 23-November 4, 2006


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Julianna...my point is he could have just nodded politely, or answered the question. Or even said No, thank you to answering questions or posing for pictures. He was rude and could have handled it better.
 
Zonk said:
Julianna...my point is he could have just nodded politely, or answered the question. Or even said No, thank you to answering questions or posing for pictures. He was rude and could have handled it better.
Yes we agree - no matter what had been asked he should have been polite:)
Perhaps we could get jobs teaching some of these royals etiquette;) Or maybe they need some PR training:cool:.
 
On occasion he can be rather impetuous, though. Remember when there was talk of a second pregnancy and he cancelled the news conference, which in fact was to have announced it, because he was peeved by the speculation -- only to have the issue the statement anyway? I am a big fan of this Crown Princely couple and I agree that they are entitled to days off -- but he needs to grow up around this issue a bit -- he's a little too defensive.
 
I agree with the statements above. He is in a public position and should be more concious of that.

However, at the same time, we must all admit that everyone has moments when something is just not right, and the things we say come out the wrong way. Also, who knows what has happened? Maybe he received bad news, maybe Maxima is having a hard time and he feels bad for her, we just simply do not know, and as human beings we all have moments when our emotions get the better of us.

But yes, he should be more concious of the things that he says.
 
Maybe he should be told the old saying if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. It just was very rude he could have simply not said anything .
 
True. In his position he should have known better, especially as it was mostly likely going to be reported. Yes, he is only human and we all snap sometimes, but that does not make it all right. By the way, I'm going to be a bit juvenile here and I hope no one finds it disrespectful but if You do I apologize and will remove the post. But when people ABBREVIATE his name to PoO do you realize it reads as POO? So would it be all right to say PoO was being poopy!?
 
This is just a moment, there went something ahead of this incident..:
WA en Maxima had two days for themselves, just to relax, have a break, and there was this journalist who followed them through these days, and stepped in the hotel etc. Anyway, WA was partly very annoyed by this thing, not 'just' asking how the days had been for the couple. That is the story behind his behaviour, And if I am right it was the same journalist who asked AND had followed them the previous days..
:)
 
mirrjam said:
This is just a moment, there went something ahead of this incident..:
WA en Maxima had two days for themselves, just to relax, have a break, and there was this journalist who followed them through these days, and stepped in the hotel etc. Anyway, WA was partly very annoyed by this thing, not 'just' asking how the days had been for the couple. That is the story behind his behaviour, And if I am right it was the same journalist who asked AND had followed them the previous days..
:)
These reporters are a pesky bunch, agreed, but in Alexander's case that's still no excuse. Why? If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, is the saying. In his case, he's had eons to practice, and he still 'can't stand the heat' oftentimes. Translated to his situation, one could add: if you can't stand the heat, stay away from the throne.

What I think is interesting is that Maxima, who is not to the manor born, DID manage to be polite at all times. If she can, he should be able too. Again, according to some Dutch poll, the Dutch are unanimous that this guy is ready for the throne. Looking at incidents like this, hwoever understandable from a human standpoint, I say, this guy is not ready, if ever.
 
princess olga said:
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, is the saying. In his case, he's had eons to practice, and he still 'can't stand the heat' oftentimes. Translated to his situation, one could add: if you can't stand the heat, stay away from the throne.
Valid point Princess Olga. But let's remember...WA didn't pick the heat so to speak the heat picked him. And perhaps he does decide to step away from the throne (just a rhetorical statement) but what if we found out that because of the pressures and the constant glare that no wants it (I am thinking his brother and then the kids are too young) and we end up with someone who totally likes the superficial aspects of royalty.
 
What a really nice pink top Maxima has on! About the comment the prince made, rather harsh. I think he should have just kept quiet or nodded if he was in a irritated mood which could have been the problem to begin with. Would have been a little more polite I should think.
 
I still think he is ready for the throne. That was and still is my opinion. And it does not change because one incident. He is always very friendly, especially to the people.

Btw. we will forget this incident within a month (just like almost all other little 'incidents' of royals) I think :rolleyes:
 
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Intruding and stalking journalist

An article by the GPD (Joint Press Services)-newspapers wrote that the princely couple was stalked during their private stay by the same journalist who asked the question.

The reception of the hotel/resort repeatedly requested the journalist to respect the Prince's privacy (after he has been inside the hotel a couple of times) and finally he 'catched' the Prince outside.

The Prince, hypersensitive when it is about his (family's) privacy, absolutely refused to co-operate and gave the sharp answer.
 
Henri M. said:
An article by the GPD (Joint Press Services)-newspapers wrote that the princely couple was stalked during their private stay by the same journalist who asked the question.

The reception of the hotel/resort repeatedly requested the journalist to respect the Prince's privacy (after he has been inside the hotel a couple of times) and finally he 'catched' the Prince outside.

The Prince, hypersensitive when it is about his (family's) privacy, absolutely refused to co-operate and gave the sharp answer.

Steve Wild,the pushy reporter also got an answer from Princess Máxima on his question if they liked/enjoyed NZ,the Princess replied she thought it was really beautifull.But that ofcourse wasn't mentioned by Steve Wild as that would reduce his "claim to fame" of being gaffed by a Prince.So,Steve Wild now acts up as a whining mister innocent but he only has himself to blame.Pulp methods.A NZ government official referred to Steve Wild's behaviour as indecent.

As you said Henri,time after time Wild entered the resort and time after time was friendly requested by the management to leave and respect the privacy of the Prince and Princess.NZ government officials reply on the question if there could be asked any questions was;"the official visit starts on tuesday and not a day sooner,this is a private weekend but if you insist on being pushy you can expect they will not answer".

Then,as the Prince and Princess went on a trip in the mountains,Steve Wild and his companion,a photographer,were the only ones who followed them there,stalking them.That was a tad too much for the Prince,invade his privacy,and you get trouble and it sure will backfire.So,Who's the hork now?
 
lucien said:
Steve Wild,the pushy reporter also got an answer from Princess Máxima on his question if they liked/enjoyed NZ,the Princess replied she thought it was really beautifull.But that ofcourse wasn't mentioned by Steve Wild as that would reduce his "claim to fame" of being gaffed by a Prince.So,Steve Wild now acts up as a whining mister innocent but he only has himself to blame.Pulp methods.A NZ government official referred to Steve Wild's behaviour as indecent.

As you said Henri,time after time Wild entered the resort and time after time was friendly requested by the management to leave and respect the privacy of the Prince and Princess.NZ government officials reply on the question if there could be asked any questions was;"the official visit starts on tuesday and not a day sooner,this is a private weekend but if you insist on being pushy you can expect they will not answer".

Then,as the Prince and Princess went on a trip in the mountains,Steve Wild and his companion,a photographer,were the only ones who followed them there,stalking them.That was a tad too much for the Prince,invade his privacy,and you get trouble and it sure will backfire.So,Who's the hork now?
The hork is still Willem Alexander.

Why? Because, while he may have a valid excuse for his behavior/remark, that unfortunately is completely beside the point. The reason for this is simple: the whole royal circus lives and breathes by the perception of the public.


Royal anything is all about PR, about smoke and mirrors even. There were more people standing around than just that nasty reporter when Alexander was making this remark. These people, many of them unassuming locals who just happened to stand there, were NOT, of course, aware of what had happened before. They were not aware, nor do or did they care, that Alexander has been stalked by paparazzi for probably a good portion of his life. To these outsiders, that fact is unknown and what's more, it's TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. That's how people perceive these royals: what you see is what you get, they perceive them at face value.

And then when you think that the whole royal endeavor is all about PR, PR for themselves and their country most of all, you can wonder who the hork is. It is Willem Alexander, he fell out of his role on what is perceived BY OTHERS as a state trip. That this happened on 3 days off in between, how are the unassuming public supposed to know this? This is not about what happened before, because that is only known to Alexander and royal insiders. Anything could have happened before, but who cares?! As far as people perceived it, he was on a visit on behalf of his countrymen and this is how he behaved. It's clear who the hork is here unfortunately.
 
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lucien said:
Steve Wild,the pushy reporter also got an answer from Princess Máxima on his question if they liked/enjoyed NZ,the Princess replied she thought it was really beautifull.But that ofcourse wasn't mentioned by Steve Wild as that would reduce his "claim to fame" of being gaffed by a Prince.

Actually he DID mention that Maxima answered him that she had enjoyed her trip. He also told other media that in fact after Alexanders short answer, she threw him a dark glance, and proceeded to smile and wave and answered in lieu of her husband that she had enjoyed her stay or something along those lines.

Anyhow, this topic is getting tiring, and so is Alexander. I'm starting to understand why Maxima is exceeding her in-laws when it comes to popularity: she is a professional royal when the situation demands it. Kudo's to her professionalism therefore, and may she be a huge influence on how her daughters treat their public roles, instead of that cranky, thankless prince of orange.
 
princess olga said:
well from a human standpoint we can all imagine how this might have happened: this guy has been living in a fish bowl, as the saying goes, so I can understand where he is coming from. However, there are a lot of 'howevers' in this situation. He needs to understand that for one thing, he is <not> a normal human being and if he wants to be, he can be our guest and let his brother Constantijn be the heir to the Dutch throne. AND he was technically on duty, as in: he is on a trip promoting his country. And then you can't say, when it doesn't suit you when you step out on the streets of your host country and you are in a bad mood and people ask you things, you just can't say: "piss off". If you do that, people will question your validity at what you are trying to do, to be.

