Danish royals stop making money from secret Swiss ski lodge after facing criticism

The Danish royals won’t be making money off their secret Swiss ski lodge anymore. It was previously reported that  Crown Princess Mary  and  Crown Prince Frederik  own a villa in the mountain village of Verbier, which they used to rent out when not in use. The news drew criticism from parliament members. “I was very surprised when I found out that the family does not just have such a house, they have had such a house for ten years, without any ordinary Danes knowing about it. We are the ones who pay the money so we must know about the house,” parliament member Mai Villadsen told Danish media (via  Royal Central) .

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The Danish royals live off a public allowance and can only spend money on foreign investments with the approval of lawmakers, per The Daily Mail. In the wake of their Swiss hideaway coming to light, the royals released a statement saying that they won’t be renting out the villa anymore. “Now it is no longer an anonymous property, so the conditions for rent are no longer the same. In addition, for the Crown Prince Couple, this makes a difference compared to the possibility of having some privacy. In addition to that, there is also a safety aspect,” the royals’ communications manager Lene Balleby told the Danish press.

The Danish Royal Court added that everything pertaining to the house is paid by the royals, Royal Central reported. According to the Danish magazine Billed-Bladet, the Crown Prince Couple’s house is a “traditional Swiss wooden chalet with a nice, large terrace, located in a child-friendly neighborhood and within walking distance of the children’s school.”

Mary and Frederik’s four children, Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, are currently staying at the villa while studying in the country. The  Danish royal siblings are currently attending at Lemania-Verbier International School  in Bagnes, Switzerland for 12-weeks. Mary is also in Switzerland with her children. Following their studies abroad, the young Princes and Princesses will return to Denmark for school.