Except for British Royal Family, does Lina and her family have a close relationship with other royal families? I remember you mentioned Danes, Swedes and Dutch royals in Interlude but are they as close to Lina as Windsors are? And are they the only ones Lina's in touch with?
Hi! Thank you so much for your questions!
Yes, Lina and her family are close with the Danish, Swedish and Dutch Royal Families (also with the Belgian Royal Family, as the current King of the Belgians’ grandfather and Lina’s great-grandmother were half-first cousins, but the families have drifted a little over the years)...
Oh, let’s rank them! From closest to least (reigning European monarchies only) as at 2011:
Danish Royal Family - Lina’s immediate family is definitely the closest to the DaRF. All of Lina’s family speaks Danish (in addition to German and English). Lina’s great aunt married a Danish prince and lived there until the 1990s, even after their children had moved to Mecklenburg in the 1980s. The two families visit each other all the time. Lina is in Denmark almost every month. Frederik and Benedikte are Lina’s godparents, Margrethe is one of Klaus’s godmothers, Lina is one of Isabella’s godmothers. Lina adores Mary and if it were legally required to have a male relative walk you down the aisle, she would pick Frederik. Being the nearest monarchy to Mecklenburg has only helped the two families stay close.
British Royal Family - but when taken as a whole, there are far more connections between members of the MRF and the BRF. Lina’s aunts, uncles, and cousins are generally closer to the BRF than they are to the DaRF. At this stage in the story, Lina only visits the UK four or five times a year and is really only close to about half of the BRF.
Swedish Royal Family - only Lina’s immediate family is super close with the SwRF. Lina, Nora and Klaus spend several weeks each year holidaying in Sweden at their estate about two hours outside Stockholm. Silvia is one of Lina’s godmothers, Carl Gustaf is one of Klaus’s godfathers, and Lina is one of Estelle’s godmothers. The rest of Lina’s family isn’t very close with the Swedes, and only Lina, Nora and Klaus speak Swedish (though the Danish branch can sort of understand what’s going on).
Dutch Royal Family - the two families have been close for over a century. King Willem-Alexander’s grandmother, Juliana, was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and technically a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin thanks to her father Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Beatrix is one of Lina’s godmothers, Nora is one of Catharina-Amalia’s godmothers, Lina is one of Ariane’s godmothers, Klaus is the named after his late godfather, Claus, who came from a Mecklenburgish noble family and was Beatrix’s husband (meaning Beatrix and all of her descendants are also members of Mecklenburg’s nobility with Willem-Alexander being the head of the House of Amsberg). Lina’s the only one in the MRF who speaks Dutch though. Lina visits a few times a year.
Belgian Royal Family - the families used to be much closer than they are today. King Albert II was super close to Lina’s grandfather and great-grandfather, but Lina’s father was never really close with King Philippe or his siblings. Princess Astrid is one of Lina’s godmothers, however, and Lina is godmother to Astrid’s youngest daughter, Letitia Maria. Queen Fabiola is one of Klaus’s godmothers due to the support she and her husband, Baudouin, gave Nora after Wilhelm Franz’s death. Lina usually visits Belgium after visiting the Netherlands.
Monégasque Princely Family - the House of Mecklenburg is the reigning royal family the most closely related to the House of Grimaldi. They don’t see each other all that much, but they both invite each other to everything.
Spanish Royal Family - they could be tied for 6, actually. Despite King Felipe being one of Lina’s godfathers, they don’t see each other very much, though the two keep in regular contact by phone, email, etc.
Norwegian Royal Family - outside of Scandiburg Weekend, these two houses really only see each other at big royal get togethers. King Harald is one of Klaus’s godfathers, but as with Fabiola, Nora was mostly acknowledging the support he gave her after Wilhelm Franz’s death.
Liechtensteiner Princely Family - the current Prince is one of Lina’s godfathers, but the two families don’t see each other very often.
Luxembourgish Grand Ducal Family - the two families only see each other a big royal get togethers.
The Royal Families of Jordan and Japan also get invited to everything, as do a lot of the recently deposed Royal Families: Greece, Romania, and Serbia, and then nearly all the German Royal, Ducal and Princely families, too. None of the Romanov claimants get invited to anything. They are enormous drama llamas.
Despite some families being closer than others, they are all part of a very exclusive club and generally all have each others back and enjoy each others company.
Lina’s next POV, which will be posted after William’s next POV, will cover this in much more detail. I’m also really excited for Harry to forge friendships with the other royals, too. And the above ranking will change during the course of the story, due to both Lina and Harry ;)
Well, I’m sure this is exactly the kind of long-winded response you wanted, lol.
Thanks again for your question!
