Alexandra: make a difference

File photo Billed Bladet

From Billed Bladet no. 50, 17 December 2007 'Mine drenge lærer at hjælpe' – My boys are being taught to get involved:

“The most important thing during Christmas time is charity. We must of course enjoy that we live here in Denmark and that we can see the happiness of the children here at home, but you must also remember to think about all those in the world who are not as fortunate as we are and who are in a poor situation,” said Countess Alexandra, who is very active as patron for UNICEF. The often heart breaking experiences she has had on her travels for UNICEF have made a deep impression on her.
“Actually so little is needed to make a big difference.”
“My boys are still so young and you shouldn’t worry children with too many problems too early. But they benefit from learning that not all children are so fortunate as they. Charity starts in your own home and I do put a lot of emphasis on telling them about the work I do, for example, for UNICEF. They have both been around the world to places where they have seen with their own eyes and have experienced that not all people are as fortunate as we are in Denmark. And then I do put a lot of emphasis on teaching both Nikolai and Felix moderation and manners.”
“I have seen the consequences of AIDS with my own eyes during my travels with UNICEF. It has been harsh to experience how AIDS can shatter the life of children and their families. There are so many orphaned children, there are so many dying people and there is still a lack of knowledge and medicine.”
“It can seem futile and insurmountable. You can hardly breathe when you see those fates. Half the children who die worldwide die from HIV. But there is hope, because I know helping makes a difference.”
“It’s just a question about being willing to do something about the problem – and money to do it with. And we simply cannot allow ourselves to close our eyes.” (written by Trine Larsen and kindly translated by Muhler!)

It is never too late to donate or make a contribution:
UNICEF International
UNICEF Denmark
UNICEF Australia

Alexandra @ UNICEF & Kristeligt Dagblad interview

Yesterday Countess Alexandra was at the UNICEF relaunch of the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Copenhagen (click above - 3:05)

See Nyhedsavisen 'Alexandra: Mine børn skal lære om velgørenhed' for the story (in Danish) - Alexandra: My children have to learn about charity (November 27th 2007 13:52) Countess Alexandra teaches her children about charity and about when it is important to help. That was what she told Avisen.dk when she talked together with others today about UNICEF's launch of a global campaign aimed at helping children affected by AIDS...

Added: See Countess Alexandra relaunches the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign in Denmark (in English) from UNICEF

Recently Alexandra gave an interview on her religious ideas to the Christian oriented newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad. This is a little new for Alexandra to speak publically of being an actively religious person openly in this way. We have removed the translated interview at the request of the newspaper. If you would like to see the translation, please contact us by email.

Frederik & Mary at DR1 HIV/AIDS concert & telethon

Tonight Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have attended the concert and collection call centre as patrons of a Danish national fundraising effort between Danish television (DR1) and various aid organisations in Denmark to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. The DRTV fundraiser concert is in the Concert Hall at Tivoli in Copenhagen to be telecast on national television with hosts Reimar Bo Christensen and Signe Lindkvist. Mary and Frederik are official sponsors for the event and many popular DRTV hosts and personalities will be involved in the production. The first part of Frederik and Mary's visit was at the concert and then later at the Tradimus Call Center, Frederiksberg. The huge co-operative effort is between DRTV, church groups, aid organisations, members of the music industry, and, of course, the Danish people, who donate to the telethon.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arriving at the concert:



Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arriving at the Tradimus Call Center:



An alarming fact is the motivation of the telethon: nearly 40 million people are infected with HIV world wide and 70 per cent of them live in Africa, south of the Sahara.

The co-operating participants with the Danish TV and radio network DR1 are:
UNICEF Danmark
Danish Red Cross
Save the Children Denmark
SOS-Børnebyerne

Some more links (sorry all are in Danish - we will bring more information in English later):
DR.dk - 'Danmarks Indsamling' skal bekæmpe udbredelsen af og følgerne af hiv og aids
DR.dk - ’Danmarks Indsamling’: Kim Larsen, Thomas Helmig og Kronprinsparret i kæmpe indsamlingsshow på DR1
Danmarks Indsamling - stop AIDS-katastrofen i Africa Denmark's fundraiser - project website
Aidsnet.dk and the site in English (for a general idea without specific info about the current project)
DanChurchAid article in Danish about the huge co-operative project between many Danish organisations to help stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa
DanChurchAid article in Danish about the Danish Church's 'first aid'/AIDS project in Tanzania
Save the Children Fund in Danish, already involved in ongoing projects in Ethipia and Kenya.
Unicef Danmark
DANSKSTOPPEN SUBNET
GAFFA.dk music magazine in Danish about their involvement in the fundraiser. Many Danish music artists are performing for the benefit.

