Prince Frederik: The boarding school scandal “still” has no consequences for Christian’s continued schooling

Prince Frederic
After boarding school scandal: He still hesitates to take Prince Christian out of school

Princess Mary, 50, came to a Mother’s Day event in Copenhagen on May 5, 2022 as patron of the “Maternity Foundation”. As soon as she arrived, she was bombarded with questions about the “TV 2” documentary about Herlufsholm boarding school. Former students had reported about violence and bullying in the facility. Allegations that must have shaken the Danish royal family. Prince Christian, 16, has been attending boarding school since 2021 and his sister Princess Isabella, 15, will be enrolled from autumn 2022.

Princess Mary: “I distance myself”

The sensational documentary is scheduled to be broadcast this Thursday during prime time and is available to online subscribers ahead of schedule. Quite a few seem to have made use of it so far.

At her appointment, Mary seemed prepared for the justified curiosity of the press. When asked by a reporter from the newspaper Ekstra Bladet about her feelings about the allegations against her son’s boarding school, she answered without hesitation and seriously: “I haven’t seen the program myself, but it all sounds very intense and must be very serious to be taken seriously”.

She added bluntly: “I generally distance myself clearly from any form of bullying, insults and violence,” and left further questions about whether she was not worried about sending her children there, faded away in the media turmoil.

Prince Frederik, 53, was also undecided when faced with a decision about his children’s further schooling. On the way to an appointment, “Ekstra Bladet” was also able to elicit a first statement from him. When asked if he had already seen the much-anticipated TV report about the boarding school, the heir to the throne explained: “I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve been told that the cases are serious. And it is clear that bullying is not good at all. That’s a bad thing.” Could the bad allegations make him question his eldest’s whereabouts at the boarding school? Frederik said hesitantly: “Not yet…”

Mary’s foundation also takes a stand

Many questions are currently buzzing through Mary and Frederik’s minds: Should we wait for the allegations to be clarified or act quickly and take the child out of school? Worries that would probably move many parents in such a situation.

Combating bullying is one of the main focuses of Princess Mary’s foundation. This has now also responded to the allegations against the prestigious boarding school.

Director Helle Östergaard wrote on Instagram that the foundation did not actually comment on individual cases. But the young people’s accounts of bullying, violence and assaults in the documentary left a strong impression: “Research on bullying shows that it is not about individuals, but about the development of a culture in which a community forms around others bullying. Where everyone covers for each other for fear of being the next victim. If such a culture is allowed to spread and left unchecked, it can lead to serious and serious incidents and have lasting consequences for everyone.”

The “Mary Fonden” has been working together with other actors to combat bullying for almost 15 years, the director wrote, naming initiatives that support positive community and help adults with the necessary intervention. They have come a long way. “But the documentary shows very clearly that our work is important and that there is still a lot to do,” says Östergaard.

This is how the boarding school reacts

Herlufsholm boarding school has since announced on its website that it intends to launch an investigation, led by a lawyer and with the help of the teachers. At the same time, however, the school emphasized that they did not recognize the picture that was drawn in the Herlufsholm TV documentary.

Sources used: ekstrabladet.dk, teda.dk

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