On top of it he was enjoying some private little vacation in between, paid for by the unassuming Dutch tax payer. Borderline unethical, in my book.

This is the issue with Alexander, this is why for ages I have said Alexander (and his wife) wanted their cake, and made sure they ate it, too. I thought they had changed, I thought they had picked up some pace, learned some lessons. I thought the free-loader stage was behind this couple for the most part.

But now we are noticing that not only it isn't, but that they (or at least Alexander) are arrogant about it to boot.
From a professional standpoint: unacceptable. From a human perspective: he goofed, and we all do that sometimes. Hopefully this is another lesson for him, but let's not hold our breath on this one. Again, this is why I hope Beatrix will keep that throne warm for a loooong time.

I agree. Even though he may have had a 'bad day' or something, he is still a guest in that country. He could have acted like he did not hear the question if he did not want to answer (or something like that); it was a simple enough question!

IMO, there is never an excuse for being rude, especially for someone in his position. He should know better than that. He's not there for that long, he could have smiled and waved the reporter off. W-A is a guest in NZ, Crown Prince or not. No point being rude to anyone.

it will probably be forgotten or overlooked quickly enough though.
 
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yawn

OMG, it's so funny to see how small incidents are blown way out of proportion by some people and this time it ain't the media. Bwahahahaha! Sheesh!

Don't expect royals to show good behaviour 100% of the time. You can't expect that of people. Famous or not. If you do, you will allways be disappointed in people.
 
princess olga said:
Actually he DID mention that Maxima answered him that she had enjoyed her trip. He also told other media that in fact after Alexanders short answer, she threw him a dark glance, and proceeded to smile and wave and answered in lieu of her husband that she had enjoyed her stay or something along those lines.

Anyhow, this topic is getting tiring, and so is Alexander. I'm starting to understand why Maxima is exceeding her in-laws when it comes to popularity: she is a professional royal when the situation demands it. Kudo's to her professionalism therefore, and may she be a huge influence on how her daughters treat their public roles, instead of that cranky, thankless prince of orange.

Good morning Princess Olga:)

For the latest of the visit,here's a link.

http://www.royalblog.nl/

courtesy hja.
 
princess olga said:
Anyhow, this topic is getting tiring, and so is Alexander. I'm starting to understand why Maxima is exceeding her in-laws when it comes to popularity: she is a professional royal when the situation demands it. Kudo's to her professionalism therefore, and may she be a huge influence on how her daughters treat their public roles, instead of that cranky, thankless prince of orange.

I don't think I ever heard anyone complain about the professionalism of our born royals. The complaint usually is that they are to professional (HM The Queen for example).

Why should the prince of Orange be 'thankfull' to a reporter with bad manners who has been harassing him for the last couple of days? I do not see why and I also fail to see why royals should put up with anything like this, just because they are royals & get paid by the Dutch state. -Maybe I want to throw a cake in the face of my teacher. Teachers get payed by the Dutch state to and doing so will enhance my satisfaction at school & my teacher needs motivated students. Ergo, my teacher has to comply??
 
For me, I can forgive and forget that day. It's not like he was rude during the entire trip. He could have handled it better but he didn't and maybe with good reason (considering that the reporter was harassing them for a long time) I can move on from this, he isn't such a bad bloke normally:)
 
The orange does not fall far from the tree

Let us keep in our minds what the Prince of Orange actually said: "That is none of your business, it's private."

A quite formal answer. You must try very hard to see an insult in that. The Prince is known for being allergic to do 'tricks on command' and for sure not when it is in his private sphere. Remember his famous line: "The monarchy is no ape-theatre. Throw a nickel and we perform a dance."

Queen Beatrix to assembled chief-editors (criticizing their reports about the monarchy): "Gentlemen, the lie rules".

Queen Juliana during a state-visit in Jugoslavia, very hindered by the press on Belgrade's central market (loud and clear hearable) against her press-official: "No mr. Van der Vloet, I will NOT pose for them: the gentlemen have NOT deserved it. No, they have NOT deserved it!"

:flowers: :flowers: :flowers:

I like those Oranges. Stand straight up and face the press.
Je Maintiendrai!
 
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The Royal couple look as though they have had a great time during their visit to Australia and New Zealand and especially enjoying the warm weather. Apparently it's cold in their part of the world right now.
 
I love these new pics
Actually I think ( I don't know if anyone thinks the same), that on pics from New Zealand they are much more relaxed than on pics from Australia.
I don't know, but for me they look much more happier. ;)
 
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