In the past, she has proven repeatedly that Princess Marie is not afraid to speak her mind. She also doesn’t seem to be afraid of the consequences of her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe.
Not only since Queen Margrethe, 83, decided in the fall of last year to deprive the children of Prince Joachim, 53, and Princess Marie of the prince or princess titles, the relationship between the 47-year-old and the monarch does not seem to be the best. As the Danish magazine “Se og Hør” suspects, Marie is even “Queen Margrethe’s biggest critic”.
Princess Marie is open about her opinion
On April 16, she celebrated her 83rd birthday. To the end, the court did not want or could not say whether Marie would also show up for the celebrations on the castle balcony. At the confirmation of her son Count Henrik, 14, in Paris, the queen was absent. She could not come due to her back surgery, which she underwent on February 22nd, according to the court.
The 14-year-old was understanding of this message. “Of course it’s a shame, but of course you can understand that she couldn’t come,” he said, according to “Ekstra Bladet” and added: “But I know that she wishes all the best from Denmark.”
It is not known whether his mother could muster as much understanding for the absence of her mother-in-law. However, there were those who nodded and applauded everything the queen said – and then there was Marie, writes “Se og Hør”. In recent years, she has repeatedly shown in public that she is not afraid of the monarch or of falling out of favor with her.
Open criticism of Queen Margrethe
So it is she who now and then publicly expresses criticism. After Margrethe’s title decision, she openly vented her anger. The name they grew up with was taken from their children, she said in an interview with “BT” at the end of last year. And also in July 2020, in an interview, she made no secret of the fact that she and her husband Joachim were by no means able to determine and decide everything themselves.
Even when her lover was criticized because he continued to receive an allowance during his stay in France, Marie jumped to his side. The criticism was “completely unfounded”, she could not understand it, she clarified. And that’s not all: she publicly confirmed the rumors that Joachim’s relationship with his older brother, Crown Prince Frederik, 55, was “complicated”.
The Danish magazine sees another indication of Marie’s dissatisfaction in the fact that she did not appear at Margrethe’s traditional New Year’s dinner on January 1st. Son Henrik, who had been demoted from prince to count just a few hours before the event, was said to be ill at the time.
Royal house expert Lars Hovbakke Sørensen sees the reason why it is easier for the French-born to express her opinion publicly because she was not born into a royal house like Joachim. He therefore feels more committed to his family, and more loyalty is expected of him. He could not say whether Marie’s critical statements were always discussed with her husband, but they were noted with disapproval in the royal family. One would naturally prefer to present oneself as a unit.
Sources used: Se og Hør, Dana Press, BT