Wherever you are in the world, you can make a secure internet donation to this whorthwhile cause here

(many thanks santa and gudinde)

Added: from a special correspondent and friend of the blog we are adding these photos of Frederik and Mary inside the Tradimus Call Centre. More than 52 million DKK was raised last night. The third photo is of Frederik's aide-de-camp and Mary's friend and lady-in-waiting Caroline Heering.



(many thanks Benedikte)

New!

The DR TV concert and telethon DR1 video - part 1 Danmarks indsamling video clip (1:25:11) Frederik and Mary arrive in the concert hall at 0:53:00.

DR1 video - part 2 video clip (1:30:00) Frederik and Mary arrive in the Tradimus Call Center at 0:28:30 and there is a 5 minutes of Frederik and Mary on camera talking to people taking the calls.

DR1 news video clip (1:10)
(thanks jema!)

Prince Joachim update

Both Prince Joachim and his ex-wife Princess Alexandra have been busy with their various official duties during the last week. Princess Alexandra attented the 10 year anniversary dinner at the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen. A few days later Joachim and Alexandra attended the 300 year anniversary of the Garnisons Church in Copenhagen with their sons Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix (in some snow as they left!). Billed-Bladet has reported that one of their journalists asked Mary what she thought of the Joachim/Marie romance when she was on her shopping expedition last week with Christian and friends in Copenhagen. Mary is said to have replied she couldn't really comment but she is happy for them. Keep in mind there is a great deal of tabloid spin going on with this story, so we will keep you posted if the facts of who said what and when becomes clearer with time.

From Hello! magazine:

Alexandra lives life in the fast lane
27 MARCH 2006

Denmark's Princess Alexandra showed she has a taste for danger when she attended the annual UNICEF International Racing Festival in Copenhagen. Having donned a protective helmet, the elegant royal smiled with delight at the prospect of taking to the circuit at the city's Bella centre.



Later she climbed into the cockpit of one of the sleek Formula One models. At the high profile charity event top drivers whizz paying guests around the circuit, fulfilling their dream to get a bite of the action experienced by the pros.

Alexandra's ex-husband Joachim is the patron of festival, which has raised £1.2 million since its inception seven years ago. It's the first time the pair will have coincided at a public engagement since the handsome prince spoke of his love for Marie Cavallier, the attractive French financier he's been seeing since last autumn.

If Alexandra felt any discomfort at running into her former spouse after he gave a candid newspaper interview describing himself as "radiating joy" because of the romance, it wasn't apparent. The pair have remained on amicable terms since their divorce was finalised nearly a year ago and the Hong Kong-born princess seemed to relish every bit of her day at the races.

Article source:
Hello! magazine

More about Joachim and Marie

MARCH 20 2006 - The Danish Prince Joachim came home Sunday from his trip in South East Asia. He was greated by the Danish press with pictures of Marie Cavallier when he visited the Car Show in the Bella Center in Copenhagen. He was asked if he was in love and he confirmed it.

Just because we haven't posted more here about the Danish press reaction to the 'outing' of Prince Joachim's girlfriend Marie Cavallier, doesn't mean that it doesn't continue in a bit of a frenzy, because it is!

As predicted, Joachim was greeted at Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport by rather a lot of press on his return from Thailand. Despite pages and pages of 'coverage' in Denmark's tabloid press there is no real advance in knowledge about the relationship. Some closer translation of Marie's words in the several interviews she has given so far reveal she has not been quite as forthcoming as the tabloid headlines and stories would suggest. An example is the headline about Marie wanting three children, it would appear Marie said she would like three children, but that whether it is with Joachim or not is still too early to tell. Marie has said she and Joachim are together and they will see what the future will bring.

Marie Cavallier in Geneva last week. Photo:B.T./Jeppe Michael Jensen

There is some conjecture about Alexandra, Joachim's ex-wife and mother of his two children Prince Nilolai and Prince Felix, possibly and supposedly being upset by the arrival of Marie on the scene, despite there being no evidence whatsovever that this is so. Marie is dissected for tabloid analysis and many pages are devoted to the royalty experts' interpretation of the romance. Joachim says he is happy and that 'things' will proceed in their own way but there is no talk of engagement. Even this is stringing things together, because the gentlemanly Joachim repeatedly declined to comment on the many questions asked of him by journalists. When he arrived back in Copenhagen last Sunday Joachim went straight from the airport to the Bella Centre for a racing festival (Joachim is very keen on motor sport) where racing drivers were raising money for UNICEF Danmark. At the Bella Centre Joachim was confronted by journalists and was noticeably awkward when presented with photographs of Marie.

Links and sources:
Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian
Danish Royal Family's official website with photogallery of Joachim's recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam
Billed-Bladet on Joachim going to see Nikolai and Felix on Monday morning after his Sunday arrival in Copenhagen (at the Krebs School, where Frederik and Joachim also went to school as children)
Billed-Bladet (this week has 8 pages on Marie and the romance all up)
B.T.
Hello! magazine (in English)
SE og HØR
TV2 suggests Marie has talked a little too much to the media