Happy 60th Queen Anne-Marie!

At home in London, but ready to return to Greece.

Happy 60th birthday Queen Anne-Marie!
B.T. reports Queen Anne-Marie will celebrate her 60th birthday in Greece with her close and extended family. Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik will travel to Greece and so will Princess Benedikte and her family, so the three Danish royal sisters will be together for this celebration. Queen Anne-Marie's life has been centred on her Danish childhood and then marriage to ex-King Constantine II who became king of Greece in 1964 at the age of 23. The family went into exile after a military coup in 1967. Issues surrounding ex-King Constantine are still controversial in Greece, but surveys about Anne-Marie suggest she is a popular figure in her own right.

Recently Queen Anne-Marie gave an extended interview to Danish weekly Billed Bladet (No.31 2006) in which she discussed a wide-range of issues. Anne-Marie says she and her family speak a mixture of English and Greek, that she and Constantine plan to move to Greece permanently and that she wants to be buried in Greece. Anne-Marie admits to dying her hair as she can't face being grey yet, but this is the only thing about her which is fake! Anne-Marie also made some comments about Frederik and Mary, about how happy they are together and what a great person Mary is. She talked about her children and grandchildren, with details about names/nick names and about giving up the house in London to return to Greece. Anne-Marie also said Queen Margrethe is the oracle of the family and talked about how wonderful it is that the family can still get together at Graasten and on other occasions.



The Greek Royal Family homepage
Greek Royal Family profiles
The Anna Maria Foundation

History of the Greek Royal Family by Lisa May Davidson on Christine's Royalty.net
Wikipedia on Constantine II of Greece

King Konstantinos and Queen Anna-Maria in Athens, Greece 18 September 1964:
Greek wedding
links to contents for Greek wedding
How Constantine and Anne-Marie met
A Secret Engagement/Official Engagement
The Engagement Ball
Royal Concert
Pre-Wedding Ball, Athens
The Wedding Ceremony
Procession to the Athens Royal Palace
Official Photos
links to contents for Greek wedding

Royals at the Olympics:
A Mixed Welcome for Greece's Ex-King from Deutsche Welle

Mary visits Vollsmose

Today Crown Princess Mary has visited Vollsmose, a multi-ethnic part of Odense. Mary has spent an 'ordinary working day' in Vollsmose to bring some light to the life situations of the people in this area which has had a troubled reputation in recent times. The visit has been a happy occasion with many local residents turning out to greet Mary. There has been a strong media contingent following Mary in Vollsmose, including Turkish CNN, an Australian magazine and Danish media.



You can check photos here in the Fyens Stiftstidende photo gallery
Also check the TV2/FYN photo gallery.

Added: DR.dk photo gallery (this has the most and widest selection of photos)

ADDED: Princess Mary shows she's got the maternal touch in Hello! magazine

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported:
Danish students 'crown' Princess Mary
August 29, 2006 - 9:54PM

Students gave a cardboard crown to Australian-born Crown Princess Mary as she met with residents of one of Denmark's best known immigrant neighbourhoods.
Resident Leyla Haji Yusuf from Somalia and Odense mayor Jan Boye guided the popular princess as she walked and rode a horse-drawn carriage through Vollsmose, a suburb west of Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.
The visit was organised at Mary's request. She wanted to meet residents in a less formal way than two years ago when she and her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, toured the city and stopped by the neighbourhood, 160 kilometres west of Copenhagen.
More than 60 per cent of Vollsmose's 10,000 residents are foreign-born, and many receive welfare benefits.
Mary stopped several times to shake hands and talk with residents.
Students at a school named for Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, a native of Odense, had made cardboard crowns and gave one to Mary, who asked whether they also had one for her husband, Danish TV2 reported.
The 34-year-old princess had lunch with the Jomaa family, of Palestinian origin.
Kalil Jomaa and his wife Jawaher Othman who fled to Denmark in 1990 from Lebanon, served kebabs, falafel, humus, among other Middle Eastern delicacies. All of their seven children were present at the lunch on the sixth floor of the housing block where they live.
After lunch, Mary was to visit a community house chiefly used by immigrant women and their children and a cafe, operated by a Christian church, where Arab men gather.
At the end of the visit, Mary will meet briefly with local dignitaries and MPs, Christian and Muslim clerics and social workers.

