Mikory's ABBA-blog

Frida subject of British gossip

British tabloids have published a gossip story about the UK's Security Minister Alan West having an secret love affair. Now they have pointed out Frida as the woman involved. Naturally Frida was very upset as the reporters came to her in Switzerland for a comment. You can read what she said below....

The anti-terror chief, the girl from ABBA, and his secret love affair By GLEN OWEN published in The Mail on Sunday Fresh indignity was heaped on Gordon Brown last night after one of the female singers from ABBA was bizarrely dragged into a Government sex scandal.     In the latest blow to the Prime Minister's authority, senior sources told The Mail on Sunday that Admiral Sir Alan West, the Security Minister appointed personally by Mr Brown to lead the War on Terror, had admitted to an extramarital affair.      The confirmation came after intense speculation about Sir Alan's private life had been sweeping Westminster. Insiders indicated that there was a crisis in his 34-year marriage to Rosie, an artist with whom he has three children.      Speculation was fuelled by the fact that the 59-year-old former First Sea Lord had formed an implausible but genuine friendship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 62, the dark-haired singer from the Seventies Swedish supergroup.      And yesterday, with the rumour mill in full flow, high-level sources were forced into action to clarify the situation.        The Mail on Sunday was told that Sir Alan had indeed been having an affair - but emphatically not with the ABBA star.      The admiral disclosed his infidelity "some years ago" during a routine security vetting procedure.      The sources refused to give further details of the affair, including whether it was still ongoing.      The episode was immediately characterised by political observers as a "Whitehall farce", adding to the series of embarrassments engulfing the Government.      It appeared yesterday that Sir Alan's confession to infidelity had become fused in the minds of Westminster insiders with their astonishment at his friendship with ABBA's Frida, as she is known to millions of fans.      He is believed to have met her at a charity function in London in the spring of 2006.      Yesterday, in answer to questions about their friendship, the admiral said: "All I'm going to say is I'm not having an affair with her, you know.      "I know her, and I've known her for a couple of years. So I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go there at all."      Asked how they met, he added: "Sorry, but I'm not going to go there. I'm not trying to be difficult but I just don't like talking about my private life.      "I have a job to do which I'm trying to do very hard for the Government, and that seems to me to be the right focus."      He refused to make any further comment. A Home Office spokesman also refused to comment.      Frida told The Mail on Sunday: "I feel awfully sorry about Rosie and the family. It is very sad. I feel totally sorry. There is no relationship, absolutely not.      "I am innocent. Alan is innocent. We are friends. There is no relationship."      It is the latest in a series of setbacks for Mr Brown's embattled Government and is bound to draw comparisons with the decline of John Major's scandal-hit administration in the Nineties.      Initially, Major did well after succeeding Margaret Thatcher, but he lost by a landslide to Tony Blair in 1997 after the economy hit trouble, he was pilloried for his weakness and a number of Ministers were embroiled in sexual and financial scandals.      In similar fashion, after succeeding Tony Blair in June, Mr Brown soared ahead of the Conservatives in the opinion polls. But since then, his ratings have been on the slide.      In the space of just weeks, he has been criticised for his handling of the collapse of the Northern Rock bank and the loss of child-benefit records, and has become entangled in the "Donorgate" affair which erupted when The Mail on Sunday revealed secret donations to Labour of more than £600,000 by wealthy businessman David Abrahams.      Sir Alan was appointed by Mr Brown in June as part of the Prime Minister's personal plan to assemble a "Government of all the talents", known as "Goats" for short.      Mr Brown announced that he was creating a life peerage for Sir Alan and appointing him as a Home Office Minister with responsibility for advising him on the terror threat to the UK.      But the Goats have been hit by a series of controversies: Sir Digby Jones, the former director of the Confederation of British Industry, became a Trade Minister, then immediately embarrassed Mr Brown by failing to pledge his wholehearted support for Labour.      Then 54-year-old former diplomat Lord Malloch-Brown, appointed a Foreign Office Minister, attracted adverse publicity by demanding a grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty Arch and infuriating his 42-yearold boss, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, by describing himself as "the older figure, the wise eminence behind the young Foreign Secretary".      And last month Sir Alan himself embarrassed the Prime Minister by questioning in a radio interview Mr Brown's desire to hold terrorist subjects for longer than 28 days.      One hour later, after a visit to Downing Street, he changed his stance, saying he was convinced by the PM's argument.      He tried to explain away the fudge by describing himself as just "a simple sailor".      Although there is no suggestion of impropriety over his relationship with Ms Lyngstad, eyebrows were raised last night over the wisdom of the Government's terror chief conducting a friendship with the thrice-married pop star, who is a tax exile in Switzerland.      Sir Alan, who declared during an interview in the summer that he "admired" ABBA, is believed to have first met the singer at a royal gala for the anti-drug abuse charity Mentor, held at the Natural History Museum in London in May 2006. He had retired as head of the Navy three months earlier.      It was one of a number of parties he attended that year, apparently demob-happy.      Some of them were not particularly high-minded: in March he was pictured at the Oldie of the Year Awards, a famously raffish affair, with his arms round Carol Thatcher and Sandra Howard, and sporting a comedy naval eyepatch.      And in April he was snapped, eyepatch again in place, with his arms around author Kathy Lette at the launch of her book How To Kill Your Husband.      Appropriately, Lette had placed a dagger in the top of her stockings.      In contrast, Sir Alan's naval career was marked by heroism and rapid promotion.      In 1982, aged just 34, he was the commanding officer of the frigate HMS Ardent when it was sunk by Argentinian forces during the Falklands War.      His bravery in being the last to leave the sinking ship earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.      A blip on his seemingly relentless ascent of the career ladder came in 1986 when he dropped classified documents about naval cutbacks while out walking his dog - the contents of which were then revealed in The Mail on Sunday.      But by 1997 he had risen to become Chief of Defence Intelligence, and by 2002 he was First Sea Lord and Aide-De-Camp to the Queen.       His friend Frida amassed a multimillion-pound fortune during her ten-year career singing with Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog.      But the members of the Eurovision-winning band had tortured romances: Frida left her first husband, Ragnar Fredriksson, with whom she had two children, to marry Benny in 1978 - the same year that Bjorn and Agnetha divorced.       Benny and Frida were then themselves divorced in 1981.      A year later, the group went their separate ways. Six years ago they turned down an offer of $1billion to reform for a world tour.      Since 1992, Frida has been officially known as Her Serene Highness after marrying a German count, Prince Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen. He died of cancer in 1999 and she has not remarried.      Apart from a couple of moderately successful solo singing projects, Frida, the product of a wartime liaison between her Norwegian mother and a married German soldier, has kept a low profile since the group's demise, devoting herself to work with drug and environment charities.      She now lives in an apartment in the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatt, where she has a small but close circle of friends. Locals say she likes the tranquillity of her life there.      Yesterday The Mail on Sunday spoke to her outside her apartment, which enjoys spectacular views of the Matterhorn and the Vispa Valley.      Dressed casually in a white jacket, snow boots, jeans and a large pair of sunglasses - and sporting a dyed blonde bob in place of her trademark brunette tresses - she walked briskly down the road.      When asked about her relationship with Sir Alan, Frida said: "It is nothing to do with you. It is my private life. I feel awfully sorry about Rosie and the family.      "It is very sad. I feel totally sorry. There is no relationship, absolutely not. I am innocent. Alan is innocent. We are friends. There is no relationship."      When asked to expand on why she felt sorry about Rosie, she shook her hands and replied: "Go away. I will not answer anything else. Do not ask me any more questions. I am innocent."      Frida, who is Norwegian rather than Swedish like the three other members of ABBA, moved to Switzerland in 1986.      A spokeswoman for the Official International ABBA Fan Club, which is based in the Netherlands, said: "Since her marriage to her third husband, who was a prince, Anni-Frid has moved in royal circles.      "He has died but she still moves in these circles and she comes into contact with lots of people who move in high society."

