Our Marie has said something political and as such she is (according to one tabloid) controversial. But more on that in a moment.
Summary of a meager article in Billed Bladet #10, 2016.
Written by Dorthe Quist who could and should do better!
Because the article is so meager, it consists basically only of a few photos and a few quotes.
So this is Marie's impression of the Faeroe Islands: "I won't say I'm surprised because I knew it's very beautiful on the many islands of the Faeroe Islands. But still, I was surprised how genuinely beautiful it is here. It's unique. Of course it's a small community but very, very cozy and very beautiful.
And I understand I've been very fortunate with the weather during the three days here.
That what has made the biggest impression is of course the nature. Obviously. The food too is really good here. Especially the fish is good. But people are also very sweet and then you can speak to them in Danish".
About being met with high school students singing French, she said: "That was very sweet, I think. I was a bit surprised that it was in French since I'm also Danish. But the young all saw me as the French Princess".
And about autism she said: "There has been a lot of research in genes and autism for many years. And there are still varying opinions about it. But it's a very exciting project, the two researchers told about.
The most important thing for me in connection with the visit to the Faeroe Islands was that classes for young with autism has been created at the high school in Thorshavn. Young with autism also have dreams and competences. They need to become more independent. That's also important for their families.
It starts with high school classes like these. That's a very important thing.
Also because I don't believe in inclusion at all. That's my opinion".
- And this is where Marie became "political".
First a little background:
The concept of inclusion is that children with special needs should be put into classes with "normal" children as far as it is possible, rather than staying in classes or even schools for children with special needs.
The reasoning being that it makes the children feel more "normal" and it stimulates them to get out of a comfort zone that may be a bit too safe and also being with other children who are not having similar issues as themselves.
And that makes good sense, as long as the whole thing takes the individual child into consideration. Otherwise the child will feel like an outsider and the child will not only feel, but actually be outside the comfort zone and not feel stimulated, rather on the contrary.
The problem is that most municipalities has seen that as an opportunity to save money on special classes and teachers, so the interpretation is not "inclusion as far as possible taking the individual child into consideration" but rather "inclusion as far as it is at all possible"!
Prinsesse Marie er helt uenig med politikerne: Jeg tror ikke på det - Royale | www.bt.dk
Now, that little remark by Marie has been seized upon by the tabloid BT (no other papers seems to find it controversial though...) where it has been interpreted as a criticism of the current education-policy backed by a majority in the Parliament, but criticized heavily but parents, teachers and organizations.
So far there has been no reaction from any politicians and the survey in the article show that 95 % of the readers agree with Marie.
And since she knows of autism first hand from her family, one can argue that she actually knows what she is talking about...
But BT still try to stir the pot, so today they have dusted of the usual royal experts who IMO have stretched things a bit too much.
Marie deler vandene med kontroversiel udtalelse: 'Hun kan blive kendt som den modige prinsesse' - Royale | www.bt.dk
Lars Hovbakke Sørensen believes it could actually benefit Marie if she from time to time voice an opinion that may go against the current political majority.
"It (inclusion) is apparently a subject that is very much on the mind of Princess Marie, because her close family is affected. One can sense the Princess' personal dedication and many will also percieve her as a genuine and courageous person, because she goes against a majority in the Parliament".
He goes on to say that she as a secondary princess has much more space to maneuver that the CP-couple who have to be more guarded in regards to what they say.
He also points out that Marie has become more confident in her role as princess within the past year.
"It can be an advantage for her if she makes it her trademark to be the bold Princess, who dare a little more than the others from the DRF. But of course she must not exaggerate".
- Weeell, to be honest I don't think Marie for one second considered the politicians or had any intentions of saying something that could be interpreted as political. She was IMO simply being Marie.
That is, what you see is what you get. She was asked to comment on special high school classes for students with autism and she simply gave her honest opinion.
Had it been Mary, it would have been very different, again IMO, partly because Mary has the position she has, but also because Mary is so professional. Mary doesn't blurt out with something. You can rest assured that what she says has been considered and if she should say something that is critical of a current policy you can be pretty sure it's deliberate.