Same report also at ninemsn
Click here for Jyllands-Posten netavisen video clip (2 mins 30 secs)
DR.dk online report on the visit. It is in Danish but has photos and a map which shows the progress of the various places Mary was shown.
TV 2 video clip (2 mins)
TV2/FYN video clip (29 secs)
B.T. (article in Danish) says Mary was received very enthusiasically in Vollsmose amidst a lot of good humour. Mary had many to meet during the day-long packed program so she went along at a cracking pace. Mary visited the H.C. Andersen School which has 400 pupils and they sang a welcoming song for her and presented her with crowns for herself, Frederik and Christian. Mary was told that Vollsmose has 79 nationalities living in the area. At the end of the busy schedule Mary finally had a meal with the Jomaa family.

Happy birthday Nikolai!

Today is the seventh birthday of Prince Nikolai, so lots of happy birthday wishes for him! Nikolai has had a busy summer but has already started back at Krebs School in Copenhagen. Meanwhile he played in the garden with his brother Felix and the Danish flag, the Dannebrog, for some birthday photos.

An anticipated visit to Vollsmose

The last time Mary, with Frederik, was in Vollsmose was in July 2004 during their summer tour of Denmark following their wedding. This visit to Vollsmose will be very different, but Mary's popularity in Vollsmose was cemented during this visit two years ago.

A heads up for tomorrow. The problems of immigrants and refugees is very complex worldwide and there is no doubt one royal visit will not solve it all, but it is good to shine a light where social problems are being tackled. Crown Princess Mary is visiting the Odense suburb of Vollsmose to highlight the positive aspects of life in an area with a history of high crime and social problems. Mary and Frederik have been to this area before: on the summer cruise around Denmark after their wedding in 2004, but this visit is to see how Vollsmose gets on in day-to-day ways. Mary has been to Odense on many other occasions too, most recently to the Flower Festival last week. The idea is Mary's visit should be on an ordinary working day. A full schedule of meetings and visits has been organised and many Vollsmose locals are at the ready for their day with Mary so they can show off the good aspects of life in their neighbourhood.


Little Fatima Abdol Hamid, left, is at the ready to curtsy and present a bouquet to Mary to welcome her to Vollsmose says B.T.

There is a history of high crime in Vollsmose and the locals are keen to show there is another side to life in the area to break down stereotyped views. Mary will be visiting a number of areas in Vollsmose and is lunching with a local family who are originally Palestinian. The Jomaa family, right, say they are proud and not at all nervous about hosting the Crown Princess. Jawaher Othman, the mother of the household, is used to cooking for many as she has cooked at her kids' local high school. Jawaher's husband Kalil Jomaa confirms his wife is a very good cook and that Crown Princess Mary should look forward to lunch at the Jomaa home. Aseem Jomaa has been in the spotlight before, when he collaborated as a member of his rap band with some in the Odense Symphony Orchestra to create the Symphony of Vollsmose.



Right, 41-year-old Somali refugee and mother of four, Leyla Haji Yusuf will show Mary around Vollsmose. Leyla works as a health and social worker.

After Odense Mayor Jan Boye welcomes Mary, she will be guided by local woman Leyla Haji Yusuf who will take Mary around Vollsmose. During the morning they will visit a local school, the H.C. Anderson School, a mother and baby health centre, a women's project for self-supporting independence through training and jobs (in this case hairdressing) and a reception at Vollsmose Church, which is known for its diversity of members. A late lunch with the Jomaa family will follow.

In this article in Fyens Stiftstidende (in Danish) various expert commentators are asked what it means to Vollsmose to have Crown Princess Mary visit. All agree it is an acknowledgement and recognition, or respect, for an area which is often associated with problems by the wider Danish community. Specifically it puts Vollsmose in a new light for other residents of Odense because Mary is making a special effort to go to this one suburb in Odense which has suffered because of its reputation. One of the experts says people might think, "What is cool to Mary about Vollsmose is also cool to us" because of her popularity. Mary's visit will focus attention on the good works of residents, employees and project staff who are making a difference in Vollsmose. Through Mary's visit focusing on the positive developments in Vollsmose and having it broadcast to the whole of Denmark, it is something new, says another expert, which will help break down social prejudice and show the people are decent and hardworking just like other Danes.

