The Royal Correspondent

On January 10, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik along with Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary as well as His Royal Highness Prince Joachim were received at Folketinget (Parliament) in Copenhagen in honor of Her Majesty’s 40th anniversary on the Danish throne.

The royal family — minus Her Royal Highness Princess Marie as well as Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein – Berleburg — arrived at 12:15pm whereupon they were greeted by members of the Danish Parliament.  Once inside Parliamentary Chairman, Mogens Lykketoft, addressed Her Majesty stating:

Her Majesty Queen Margrethe, has extorted the highest respect by all the successive governments and ministers who have served in the Privy Council. On behalf of democracy, I would like to thank you for the way you have managed your responsibility and the royal family as an institution. Parliament wishes your majesty a happy anniversary.

Afterward, the royal family attended a reception hosted by the Danish Parliament.

To watch several videos as well as to view photos please click the links below:

• VIDEO (Scroll down to see more)
• VIDEO 2
• Gallery One 
• Gallery Two 
• Gallery Three 

Photo courtesy of BT

Here is the new DR1 documentary entitled, Dronning Margrethe: Erindringer fra Danmark, in honor of Her Majesty’s upcoming 40th anniversary on the throne.

Click the link below to watch part one of the documentary and enjoy.  

Dronning Margrethe

Photo courtesy of Kongehuset

So, are you ready to watch and celebrate Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s 40th anniversary on the Danish throne on January 14, 2012?

 Yes?  Good.  So am I.  And, so are the Danish television networks, DR1 and TV2.

Beginning on Sunday, January 8, 2012, DR1 will air a documentary about the super amazing Queen Margrethe II.  The next day, Part Two of the program will air.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Her Majesty will hold a press conference at 4pm in the Great Hall at Christian IX’s Palace.  Prince Henrik will also be in attendance.

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, the Danish royal family, minus Princess Marie, will attend the opening of the exhibition, Royal Gala, at the Amalienborg Museum.  Later on in the evening, TV2 will air their live interview with Her Majesty starting at 8pm.

On January 14, 2012, DR1 and TV2 will broadcast live the wreath laying ceremony at Roskilde Cathedral, the carriage ride through Copenhagen, and the reception as well as balcony appearance at  the Copenhagen City Hall.

At 8pm, DR1 will air the glamourous gala concert live from DR Concert Hall.

On Sunday, the Danish royal family will meet with the Council of State at Christiansborg Slot.  Afterward, they will appear on the balcony at Christian IXs Palace at Amalienborg Slot live on DR1.

After a brief luncheon hosted by the Crown Princely couple at Frederik VIIIs Slot, the royal family will attend a celebratory service at Christiansborg Slot chapel starting at 3pm.

At 8pm, the Danish royal family — along with members from the Norwegian and Swedish royal families, local dignitaries, and the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family — will attend a gala dinner at Christiansborg Slot.  Again, it will be aired live on DR1 and TV2.  The latter will apparently broadcast the after party.

Now, there is a good chance you can watch all the festivities on DR1 and TV2 online so you might want to bookmark their websites.

Photo courtesy of Kongehuset

It was recently announced that Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will sit down with TV2 journalist, Ulla Terkelsen, for a live television interview on January 11, 2012.  The interview will take place at Amalienborg Slot in Copenhagen and will air at 8pm on TV2.

In other news, a new stamp in honor of the Queen’s upcoming 40th anniversary on the Danish throne has been released.  The image Queen Margrethe II on the stamp shows her surrounded by  three lions which symbolize the unity between Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.  The image of the Queen is by famed portrait artist, Mikael Melbye.

Source: TV2 and Billed Bladet

Photo courtesy of Kongehuset

According to a new poll by Megafon for the Danish television network, TV2 and for the Danish newspaper, Politiken, 40% of Danes prefer that a royal succession take place within ten years. While 11% believe the Queen should abdicate immediately. Jes Fabricius Møller, associate professor at Copenhagen University, strongly believes that Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II would never abdicate, “…Danes must realize that this is not something that they decide. It is the Queen’s decision and she has said that she will continue for life. The poll is more an indication that people like Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, rather than an evaluation of the Queen…”

In a recent interview with the Danish newspaper, Politiken, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II states that she would never consider abdicating, “I have always held the view that it is a task you are given, and one that you have as long as you live…” 

Source: Politiken

On December 14, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II received the Ambassador of China during a farewell audience held at Christian IX’s Palace at Amalienborg.

