D'oh!: Yrma Say She'll Always Be Herself: No Wonder She's Skinny Since It Takes Major Energy To Always Be Vacuous and Camera- and Label-Conscious

Careful, Mary, real princesses don't have round shoulders or peekaboo Spanx slips!

In an interview in Her og Nu magazine, Taroona's own Madam La Comtesse de Narcissism talks about her favourite subject: herself! She was interviewed in Chile by some young students who are on the staff of the literary magazine of the children's library Mary visited in Valparaiso. So, imagine as Madam is granting this interview, that she's seated across from 13 year olds in a dress that is too short, with spanx coming out from under it, and four inch high heels and no stockings. This is their representative of modern European womanhood. The interview isn't long, but Mary lets down the side by mentioning the "consequences" of having tricked Derf and Daisy into thinking she was ideal marriage material: responsibilities! Ewww!

You can tell that in the wake of her telling other children years ago that she is "rich in buildings" that the Grey Men told her to say something more along the lines of yes, you're privileged, but you have to mention the responsibility and duty part of the equation. She presents herself as an ordinary housewife by saying that what she "does" is have four children and some generic work stuff thinggies. The coyness about being a princess. GAH. Yes, Mary, what is it like to be a princess. At least she didn't answer honestly that she pillages Danish taxpayers so she and her girlfriends can shop and drink wheatgrass smoothies and that when she hits a cyclist with her oversized car, that she can get away with it since she's above the law. What a buffoon. They can't even let Mary loose with 13 year old Chilean students. No wonder Lene refused Oprah on behalf of the reputation of Denmark!

"Lady, you know your Spanx is showing, right?"

Article: Her og Nu

Mary: I Will Always Be Myself!

A bunch of 13-year-old Chilean schoolchildren from various schools in Valparaiso in Chile were not going to let Crown Princess Mary's visit to the children's library Libro Alegre slip away, and were allowed to interview her for the library's magazine, which they write, and it was there they wanted to know about Mary and life in Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg.

The interview took place in the Chilean publisher LOM's launch of three Danish children's books translated into Spanish, and the young reporters initially asked Mary how much she reads.

Reasonably much, but not as much as I would like. It is a matter of time. But very often we read aloud to the children, said the Crown Princess.

What are the stories you read to children?

Right now we are reading the book Small Seed with great pleasure, which is actually one of those that has now been translated into Spanish, but we won't have to read it every night.

How does it feel to be princess?

That's a good question, laughed Mary. Yes, how is it perhaps to be a princess? It is certainly an enormous privilege, but the consequences are also a great responsibility. And one of the responsibilities I undertake is to focus on the areas we need to talk about, so our society can be improved, for example bullying, as I have worked a lot with.

How was it for you to go from being an ordinary woman to be princess?

You may get the title princess very quickly, but it is a journey like everything else in life. You find the way forward and fill the role, so it feels right for oneself, but you're always yourself, declared Mary.

How was your childhood?

I'm from a family with four children close in age to each other. I grew up in the beautiful scenery of Tasmania, which is part of Australia, and I had a very happy and secure childhood. My childhood taught me that you can do anything you want if you set yourself to it!

Can you dance some?

Yes, I can, laughed Mary.

What kind of music do you dance to?

It varies greatly. Since we have very young children, it often ends with the fact that we dance to children's songs, Danish children's songs, but our smallest are very pleased with an Australian group called The Widows. Otherwise, I like that rock'n'roll, betrayed Mary.

Do not you have an amusing anecdote you can tell?

It might not be so funny, but we were out hiking in the mountains the first day we were here in Chile. We saw so many others who were out walking at the same time. And I think the Chilean population are some of the warmest people I've met. And then a little more princess-like anecdote: young children often expect that when I come, they will see a woman in a very big dress and a crown on her head, and they are obviously disappointed when I come and am dressed like an ordinary person.

What do you do when you are in Denmark?

I fit in my work, and I am with the children, I have four children. It sounds very ordinary, and in many ways our lives are indeed as everyone else's, declared Mary at the end of the interview with the editors of the children's library magazine, whose name translated into Danish is Hole In The Sock.

Photos: Klavs Bo Christensen

Well Played!: Prince Richard Successful In Reintroducing The Bison To Northern Europe: Roaming Free On His Bad Berleburg Property

An American radio organisation's report (now with audio) on the reintroduction of bison to Bad Berleburg, all due to the tireless efforts of Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, husband to Princess Benedikte. He and his son Prince Gustav faced administrative hurdles and push back from neighbours, but they were persistent and their efforts have paid off. This is a small but significant ecological victory, but of course many more are needed. Amazing how the perserverance of one person - granted, one with enormous financial means - can make a difference. However, this sort of thing is exactly the sense of noblesse oblige that should be expected of nobles and royals (reigning families should support these efforts among their own populace). Must say, if that is a recent photo of Gustav, he's lost some weight and looks good. Wonder how much weight he's actually lost?

Article: NPR

A small herd of European bison will soon be released in Germany's most densely populated state, the first time in nearly three centuries that these bison — known as wisents — will roam freely in Western Europe.

The project is the brainchild of Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. He owns more than 30,000 acres, much of it covered in Norwegian spruce and beech trees in North Rhine-Westphalia. For the 78-year-old logging magnate, the planned April release of the bull, five cows and two calves will fulfill a decade-old dream.

But the aristocrat's neighbors aren't all thrilled about his plan to release wisents, which have been living in an enclosure on his property for three years. They are slightly taller than their American cousins and weigh up to a ton. Questions remain about who will foot the bill if the European bison damage property or injure someone.

"We were skeptical because we weren't given enough information," says Helmut Dreisbach, a cattle farmer and vice chairman of the Farmers' Association of Siegen-Wittgenstein. "How will the animals react? Will they stay in a particular area or will they move onto working farmland?"

The prince's estate manager, Johannes Roehl, says it's unlikely the small herd will move far beyond the 220-acre enclosure they currently live in. He adds that even if the animals do stray, they have vast swaths of uninhabited forestland to roam in.

Prince Richard blames much of the criticism on centuries-old rivalries between his Protestant family and Catholic neighbors.
Nevertheless, he and his son, Prince Gustav, say they realized the importance of winning over local residents. The younger prince says it was tough in the beginning.

"They made such trouble. I mean, there were public hearings with hundreds of people," the 44-year-old explains, adding, that the proponents "were nearly beaten up." But the princes say most people have come around after extensive efforts to educate residents about their plans and their getting necessary government approvals.

The project receives the equivalent of $1.6 million in government subsidies, and local officials have put up street signs pointing tourists to a second wisent herd that Prince Richard has on display.
Bernd Fuhrmann, the mayor of Bad Berleburg, says he hopes the wisents will jump-start the village's flailing tourist industry.

"We know them from the old Western movies," he says. "My enthusiasm for these animals has grown. ... To experience them in the wild will be fascinating."

European bison are not the first animals Prince Richard has brought back to the region. His estate is rife with gray geese and ravens, which he says he reintroduced at the request of the German government. Herds of red and roe deer, as well as wild sheep and boar, also abound on his property.

Many of the animals on his land can be hunted, but others, like the bison, are off limits. Rows of antlers and horns hang on the prince's office wall. The prince owns about 30,000 acres of vast forestland, home to the wisents.

Prince Richard says his passion for animals is one he's cultivated since his youth. It wasn't an easy childhood. He says American forces during World War II bombed his family home, adding a sarcastic, "Thank you very much."

After the war ended, Prince Richard says he and other youth would steal American soldiers' cigarettes for trade. He was shipped off to relatives in Sweden, where he developed his love for nature. He later studied forestry in college.

Prince Gustav says his father was determined to create animal-friendly habitats on their estate and enlisted his son's help. "For 20 years we've been shoveling ponds," the younger prince says. "Now we both have bad backs. I think we shoveled tons of earth for fish and for the big black stork and for the kingfisher."

In the U.S., efforts to reintroduce American bison have met with varying degrees of success. Clayton B. Marlow, a professor of rangeland science and management at Montana State University, warns that just as with American bison, keeping the German wisent herd moving will be paramount to ensuring it doesn't destroy habitat or become a nuisance to the community.

"We can't release either population onto a landscape and rub our hands with satisfaction and walk away," he says. Ensuring they don't transmit diseases to local cattle or vice versa is also important, he adds.

The princes have been working closely with Polish scientists at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences to ensure the wisents are healthy and genetically sound. That's where the official European bison registry is kept, showing that there are currently about 4,500 European bison in captivity.

Prince Gustav says the outcome they are hoping for is a herd or two of 15 to 25 animals. They and their project's managers will closely monitor the wisents and cull their numbers as needed. "If it doesn't work we will have to take them away, but it will work," he says. "If we leave them alone it will work."

Photos: Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Derf & Yrma Attend Kofi Annan's Book Presentation And Go Out To Dinner With Him And the Missus

 

 

Billed Bladet would have you believe that Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Notable Elder Statesman, could not have gotten much of an audience if Derf and Yrma hadn't packed the room at the Royal Library with their friends. Then why is World Famous Africa Saviour and Back Basement Conference Room UN Speaker Mary Boganson - clearly channeling Letizia's working woman style here, rather unsuccessfully with horrid, stumpifying trousers - is just now meeting Mr. Annan. At least she didn't bring her camera to try and take his photie for her upcoming Africa: ME: How I Saved It While Looking Great coffee table book.

 

Article: Billed Bladet

 

Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik Met Kofi Annan

 

Royal Couple spent hours with former UN Secretary-General during his visit to Copenhagen.
By Marianne Singer 20th March 2013

 

First Frederik and Mary listened intently to his many interesting messages and later in the evening they ate a nice dinner together. The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was in distinguished company when he visited the capital Tuesday.

 

The meeting with Annan began in the afternoon as the royal couple took part in the Royal Library event International Authors' Stage at the Black Diamond, during which Annan presented his memoir "In War and Peace".

 

In about half an hour was the world famous Nobel laureate up on the stage at the Queen's Hall and spoke good form with his Danish co-author Nader Mousavizadeh of the most prominent themes in the book for his 40 years in the United Nations and life in Africa. During the event, he enthralled his audience with his wise words and also got more time smile to the many visitors, many of whom were friends of the royal couple.

Subsequently, guests posed questions to the author for another half hour, then Annan rushed out to sign books for the many people who quickly formed a long queue.

Frederik and Mary went home after the inspiring event to get ready for dinner later in the evening. Here, the publisher of the book, Gyldendal, invited about 50 people out and eat at the restaurant Lumskebugten on the Esplanade, where there was time for a little longer conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: Hanne Juul

Daisy Has Speaking Role In Marvelous ITV Production "Our Queen" on Elizabeth, Her Son's Mother

Daisy has a fairly prominent role in the delightful, new ITV production of Our Queen, a wonderful inside look at the British monarch and monarchy that was just released. Daisy was interviewed in her salon at Marselisborg. In her impeccable British accent and perfect English, she talks about the James Bond routine at the Olympics, her own acsension to the throne and how it compares differently to Elizabeth's, but what is also similar about their roles and responsibilities. The take-away is that Daisy will not be abdicating in favour of Derf, ever. She is in it until she is entombed in her glass coffin.

Good news for Denmark, if one is avoiding even the thought of the reign of Kong Derfie and his consort Mary. Derf will have to wait to become king, and Daisy's got the long life genes of her mother's Swedish family - those folks go well into their 90s! Too bad for Queen Mary who is married to a man who seems to have confused himself with Elizabeth's heir, according to this interview in US-based Parade Magazine from 2009. But terrific for Denmark's treasury, which may see itself pillaged by bogans and freckled gargoyles in bad-fitting Wellies and crime scene carpet coats (ahem, Patty). Long life, Daisy!

Video: YouTube

Princess Marie Hits the Stage With The Royal Mayestaits Actors Incorporating Joachim's Real Injury Into a Medical Emergency Sketch Within a Zombie Play: Poking Fun at The Silly Chilean Helicopter Stunt?

 

 

 

Princess Marie was inducted into the association of The Royal Mayestaits Actors (link has more photos) this past Saturday. Her induction into this student theatre revue group transpired with her participation in a sketch that made up part of the revue's current production of "Zombies At the End of the Bed", a show that could have been written by Derf himself about his marital and parental experiences.

 

Marie's sketch was about the staff in an emergency room preferring to be together celebrating Easter than treating their patients. Reports say that she felt she performed well enough to high-five a fellow thespian. Then she was called on stage with Prince Joachim to receive her ribbon and be formally inducted into the troupe. Well done, Marie, you were a million times more relaxed than Madam was when she was inducted!

 

Meanwhile, Billed Bladet is reporting the "news" that Derf and Yrma were on separate helicopter rides to and from a mine site in Chile when the GPS system in the helicopter carrying Madam lost power. The article makes it sound like Derfie panicked for his lost love. Yeah, Katja! Mary was in no danger, but if a hiker finds a GPS system in the desert in a few months, check the system for fingerprints. If they're Derf's, Derf really does passive-aggressively want her gone, and if they're Yrma's, then she just needed a sympathy story to hit the sugar press, buy her more time. Non-story if ever there was one put out to distract the press on a day when Marie was the only royal with an official engagement in Denmark.

 

Article: Billed Bladet

 

Drama on the Crown Princely Couple's last day in Chile. On the way to a copper mine, Mary's helicopter losts its GPS connection.

 

Mary and Frederik's last day in Chile was characterised by drama. The couple, who were to visit Gaby mine in the northern part of the country, each flew there in helicopters, but along the way Mary's helicopter lost its GPS switch.

 

The procedure says that as the helicopter as soon as possible emergency landing, and so did the pilot course. It happened in the middle of the desert, near AMSA mine, and the landing was fortunately fine.

 

The special atmospheric conditions in the area meant that the pilot had no contact with the ground, most of the time while he was flying, and he could not talk about problems. Nobody knew what had happened to Mary and why she did not show up, because it was impossible to get in touch with her.

 

When the helicopter had crash-landed, happily they managed to restore the switch to GPS, and then Crown Prince Frederik and those who accompanied him, finally got to know where Mary was. Then the pilot could take off again and fly to Gaby mine, which turned out to be only 20 km away.

 

Here Frederik waited, and although everything had gone well with Mary, Frederik could hardly fail to have been nervous about his wife. Chief of the Court Christian Schønau, who was on the trip, confirmed that there was an error in the GPS Crown Princess helicopter.

 

"But now they are here, and it's gone well. Now we just listen to the speakers", said hofchefen who would like to reassure everyone.
The unpleasant experience meant that the program was last journey was almost two hours late. Therefore reached royal couple not to see the super modern Danish Sunmark solar panel system, which was the reason for the visit.
But they were listening to the speakers and got a bite to eat afterwards and talked to a number of Danish and Chilean employees. And they managed to reveal some fine copper plate, which is set up in memory of their visit in the middle of the Chilean desert.

 

 

 

Article: Her og Nu

 

Joachim Has Surgery On Curved Fingers

 

Prince Joachim, 43, had surgery on his left hand for Dupuytren's syndrome - a condition where your fingers over time can no longer be straightened out, because hard and knotty strings have formed in the hand's connective tissue.

 

"It is something called Dupuytren's syndrome, for which I have been repaired. It's not a plaster cast, it is only a box I have", said Prince Joachim to Her & Nu.

 

Dupuytren's syndrome is also called Viking's disease, because it mainly affects Northern European men. The condition worsens usually with time, and it may affect normal, daily functions when your fingers can no longer be straightened out.

 

The operation removes the thickened and contracted connective tissue that is causing the disorder. One is operated only when there will be about 30 degrees of stretch in the absence of one or more fingers.

 

Despite surgery, it is not rare that new constraints arise both in the operated fingers or other parts of the hand.One of complications is that there is risk of any recurrence of curvature of the fingers, just to be reckoned with small areas of altered sensation. In rare cases, there is also damage to the finger nerves or disturbance of blood supply to the fingers.

 

Although the dressing itself looks rough, he has no pain after surgery.

 

"Not at all. Everything is in the best order," says Prince Joachim to Her & Nu with a big smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: Stella, Diez Minutos

Daisy in Stockholm For Princess Lilian's Funeral: Bagpipes, the Union Jack and English Hymns

"I'm gonna kill those two idiots when they get back from Chile!"