Glad Lucia!

The day of Saint Lucia in Scandinavia is an essential part of Christmas in Scandinavia.

Each year on December 13, Saint Lucia is celebrated widely with candlelight and traditional candle-lit processions. Lucia herself was Christian and died for her faith. The December 13 holiday honors her. The eldest girl in the family portrays St Lucia, puts on a white robe in the morning and is allowed to wear a crown full of candles. She serves her parents Lucia buns and coffee or mulled wine.

In church, women sing the traditional Saint Lucia song which describes how Saint Lucia overcame the darkness and found light. Each of the Scandinavian countries has similar lyrics, in their native tongues.

In Scandinavian history, the night of Saint Lucia was known to be the longest night of the year (winter solstice) which was changed when the Gregorian calendar was reformed.

During a dark winter in Scandinavia, the idea of light overcoming darkness, and the promise of returning sunlight has been welcomed by the locals for hundreds of years. The celebrations and processions on Saint Lucia Day are illuminated by thousands of candles.

In 1979 Benny and Frida visited the Swedish radio the day before Christmas Eve and they performed their own version of "Stilla Natt" (Silent Night). Click HERE  to listen to it.

I like to wish all of you a Glad Lucia!

Great interview with Frida & Björn

A huge thank you to Torgen in Berlin, who kindly sent me the link to his fantastic interview with Frida and Björn. It's great to see someone who is a fan getting the chance to talk to them.

Fun fact: I didn't know Frida made the 1973 Melodifestival outfits (remember the "tent" the highly pregnant Agnetha wore and Frida's canary yellow outfit)! Then again Björn didn't know either, but does he ever? ;)

Björn and Frida in Germany

As most of you know by now, Björn and Frida attended the opening of "Mamma Mia!" in Berlin. Here's a great picture of the pair when they took their walk from Brandenburger Tor to the Reichstag.
     A big thank you to Thomas in Germany for the photo.

Frida attended "Sun Flower Jam" for the 2nd time

As you can see in this picture a very happy and relaxed Frida attended the "Sun Flower Jam" concert in London last week.
     To see pictures of Frida from last year you can go to: http://www.thesunflowerjam.com/the-sunflower-jam-2006.html

Thanks to ABBA-Scots on the ABBA discussion board.

