| The Perils of Dating A Royal Divorcee |
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| Written by Dr. Janice Seto | |
| Monday, 22 January 2007 | |
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Page 4 of 5 
Until Mary Donaldson married Crown Prince Frederik, the only female royal of the younger generation was the wife of Prince Joachim, the former Alexandra Manley.This very elegant, smart, and hardworking Eurasian was, for almost a decade, the adored princess of her generation. Keen to be welcomed to her new homeland, Princess Alexandra quickly learnt Danish and committed much time and attention to her adopted country. She still commands the respect of the Danish people, both for her demeanor during the marriage and her discretion since the divorce. Unlike Sarah Ferguson — who upon divorcing the Queen's second son in 1996 wrote her autobiography and, as already noted, continues to speak on a regular basis about life inside the royal family — the divorced Princess Alexandra remains mum about why the marriage ended and still carries out official duties. 
As long as she remains in Denmark and single, Alexandra keeps her princess title and a tax-free royal allowance. Unlike Prince Andrew, who continues to search for new romance behind Palace doors, Prince Joachim has very publicly moved on. Enter the pretty 29-year-old Marie Cavallier of Geneva who had over the past two years spent many happy times with Queen Margrethe's younger son. When the couple went public, there were hopes that this was a woman who would make the divorced prince happy again. They both spoke joyfully to the press in the Spring of 2006, the interview adding to the frenzied speculation in the national media, as well as encouraging inevitable comparisons with Alexandra. Joachim met the exotic Alexandra while on assignment in Hong Kong with Dansk shipping. He was around 25 while she was nearing 30. After working in finance in Hong Kong and studying in Asia and Austria (her mother’s birthplace), Alexandra was ready to settle down. Unfortunately for the couple, she had only a cursory introduction to Denmark prior to the engagement, and as for him, perhaps he was prematurely committing to married life? 
If the Danish people's respect for Alexandra caused any concerns for Marie Cavallier, the Swiss lady should be reassured by how the princess has sensibly moved on since the divorce. |
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