 

 

It was a very beautiful and somber funeral for Princess Lilian, widow of one of the king's paternal uncles and aunt-by-marriage to Daisy and the last surviving member of that generation of Swedish royals. The service took place at the very baroquely elegant Royal Palace Chapel in Stockholm. This is where Princess Estelle was christened last year and Princess Madeleine will be married this coming June. Presiding were the royal chaplain, his assistant, and Reverend Nicholas Howe from the local Anglican Church. Lovely British touches were included in the ceremony. A Union Jack was positioned in the corner of the altar to acknowledge Lilian's Welsh roots. Two English language hymns were sung - Daisy was seen singing along to Jerusalem with the same gusto she mustered for it during the British royal wedding in April 2011 - and a bagpiper closed the service with "Auld Lang Syne". Rev. Howe read, in English, from St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, "Love is patient, love is kind" - a very nice touch in a funeral since it is usually read at weddings. Lilian had the love and respect of so many people, and it was striking to see all of the queen's sisters present. It is never easy to live basically in exile until allowed to marry at what is normally retirement age. Lilian must have been not only fun, but a loving and real relationship builder. The Anti-Mary.

 

All of this church and touch of Britain is all right up Daisy's alley! Her grandmother was the British-born Princess Margaret of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Queen Ingrid served tea at 4pm every day at home throughout Daisy's childhood because of the tradition her mother set. Naturally, Ingrid's younger brother Bertil would find comfort in a British life partner! And does Daisy love church, or what? It must be wonderful to be seated near her to hear her sing with such commitment. It is hard also not to know what a wonderful woman Queen Silvia must be. Ringing Lilian's far-flung, elderly cousin back in Wales, making all the arrangements for the family, choosing Lilian's wedding bouquet flower for the decorations. For all the jokes about an older woman's attempts at anti-aging beauty while living in the public eye, she seems to be the key player in keeping the royal family together, marrying tradition with large accommodations for love and reality. Never in a million years would Mary pick up the phone to personally get in touch with the first cousin of one of Fred's aunts by marriage and let them know the end is near. If such a task ever had to be undertaken by the court - say, for a Monpezat cousin - it would be pushed off onto a flunkie in the court offices. Mary Boganson wouldn't get her tacky French manicure dirty with peasants!

 

Rest in peace, Lilian.

 

Funeral video: SVT

 

 

 

Photos: Expressen, Anders Wiklund, Jonas Ekstromer/Scanpix Sweden Scanpix Denmark

Derf & Yrma in Chile, Day Five: LOL: Even the Danish Press Doesn't Care So Madam And Her Boy Bring On The Fun Times Themselves!

"I will haunt you forever, Fred. You will never get my ugly mug out of your head!"

 

 

This is how desparate it is: BT won't even run these photos at this point; they are running "articles" on how to get Fred's sunnies for yourself. This official visit to Chile has gone on too long and is too boring, headed by two uninterested and vacuous fools and even the sugary Danish pink press can't muster the effort to write about them. Look at them! They've resorted to taking stupid photos of themselves! Even they know they're pathetic!

 

Video: YouTube

 

Article: BT (on Fred's sunglasses inspiration)

 

 

 

"Do I look cute like this? I'm pretty sure I do."

 

"It's better when my face is in shadow. Can't have bright sunlight on what I've paid for so far."

"Get the ruby ring, Fred! That's my insurance policy!"

"I have no idea how to be natural!"

"Your turn to look alone against a moonscape. I'll sell this one to the press when we divorce."

 

"Yay! A brown person! Dammit, Tanja, it's just you."

"I'm Søren the hairdresser. The makeup is NOT my fault, just the hair."

 

"Hold me, dammit! Hold me! Lene said we had to. Cece and those RD slags are harping again."

 

"I wish, I wish, upon a shooting star ... that the Danes give me a raise this year!"

 

"Yehudi used something like this on me when I wanted twins. If this one misbehaves, can we turn the knob to Triplets?"

"This is my South American My Husband Loves Me Desperately, Dammit shirt. Remember from Copacabana!"

"See? He's holding me because Lene superglued his flask of whisky to my back."

 

"Smile or you get locked up in this prison and will never see another blonde again as long as you live." 

 

"You're cuter than her, Mary! You're cuter than her!"

"I'd smile, but I might pop a stitch!"

 

"I'm pledging Kappa Delta Gamma this year!"

Ol' Iron Thighs is back!

Wedgie on wedges!

Photos: Pure People, Newscom