[Complaint to German Press council]
Palace reacts to lies about Marius
Source: http://forums.rbhq.net/showthread.php?t=4327
and http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1046958.ece
May 26, 2005
The scandal press in Germany may
finally have gone too far in their efforts to boost sales by
spinning wild tales about Norway's royal family, and now action
is being weighed after inventions were printed about Marius Borg
Høiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son from a previous
relationship.
Norway's royal family have tended to ignore the German gossip
weeklies despite occasionally offensive fictions, but are not
likely to tolerate stories that focus on children, newspaper VG
reports.
Three of these magazines feature stories about eight-year-old
Marius, something which has upset Crown Princess Mette-Marit and
Crown Prince Haakon. One claims that Marius is depressed because
the royal family has not accepted him, another that his life is
in danger from the threats of kidnappers.
"They (the royal couple) react to the clear focus on
children, in this case Marius," palace information chief
Astrid Versto told VG. "They will now assess what they will
do about these stories."
The Norwegian Crown Prince and Princess are enormously popular in
Germany, and they have regularly featured in the fantasies of the
glossy weeklies since 2001.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit's imaginary pregnancies, abortions and
illnesses have been common ingredients, and high-profile German
lawyer Matthias Prinz has recommended that the Norwegian palace
take legal action.
The Swedish royal family took a similar matter to court in
Germany, resulting in the near total halt of stories written
about Princesses Victoria and Madeleine.
Peter Viktor Kulig, editor of German weekly 7 Tage (7 Days) told VG that "it is no
secret that there is an element of fantasy in the articles we
write".
Kulig said that Germans wanted to read these tales, and that it
should not be a problem for young Marius.
"He doesn't read German and he can't get our magazines. They
aren't sold in Norway," Kulig said.
Klage an den deutschen Presserat
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