Alexandra, Countess of Fredensbourg - 2019 NEWS & EVENTS

[Harley]

The press didn’t discover Alex in advance but aside from that, then I agree. They simply weren’t compatible as a couple in the long run and are just better suited as friends.

Alex was a phenomenal princess and Mary was beyond lucky that she didn’t have to compare with Alex for that long. But, for what it’s worth, I’m also not sure that Alex would have particularly enjoyed having to defer to Mosh, after having been the de facto CPss of Denmark for many years.

[Maria]

The press didn’t discover Alex in advance but aside from that, then I agree. They simply weren’t compatible as a couple in the long run and are just better suited as friends.

Alex was a phenomenal princess and Mary was beyond lucky that she didn’t have to compare with Alex for that long. But, for what it’s worth, I’m also not sure that Alex would have particularly enjoyed having to defer to Mosh, after having been the de facto CPss of Denmark for many years.

ITA.

Their engagement came out of the blue. IIRC Joachim even broke up with his long time girlfriend on the phone only shortly before. I think they were simply madly in love. It did also seemingly work well for time.

[ralf103]

Did Alex work more than Mary does now? I always hear she was very good at her role and just wonder what she did that Mary doesn't - other than being more selfless.
I admire how well they all still seem to get on.

[Queen’s Tea]

Did Alex work more than Mary does now? I always hear she was very good at her role and just wonder what she did that Mary doesn't - other than being more selfless.
I admire how well they all still seem to get on.

IIRC, picked up Danish quickly and spoke fluently, which was difficult for Mary. 

[Oh_Caroline]

Did Alex work more than Mary does now? I always hear she was very good at her role and just wonder what she did that Mary doesn't - other than being more selfless.
I admire how well they all still seem to get on.

IIRC, picked up Danish quickly and spoke fluently, which was difficult for Mary. 

I seem to remember that Alexandra's skill in German was credited as a big help in picking up Danish quickly.  Already knowing a language to a respectable level certainly aids in learning another and both German and Danish are in the Germanic Language family...German being in the West Germanic subfamily and Danish in the North Germanic subfamily.

I don't believe that Mary spoke a second language prior to learning Danish and then there's the thought that she and Fred spoke/speak English to each other which would make learning any second language more difficult as an adult.  As an adult you must be motivated and really work at it to learn a second language.

[Miss Marple]

Did Alex work more than Mary does now? I always hear she was very good at her role and just wonder what she did that Mary doesn't - other than being more selfless.
I admire how well they all still seem to get on.

I am not sure she worked more but she was on a more professional level. She got clothes etc. right without that "look at me" attitude. She always came across as likeable and knowledgeable and she apparently was fluent in Danish in no time. It was never about her it was just a job well done.

[ralf103]

Sounds like she was the 'traditional' royal in everything was about the Crown and the cause not herself.

I was always a bit disappointed she didn't keep up doing more after her divorce.

[periwinkle]

I liked the way she came across. I like learning that she was beloved as a princess. It was very smart of her to say that the most important thing was to learn the language. She seems smart and confident and down to earth. I liked how the lady at the mulled wine stand just talked to these ladies about the wine being a danish tradition as if she didn't recognize Alexandra and Alexandra didn't make a deal of it she went along like oh this is a danish tradition how nice. That is class. She didn't have to say why her marriage didn't work she was classy there too not making anyone out as the bad guy. Sometimes things just don't work out. She is besotted with her sons who seem very well raised.

[jolene]

Her wedding dress to Joachim is one of my favorites. 

[Principessa]

Did Alex work more than Mary does now? I always hear she was very good at her role and just wonder what she did that Mary doesn't - other than being more selfless.
I admire how well they all still seem to get on.

IIRC, picked up Danish quickly and spoke fluently, which was difficult for Mary.  

I seem to remember that Alexandra's skill in German was credited as a big help in picking up Danish quickly.  Already knowing a language to a respectable level certainly aids in learning another and both German and Danish are in the Germanic Language family...German being in the West Germanic subfamily and Danish in the North Germanic subfamily.