The guy with Frida on the pic to the right is Paul from the UK, you know the one kissing Frida at the 5th anniversary in London in 2004. What a lucky man!

1969: New chance for Anni-Frid

Charlie Norman will be a variety show director in Gothenburg this fall. There he will treat us to  happy and musical entertainment, and he will do so by hiring a new variety show primadonna, 24 year old Anni-Frid Lyngstad from Eskilstuna.
     It will be a new, great chance for the very talented and beautiful singer.
     She has, as you might know, worked with Charlie Norman, his son Lennie and Hasse Burman before. Last winter they toured the country with a restaurant show, which received great reviews. Anni-Frid has also worked with Charlie during the summer and his musicians. Last summer she toured the folk parks with Lasse Lönndahl.
     Anni-Frid, who comes from Norway, born in Narvik, was only 11 years old when she first entered a stage. Her debut performance was in Eskilstuna, where she has lived ever since she was a little girl. She got her national break on "Hylands Hörna" in the fall of 1967. After that success she also entered Svensktoppen.
     But since then she has had some setbacks when it comes to topping the charts. She has been very close a couple of times, but not succeeded.
     This spring she participated in Melodifestivalen. But she wasn't lucky to win that either. But many critics claims that she is one of the country's best vocalists. Charlie Norman agrees about that. He thinks that Anni-Frid now will get a great chance to prove her talent. She will be doing it in his variety show at Liseberg.
     Last fall Anni-Frid got engaged to Benny Andersson from Hep Stars. She has one marriage behind her and she is the mother of two children, Hans, 6 years old and 2 year old Lise-Lott.

Prince Ruzzo proudly showed Frida off to his former school mates

It was a huge sensation when Anni-Frid Lyngstad and her West German prince Ruzzo Reuss came to the student anniversary party in Värmland. The couple have been together for almost five years now, but kept it private, but now all of a sudden they seem to be ready to show the world their love.
      Prince Ruzzo Reuss had come to Sweden to visit his old school Lundsberg, where he spent eight years of his life, and to meet the fellow students from the year 1969. It became a very happy occassion and he proudly showed his fiancée Frida, who hardly ever has looked this happy, off. With great success the prince participated in the anniversary sporting events. In the audience were among  others  prince Bertil and his brother Carl Johan Bernadotte and Siw Malmqvist.
     Frida and Ruzzo Reuss are living in Fribourg in Switzerland and they also have a summer house in Majorca, but they like to keep in touch with their home country.
     The twin girls, Henriette and Pauline, are 13 years old (Ruzzo had them with his now ex-wife the Norwegian Mette Rinde) are enrolled to go to their dad's old school this fall. But dad won't be away from his children for too long.
     Prince Ruzzo Reuss' big hobby is hunting and enjoys coming to Sweden during the elk hunting season. Last year he was hunting with the king of Sweden in Halle-Hunnerberg outside of Trollhättan, which is located about 20 kilometres from the girls new school.

Frida Simpson

Just a bit of fun. I came across the Simpon's site where you can »simpsonize« yourself or someone else. So naturally I had to try and see what Frida would look like. I used the pic from yesterday when she was out at that birthday party.
     Here's the result. If you want to try it out, go here.

Frida partied with the king and his friends

One of king Carl Gustaf's closest friend, Noppe Lewenhaupt (once married to Swedish/Norwegian actress Grynet Mollvig who he divorced for a 30 year younger Asian model) celebrated his 60th birthday last night at the restaurant »Pontus« in Stockholm. Among the guest were the king and queen of Sweden and of course a lot of Swedish celebrities. Frida arrived alone and smiling.

Royal visit in Snapphaneland

The king returned to snapphanebygden last saturday. After more than 300 years. This time he was welcome. ABBA-Frida was part of his entourage.

The last day och the Swedish scout meeting and with a huge scout celebration waiting. The king was in the mood for party.

The day started with sigtseeingnin busses accompanied by his frinds Count Raoul Hamilton, Anni-Frid "Frida " Lyngstad and selected members from the Baden Powell Fellowship, who entered the snapphane territority around Glimåkra and the farm that withstood the plunderings by Karl XI's in an around Glimåkra and at the farm Sporkulla Gård. There was a a beertasting waiting in secrecy and a brief encounter with the Glimåkra boy scout troops. After that the whole congregationn ventured inside. First they got to taste the Snapphaneöl and a brief encounter with Glimåkra Scoutkår. After that the local went into the inner yard to watch the "attack" by the Snapphanarna on horses.
       The visit, heavily surrounded by  secrecy, went on for half an hour, The king even managed to have a quick look at the Glimåkra bible, which was on lend from Glimåkra Church just for the Royal Visit.'
      During the bustrip the comapny was given the background to the history about the Snapphane era by Glimåkraborn snapphane portrayer Per Ragnarsson, He told the king about his ancestriyn the 1500's  who had fought and who participated in Loshultskuppen 1676 and who had stealen all the copper plates and silver coins from the king. Per Ragnarsson says  it has been extraordinary to guide the king around Sporkulla Gård.