Posted by Michelleq
on 31/10/2009, 0:12:57, in reply to ""As I said to Queen Elizabeth..." - 25 quotations"
68.37.139.85
Princess Benedikte and Queen Ingrid are my favorite royals, but Prince Richard, to me, is my King of Princes. I love his frankness and honesty!
--Previous Message--
: Prince Richard is not a person who keeps his
: thoughts to himself – as these quotes from
: old interviews show. They are of course
: taken out of context, but at least they
: prove that it’s never boring to read an
: interview with him. He often speaks
: tongue-in-cheek and likes to tease his wife,
: so don’t take it all too seriously.
:
: About his princely status:
: "To be honest, I am not interested in
: titles at all – unlike certain others in the
: family."
:
: About the carefree royal life:
: "The royals live a life completely
: different from everyone else’s. As soon as
: the gate is closed behind you, you are like
: in another world. They have lots of
: employees, and all problems except for the
: personal ones, are kept away from you.
: People take care of it. They have no
: financial problems, they only see the people
: they like to see, and they are terribly
: spoiled when they travel [...] You need to
: be born into that world to live like
: that."
:
: Asked by Queen Elizabeth if he really
: thinks the royal life is so unusual:
: "Yes! By God I think so. The only
: problems that are not swept away from you
: are those you have with your family."
:
: About the royals on job:
: "In the airport the children and I once
: stood in the crowd of people who hoped to
: get a glimpse of my wife and the Norwegian
: Queen Sonja. 'Mum', 'Benedikte', we called
: for her, but she neither saw nor heard us.
: It’s as if the royals develop a kind of
: tunnel vision when they are on duty."
:
: About the wedding of Beatrix and Claus of
: the Netherlands:
: "There we have the royal corner, a
: friend told me and nodded discreetly. It’s
: an old joke repeated everytime we meet at a
: big party, where Europe’s royal houses are
: represented, because the royals unfailingly
: gather in a corner for themselves. They sit
: together like a big family, and it’s only at
: parties in the Danish and Swedish royal
: houses I have seen this custom departed
: from."
:
: About his wife:
: "She is 99% Danish" ... "She
: can get pissed off, especially if I tease
: her about something Danish." ...
: "We are like night and day. Sometimes I
: wonder how we got children. I rise early in
: the morning, take a nap after lunch and go
: to bed early in the evening. She does the
: opposite."
:
: About his rejection of a Danish princely
: title:
: "I never regretted, and I never took
: the proposal seriously. Neither did I take
: it seriously when it was suggested from
: Danish quarters that I should give up
: Berleburg and settle in Denmark. I spat out
: a ‘No’ as fast as I could."
:
: About his daughters’ choice to become
: Danish citizens:
: "I can’t say that I am proud [...] it’s
: different with their mother, she is
: overjoyed."
:
: About Benedikte’s succession right:
: "It would have meant a catastrophe for
: me if Benedikte had become queen. I was not
: born to that sort of life. Had it come to
: that, I should have had dentures by now, as
: I should have been grinding my teeth from
: morning till night."
:
: About Queen Ingrid:
: "Mother-in-law was downright unhappy
: that you chose me – it was the last thing
: she wanted. She hated Germans right until
: her death. My luck was that Benedikte is as
: stubborn as her mother."
:
: Asked why he hasn’t entered politics:
: "I would have been elected if my
: father-in-law hadn’t become so furious. I
: ran in the local elections for CDU in 1968,
: but I was not allowed to be politically
: active if Benedikte should keep her place in
: the line of succession. She wanted that so
: much. This was the only time my
: father-in-law got really angry with me.
: Otherwise we had a fine relationship, and I
: was the only son-in-law who was allowed to
: tease him. Well, Benedikte cried, so I gave
: in. Okay-okay, I said, then I do nothing to
: get elected. Benedikte is so fond of her
: job. Too fond. She is always away from home
: – but then again, it’s good for the
: marriage, ha-ha."
:
: About Germany:
: "We Germans are not one people. We
: speak the same language, but we are very
: different. A Bavarian hates a Prussian and
: so on. The biggest catastrophe was when
: Bismarck united the German empire under the
: reign of Wilhelm II. That gave Germany the
: belligerent image and led to two world
: wars."
:
: About the upcoming reunification of East
: and West Germany in 1990:
: "Chancellor Kohl is a donkey. He
: conceals what all of this will
: involve."
:
: About faith:
: "Religion does not matter at all to me.
: I know as little as anyone if there is a God
: or something else, but it means nothing for
: my part. I am a declared Protestant and I
: certainly don’t agree with the Pope, who
: preaches that you may only sleep with one
: particular woman to sire children. God is
: not to decide when I sleep with my wife, and
: if one should follow the Pope’s words, one
: could hardly ever have an intimate moment in
: the marriage."
:
: About raising his children:
: "If they lied, I spanked them with a
: whip. Both Gustav and the girls."
:
: About his daughter Nathalie:
: "I call her every day and ask: How are
: you, Nathalie? Immediately she starts
: talking about her new horse. I say:
: Nathalie, find yourself a lover!
: Ha-ha-ha-ha."
:
: About Queen Margrethe:
: "I learned a long time ago not to ask
: her about anything relating to Danish
: history. If I do, I get a never-ending
: lecture!"
:
: About Prince Henrik:
: "Some people find it problematic to be
: number three. I can only laugh. I am myself
: number 23 after wife, children, dogs and
: horses."
:
: Asked if he speaks Danish with Prince
: Henrik:
: "Yes, but I barely understand a word
: when he speaks Danish. He says the same
: about me, so that’s a thing we agree
: on."
:
: About Crown Prince Frederik:
: "I have warned him that if he speeds
: and runs somebody down, he will never become
: king."
:
: About snobbery:
: "The worst people are those who are
: stupid and snobbish at the same time.
: Conceit and snobbery combined in one person
: is the worst thing I know."
:
: About temper:
: "I can get really angry very quickly,
: but it’s always over the next day. And I
: don’t bear a grudge. A person who can’t live
: with that, should not be together with me.
: My wife gets offended once in a while, and
: then she phones her mother."
:
: About his cancer:
: "Princess Benedikte didn’t know how to
: help me, when I was ill. She can’t cope with
: illnesses, and she doesn’t tell me when she
: is ill herself. She tries to be kind – she
: does. But I just don’t think she understands
: how hard it is to be ill."
:
: About food:
: "If Benedikte should cook our dinner, I
: would have died a long time ago. She can’t
: even make coffee."
:
: About city life:
: "I hate cities. Then you have to go
: shopping with your wife. It’s terrible – a
: ground for divorce, ha-ha. It’s the worst
: you can do. Then she has to look at shoes,
: at least 20 pairs, it takes time, and none
: of them fits. Then we walk around the next
: corner to another shoe shop. I can’t stand
: it."
: