The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Wednesday 1 September 2004

First Among Equals

As you may have noticed, the owner of the Unofficial British Royal Family Pages, Geraldine, has decided to extend the material of the Etoile pages to cover other royal families. I thought, to compliment this move that a brief run down of the monarchs of Europe might be of interest to readers, especially for those who are not very familiar with some of them. This week, I shall start right at the top of the world this week, and work my way down the continent next time. 

The famous Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain still reigns over a number of countries outside Europe.Her kingdom is held to be the grandest and greatest of those on the Continent, despite the many problems the House of Windsor has experienced over the past couple of decades.  Scandals aside, the House of Windsor is relatively safe, perhaps in no small way because of the astute dedication of the monarch herself. 

However, the United Kingdom is not the only constitutional monarchy in the world, even if it is the best known. Across Europe, the remaining royal families continue to play integral roles in their respective countries.  They have adapted to the modern world in different ways and for very different reasons.  And, although few of these families receive the international coverage of the Windsors, they nonetheless, make up the worlds oldest, members-only club, reigning royalty. Their importance is strengthened by the fact that many of these families are related to each other. 

Norway has been an independent kingdom since 1905, when the Norwegians elected Prince Carl of Denmark as their King.   After centuries of foreign rule alternating between Sweden and Denmark, the Norwegians were finally free to decide their own fate. 

The current monarch, King Harald, is the son of the immensely popular King Olav.   Harald married a Norwegian commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, but his choice led to considerable public and political debate, forcing the couple into a prolonged courtship that lasted almost a decade.  In the end, their love triumphed and Crown Princess Sonja was accepted warmly into the family and the nation. The couple has two children, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Martha Louise. 

Out of the three monarchies in Scandinavia, has been the one to come under the greatest public scrutiny.  While the King remains popular, Queen Sonja has not escaped raised eyes.  Once such incident was the cost of the renovation of the Royal to which the couple moved shortly after Harald came to the throne.  The renovations ended up costing far more than expected, although the end result is indeed quite magnificent. In all fairness to the Queen, however, the palace was in dire need of an overhaul. 

The couple’s children, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Martha Louise have themselves caused some tension amongst Norwegians, although in reality, over matters often experienced by the public. 

The pretty Princess, renowned for her adventurous style was once named as a party in a divorce case in Britain , and only her father’s intervention by implementing his monarchical privilege, spared Martha Louise from having to appear in court. 

A few years ago she married Ari Behn, a Norwegian writer, and renounced her royal status to pursue other interests.  She does, however, still appear in public, styled as Princess Martha Louise of Norway but without the prefix Her Royal Highness.  It was apparently the Princess’ own decision to remove the HRH, a decision which followed the example set by the King’s two sisters when they married commoners. Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn gave the King and Queen their first grandchild, Maud Angelica, in 2003. 

If Martha Louise surprised some people by marrying a commoner, the marriage of Crown Prince Haakon to Miss Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby caused a complete uproar.  The bride had a son out of wedlock from a previously relationship with a convicted drug dealer.  Mette-Marit admitted that she had also been part of a ‘party’ set, but won the people over in a television interview, just prior to the wedding.  In the often emotional interview, she said that although she had been involved in the party set, she truly loved the Crown Prince and would devote her life to him and her country. 

It seems, however, that the Crown Prince was, in fact, a good judge of character.   Crown Princess Mette-Marit has filled the role perfectly. Perhaps most importantly, she has shown a too often critical world that a clouded past does not mean one must endure a clouded future and such experiences can be of great value to those who find themselves in positions of privilege.  If anything, the Crown Princess is a powerful example of how the face of royalty can change with modernity.   

Earlier this year, the Crown Princess gave birth to a daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who shall one day become the first Queen of Norway in centuries. 
http://www.kongehuset.no 

Just east of Norway is Sweden, where people are famed for their progressive ways and healthy, good looks.  Not surprisingly, the Bernadottes of Sweden are no exception to this observation.   King Carl Gustav, the once playboy prince was finally tamed by the beautiful Brazilian-German Silvia Sommerlath.  At that time, Sweden was on the verge of becoming a republic.  The country’s disillusionment with the monarchy was dispelled when the young King introduced Silvia to the family.  His choice of bride was almost providential as the young Queen wowed Swedes and together the royal couple forged a renewed interest in their monarchy. 

Sweden was the world’s first monarchy to change the laws of succession to favour the first child born to the monarch regardless of gender.  Consequently, as a toddler, Princess Victoria gained the prefix of ‘Crown’, from her infant brother, Crown Prince Carl Philip, something their father was, and is, not happy about, although his reasons are not totally clear. The siblings also have a younger sister, the archetypal Swede (and blonde-bombshell), Princess Madeleine. 

While the Bernadotte children have looks to challenge the prince and princesses of Monaco, so far they have escaped the relationship scandals, which have plagued the Grimaldis.  Crown Princess Victoria is immensely popular, as are Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine and all three have steady partners.
http://www.royalcourt.se/index.html 

Across the Kattegat, lies Denmark .  If ever there was a role model for monarchy, this is it.   The Danish Royal Family enjoys an unsurpassed popularity amongst their countrymen. Their people see them not only as figureheads, but also as a true binding force. 

Queen Margarethe is beloved, highly intelligent, creative and industrious.   Her French-born husband, Prince Henrik, protectively backs her up and together they have continued and enhanced the family’s standing in the country.  As with any male consort, there have been some intense periods in Prince Henrik’s role, but he has remained steadfast in his support of his wife, as many people observed during the recent royal wedding. 

People say that when meeting the family, they just seem so ‘normal’.   None are afraid to show affection in public, like anyone else and yet somehow, they manage to be immensely close to their people yet keep the air of mystery around them, which is vital to monarchy. 

The couple had two sons, Crown Prince Frederick in 1968 and Prince Joachim in 1969. In 1995, Prince Joachim married the elegant, Hong Kong born, Alexandra Manley.  They have two sons, Princes Nikolai and Felix. Crown Prince Frederik, of course, married one of my countrymen, Mary Donaldson, in May. 

Known for his love of fast cars, Crown Prince Frederik, or ‘Pingo’ as he is called, is exceptionally popular.  He was linked with a number of attractive women in his early adulthood but it was, in the end, Mary who claimed his heart.  The couple met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and had a three-year courtship before their engagement was announced. 

It was some time before Queen Margarethe met the young Australian and Mary admits herself to being daunted at the prospect of meeting the Queen.  Mary has never spoken of what went on in that initial meeting but the Queen must have decided that Mary had the qualities to be a future Queen of Denmark. 

The couple’s marriage in May saw the entire country go into party mode, culminating on the night before the wedding when the world got its first glimpse of Mary as a princess.  That night, for the first time, Mary appeared in public in a red gown and a ruby encrusted tiara looking every bit the princess.
 http://www.kongehuset.dk   

….To be continued. 

- Gioffredo