I don't believe that Mary spoke a second language prior to learning Danish and then there's the thought that she and Fred spoke/speak English to each other which would make learning any second language more difficult as an adult.  As an adult you must be motivated and really work at it to learn a second language.

Isn't English also a Germanic language? English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca. The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people. You had West- North- and East (extinct) Germanic languages.

The West Germanic languages include the three most widely spoken Germanic languages: English with around 360–400 million native speakers; German, with over 100 million native speakers; and Dutch, with 24 million native speakers. Other West Germanic languages include Afrikaans, an offshoot of Dutch, with over 7.1 million native speakers; Low German, considered a separate collection of unstandardized dialects, with roughly 0.3 million native speakers and probably 6.7–10 million people who can understand it (at least 5 million in Germany and 1.7 million in the Netherlands); Yiddish, once used by approximately 13 million Jews in pre-World War II Europe, and Scots, both with 1.5 million native speakers; Limburgish varieties with roughly 1.3 million speakers along the Dutch–Belgian–German border; and the Frisian languages with over 0.5 million native speakers in the Netherlands and Germany.


But you are, IMO, correct about learning a foreign language as an adult. It is (much) harder then as a child. And off course there are also differences in the natural ability of people to learn a foreign language.

As child I was relatively good in learning English and German, besides my native Dutch, and I credited it to my knowledge of and experience in Dutch  and some variants of Low Saxon (I grew up with both). But others in similar circumstances had to put in much more efforts to learn the foreign languages.

BTW the French lessons I took at school were the 1st subject I got rid of I had a hard time with this language.   

[Oh_Caroline]

Oh yes...sorry should have mentioned that.  I meant more in the context of having all ready learned a second Germanic language to a respectable level would have made learning a third a cake walk.

A similar thing happened to my cousin...once she had learned both French and Spanish to a respectable level the rest of the Romanic languages came fairly easily.  She doesn’t know them all but she’s dabbled and says it’s been much easier to pickup. 

Plus Mary doesn’t appear to be as motivated/willing to really work at it.  That being the biggest factor.

[Principessa]

Oh yes...sorry should have mentioned that.  I meant more in the context of having all ready learned a second Germanic language to a respectable level would have made learning a third a cake walk.

 

Understandable.

As mentioned I thought it was relatively easy for me to learn German and English based on my native knowledge of and experience with Dutch and some Low Saxon variants. It indeed seemed to give me some head start. But I know of others in similar situations, but for whom it was difficult learning foreign languages including the other Germanic languages. So I guess it is a combo of your natural ability to learn (foreign) languages in combo with where you grew up with

[esther angeline]

I know for me personally when I was in Denmark, I couldn't even wrap my ears around Danish.  I have been able to "hear" some English in German and Dutch, but Danish is impenetrable to my brain.  I couldn't even recognize train stops and had to keep an eye on the written guides.  Danish, Finnish and Hungarian are said to be the hardest languages in the world to learn as non-native speakers.

Not defending Mary, but Danish is worlds apart for  the average English speaker.  But what I do know is that I would learn to the best of my ability and would have utilized the finest linguists which were certainly available to her.

[Maria]

Mary obviously has no talent for languages but you can tell she doesn’t prioritise speaking Danish. The lack of effort is what is troublesome.

Alex, like Marie, is very talented concerning languages but also makes a constant effort. That’s the dishing difference.

[Principessa]

I know for me personally when I was in Denmark, I couldn't even wrap my ears around Danish.  I have been able to "hear" some English in German and Dutch, but Danish is impenetrable to my brain.  I couldn't even recognize train stops and had to keep an eye on the written guides.  Danish, Finnish and Hungarian are said to be the hardest languages in the world to learn as non-native speakers.

Not defending Mary, but Danish is worlds apart for  the average English speaker.  But what I do know is that I would learn to the best of my ability and would have utilized the finest linguists which were certainly available to her.

When reading, I can understand a large part of the other Germanic languages, including Danish. But the pronounciation is off and/or difficult for me