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Scandal book criticizes waste and sponsorship
"They live a life as if there is no tomorrow and do not pay for themselves." This is what journalist Jens Høvsgaard says about the Danish royal family. The author of several revelation books has taken the Scandinavian Royals to heart in his latest "scandal book" .
In "Det kostar ett kungarike" ("It costs a kingdom"), Høvsgaard, according to the Swedish "Expressen", not only admonishes the luxury life of the royals in general, but also sharply criticizes the fact that the members of the Danish royal family in particular are burdened by a lot of costly gifts would endure.
So much luxury comes up with many angry. Princess Mary (40) and Prince Frederik (44) alone are said to already have over 26 Buttler in their private residences. "They have the lifestyle of a reality show - a Paris Hilton life you only see on TV, " says Høvsgaard.
In principle, Princess Mary and her Frederik, but also Prince Joachim (43) and his wife Marie (36), do not fare well with the investigative journalist. With their behavior they would be the "main problems" of the Danish monarchy.
Author Trine Villemann, who has written several books on the Royals, says, "The monarchy that is in Denmark today needs to change, and the biggest problem is that they lead a life so far away from that Reality is that they do not make an effort to approach people. "
And Trine Villemann even goes a step further: she predicts the end of the Danish monarchy and assures that Prince Christian (7), eldest son of Mary and Frederik, will never become king - if nothing changes.
The Swedish royal family gets away much better with the two authors. Make an effort to be realistic. That could have been seen in Princess Madeleine's (30) engagement: This was openly proclaimed via website, social media and video. A recently broadcast interview with Princess Victoria (35) and her little family in the snow can certainly be seen as a step in this direction.
In addition, the laws in Sweden are stricter in terms of donations. While Princess Mary and Prince Frederik had their new Land Rover sponsored by a dealership, this would not be possible in Sweden.
Denmark's Queen Margrethe (72) is also in the crossfire of criticism. According to Jens Høvsgaard, she wants to use military helicopters for private flights. A flight to an art exhibition should have cost the taxpayer a whopping 500, 000 Danish kroner - that would be around 67, 000 euros. "It's an unhealthy culture, " says Trine Villemann.
Waste of taxpayers' money and corporate sponsorship - that does not suit many monarchy critics. Whether that will have any effect on the role of the monarchy is questionable. The Scandinavians still love their royals - especially when they show themselves as close to the people as Victoria recently with her little Estelle (10 months) in the snow ...