Meanwhile, H.R.H. Princess Benedikte attended the Sankt Annæ Girls Choir Christmas Concert held at the Helligåndskirken in Copenhagen.

Source and photos courtesy of: Konghuset.dk

Every holiday season Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark visits London, England to do her Christmas shopping and perhaps to have some much needed alone time.

During her visit this year, Queen Margrethe II attended the play, Richard II, held at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in Covent Garden.  To read more about her trip to the theatre please click here.

Since it is a slow news day for royal watchers I thought now would be a good time to post this bit of news.  Recently, the Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, collected a series of portraits of H.M. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark including the most recent  painting by artist, Mikael Melbye.

Click here to view.

Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark courtesy of Mikael Melbye

M: 40 år På Tronen (M :40 years on the Throne) is a new biography about Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II by Jens Andersen, literary editor of the Danish newspaper, Berlingske Tidende.  Sources used include extensive research and analyzation Queen Margrethe II’s speech manuscripts from the past 40 years,  unlimited access to various archives, and interviews with former ministers, present politicians, artists, historians, scientists, and businessmen.  There are also interviews with Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim, Princess Benedikte and Queen Sonja of Norway.

The book is not only a portrait of the monarch it is also a chronicle of Denmark, the Danes and their relationship to the royal family for 40 years.

M :40 years on the Throne is available now throughout Denmark as well as online bookstores.

To view rare photos of Queen Margrethe II please click here. 

Source and photos courtesy of: Lidtmere.dk

There is a new and special exhibition that will début on January 12, 2012, at the Amalienborgmuseet featuring Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II’s gala gowns entitled, Kongelig Galla, in honor of her upcoming silver jubilee:

The gala gowns on display at the exhibition are designed by both Danish and French Haute Couture designers including Balmain and Givenchy and Jørgen Bender.

Also on display will be various royal orders, decorations as well as paintings by Preben Hornung, Thomas Kluge and Niels Strøbek.

To learn more about this exhibition please click here.

Source and photo courtesy of: De Danske Kongers Kronlogiske Samling

While many royal watchers are fixated with T.R.H.s Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary’s official visit to Australia there was an important event that took place last Friday, November 18, 2011.

Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, along with Crown Prince Frederik who immediately left the ceremony for Australia, presented medals of honor to several members of the Danish Armed Forces.  During the event the queen presented a new honor, The Cross of Valor, to Casper Mathiesen for his bravery and service in Afghanistan.  Other medals that were awarded included the Defence Medal of Valour.

To view photos please click the links below:

• Gallery One 
• Gallery Two 

Source and photo courtesy of: TV2.dk

Back in late August 2011, H.R.H. Crown Prince Frederik hosted a dinner for the Baltic Foreign Ministers at his simple pad, Frederik VIII’s Palace, in Copenhagen.  According to the Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, the dinner was incredibly lavish; moreover, everyone had a fabulous time:

Crown Prince Frederik was a brilliant and enthusiastic host throughout the evening… one prominent guest, who played a central role in the independence to the three Baltic countries 20 years ago, was on the guest list for the dinner noticed the three crystal chandeliers, which were reflected in the modern mirror decorations on the walls. Down along the table stood beautiful sølvopsatser with flowers, and the first dish was served directly on the silver platter. The labels (monograms) were a white fabric napkin with a little envelope broke inside. All the cutlery was silver, also fish knife entrée, and dessert were both a little spoon and fork which had been crossed above the plate.

On each envelope was four glasses, and there was already poured white wine as the guests sat down. The remaining glass was red wine, dessert wine and water. 

Brilliant!  To view photos of the reception please click here.

On September 17, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attended the Sorø Church in honor of its 850th anniversary.  After a lovely service the queen visited the Sorø Academy School (SAS) where another celebration was taking place: The school’s 425th anniversary.  During the visit Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II ate lunch with the administrators of the SAS then had a chance to witness an interesting physics experiment by uber-brainy youths from the Sorø Academy School.  To view photos please click here and here. 

Sources: Billed Bladet and SN.dk

The state visit to Russia is officially over for Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, H.R.H. Prince Henrik, and H.R.H. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.  This afternoon, September 10, 2011, the reigning couple along with the crown prince held a press conference aboard the royal yacht Dannebrog where they reflected upon their trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg.