Has Crown Prince Frederik been cheating? Denmark is puzzled, the tabloids are in constant operation

Danish Royal - Has Crown Prince Frederik been cheating? Denmark is puzzled, the tabloids are in constant operation

Unlike the British or Spanish royal families, the Danish royal family has been spared any major scandals in recent years and decades. Now, however, a story has been circulating in the tabloids for weeks about an alleged affair involving the Danish crown prince. And royal fans around the world are asking themselves: has Frederik cheated on his Mary?

It all started at the beginning of November - with a cover in the Spanish gossip magazine "Lecturas". It showed Crown Prince Frederik with the Mexican actress Genoveva Casanova. The heir to the throne and the 47-year-old were reportedly spotted in Madrid at the end of October, where they had dinner together.

¡EXCLUSIVA! Genoveva Casanova y Federico de Dinamarca, juntos. La portada del año solo y en exclusiva en Lecturas. Las fotografías de las que todo el mundo habla #ExclusivaLecturas pic.twitter.com/R97KOHB7fp

— Lecturas (@Lecturas) November 7, 2023

But that's not all: "Lecturas" also wrote that Frederik even spent the night at Casanova's house. There are pictures of the crown prince leaving the TV star's apartment in the morning. A video of this also made the rounds on Spanish television.

The royal family and Casanova deny it

The Danish court responded with a statement in the Spanish newspaper "Hola": they do not comment on or confirm details of private matters and are obliged to respect the privacy of the royal family.

And the Mexican also rushed to issue a statement after the photos. "I categorically reject the allegations that suggest a romantic relationship between Prince Frederik and myself," she also told "Hola". And added: "Any allegation of this nature not only does not correspond to the truth, but also maliciously misrepresents the facts. The matter is already in the hands of my lawyers, who will take the appropriate steps to protect my right to honor, truth and privacy." According to media reports, however, no legal action appears to have been taken.

The royal family also informed the Danish newspaper "Ekstra Bladet " that they do not comment on "rumors and insinuations". That seemed to be the end of the matter - but the tabloids and gossip papers in Denmark continued to churn out headlines. Nobility experts and analysts also added their two cents. They interpreted details, put a lot of weight on the gold scale and did not spare any speculation. The Frederik case continued over Christmas. The newspapers were already talking about the "Madrid scandal". Meanwhile, in the comment columns under the royal family's social media posts , people expressed their solidarity with Pr and Mary.

Crown Prince Frederik and ex-model Casanova just friends

"Ekstra Bladet " wrote just one day after the first reports on November 7 that Frederik's visit to Madrid was probably private, while Crown Princess Mary was on a working visit to the USA. At the same time, the newspaper wrote that the pictures of the two had been seen in Madrid and that there had been no "physical contact" between the two. The newspaper's royal commentator, Kim Bach, said "there is no smoking gun".

At the same time, he tried to explain the crown prince's visit to Madrid: "One explanation, if there is one, could be that he had a meeting with the Spanish royal family before the visit. And then he is good friends with Casanova, perhaps in all innocence, and they had a dinner date and she offered him to spend the night in her apartment."

And Casanova also explained why she and the prince got together. She told the Spanish magazine "Vanitatis " that the two were friends through a mutual friend. Frederik had wanted to visit an art exhibition with this friend. But when he fell ill, Genoveva Casanova stepped in to accompany him. Once again, she denied the rumors of a love affair. But that still didn't put the rumor mill to rest.

Mary's trip to Australia fuels the rumor mill

It became known that Casanova visited Copenhagen in October, as photos on her Instagram channel showed.

A video of the crown prince's family from December 4 also provided new material for discussion. In it, the family decorates a Christmas tree. They appear happy - but royal expert Kim Bach noted: "Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik are not close to each other at any point in the video." To show peace and harmony, you would need a video of the two of them in each other's arms.

However, this news caused more of a stir just one day after the Christmas video: Crown Princess Mary is traveling to her native Australia with two of her children - without Frederik. Naturally, there were rumors as to whether the house blessing was hanging crooked. However, the royal magazine "Billed-Bladet " was able to reassure them: Mary was on a family visit - and her husband was to follow. The trip to Australia had also been planned for some time.

Much ado about holding hands

Even the joint visit of the Crown Prince family to the Christmas church service was closely observed and discussed. Frederik, Mary and their children came to Aarhus Cathedral on Christmas Eve in a visibly good mood. But one detail caught the eye of many: The crown prince and princess held hands, as pictures showed.

Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, come to the Christmas service holding hands with their children

A gesture into which the tabloid press read a lot. The Danish tabloid newspaper "B.T." even asked an expert in body language what could be read from the hand-holding. Frederik is holding Mary's fingers, but "that's all it is", explained expert Pernille Slot. However, the crown prince and princess look like any other couple, she noted.

Although nothing has been proven in the "Madrid scandal" and much is based not on facts but on speculation and interpretation, communication and royal household experts are certain that the photos of Frederik and Genoveva Casanova could be damaging to the crown prince.

Kim Bach, for example, believes that the Madrid photos are a "gigantic scandal" that makes the crown prince the "king of scandals". The story will stick with him for a long time to come. Moreover, his decision to spend the night with another woman - and thus fuel rumors of an extramarital affair - is evidence of poor judgment.

Experts criticize the royal family - Casanova "devastated"

The court's communication was also not good, says communications expert Anna Thygesen. "It was stupid that they initially said they wouldn't comment on rumors," she told the B.T.. That came across as "a bit panicky". "They just shouldn't have said anything." However, the royal family's strategy of keeping as low a profile as possible had paid off. "When you're doing strategic communication, you have to constantly check what you're dealing with. For the royal family, there are two parameters: the media and public opinion. And that is currently the media." If there were no more compromising details about Frederik's visit to Madrid, the media would eventually stop reporting on it.

And although Frederik is still very popular with the Danish population and the "Madrid scandal" does not appear to have affected this, the communications expert believes that the rumors surrounding him could damage the Danish royal family's "goodwill account". For Genoveva Casanova, however, they appear to be far worse. The media reported that she had fled to London and was "devastated".

"Lecturas", "Hola", " Hello!", "Ekstra Bladet", " B.T.", "Berlingske", "Se & Hør", "Billed-Bladet", "Vanitatis", TV2