Odense Kommune the Odense Council's published program for Mary's visit (in Danish)
Odense Kommune press release (in Danish) about Leyla Haji Yusuf, the 41-year-old mother who will be hostess to Mary in Vollsmose. Leyla left war-torn Somalia and originally went to Italy, but later arrived in Denmark in 1997, where she has raised her four children aged between 3 and 21 and has also pursued her own education and community-oriented career.
Fyens Stiftstidende article (in Danish) about a group of mothers Mary will meet.

Video clip from TV FYN (just over 2 mins) showing the Jomaa family at home. And, yes! Mr Jomaa is right. His wife's cooking does look good!

Some photos of the last visit to Vollsmose by Frederik and Mary:



A little background:
Denmark's royal couple put a new flavor in tour a 2004 account in English of the last visit.
Frederik and Mary visit Vollsmose ghetto 2004 in English from The Copenhagen Post.
(With thanks to Muhler, TheoDK, Emilia and Jema)

Frederik with the President of Latvia

Today Crown Prince Frederik has had an audience with the President of Latvia, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga in Christian VIII's Palace. The Latvian president is on an official visit and after the audience with Frederik they opened an exhibition together at the Amalienborg Museum about national orders. Link to Latvia home site. A little background: Vīķe-Freiberga's parents were World War II refugees and lived in several countries before settling in Canada. In 1998 Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga returned to Latvia to head up the Institute of Latvia, which aims to promote Latvia abroad. In June 1999 she was elected president as a compromise and then re-elected for a second term in 2003. She has been a popular president with high approval ratings. She has had strong criticisms of Russia and is an enthusiastic proponent of Latvia's membership of NATO and the EU.
Crown Prince Frederik is doing the honours because he has been regent for most of August while the Queen has been vacationing in France at Château de Cayx.


From the President's website.


Photos by Jens Dige of POLFOTO

Added: From The Copenhagen Post:

On her way to even greater things

31 August 2006

Latvian President Dr Vaira Vike-Freiberga visited Denmark last week to mark the fifteenth anniversary of a post-cold war restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

During a busy week that included meetings with the Prime Minister and Crown Prince Frederik, 61-year-old Vike-Freiberga – who has been tipped as a possible candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as UN General Secretary - was pictured here outside the National Museum shaking hands with the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Society, Klaus Carsten Pedersen, while Denmark’s leading elder statesman, ex-foreign minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen looked on.

As current holder of a seat the UN Security Council, Denmark is believed, along with the US, to support former psychology professor Vike-Freiberga’s candidature.The Copenhagen Post

Mary at the Nordic Child Protection conference

Today Crown Princess Mary has attended the opening of the Nordic Child Protection Conference at the Falconer Centre in Copenhagen. This year's conference is organised by the Danish section and represents various government child protection, educational and research organisations along with similar organisations in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. The conference theme is "New times - new children" Praxis - education - research. The Nordic countries have a long tradition of co-operation and exchange of information in the child protection field. The Practice, Education and Research theme aims to ensure an improvement in the wide ranging work with vulnerable children. There will be lectures by specialists in the field and an extensive program of workshops over four days for conference goers.

Mary at Heart Association's family course

Louise Sandsten receives a gift from Crown Princess Mary. Louise has just turned nine and is doing very well after a heart transplant earlier this year.

Today Crown Princess Mary has attended a family course at Horsens convened by the Heart Association. Six hundred children and family members attended the day organised by the Children's Club section of the Heart Association. Mary is patron of the Heart Association which was a patronage 'handed over' to her by Prince Henrik. Heart health, good treatments and medical research means a lot to her partly because of the illness and death of her mother. Mary's mother Etta died at just 55 of complications after valve surgery on 20 November 1997 in Hobart, Australia. Mary also has an association 'of the heart' as an honorary life governor with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney.

The Heart Association aims to update families on new research and treatments through its Children's Club and the day is also an opportunity for families facing the same situation to get together. Some of the children have had various operations to fix their heart problems. Mary met with the children and their families and listened to a lecture by a cardio-thoracic surgeon at University Hospital in Copenhagen about new treatments available to treat all sorts of serious heart conditions in children. Kronprinsesse Mary mødte hjertesyge børn



photos from pressport.dk


TV SYD video clip (about 2 mins) in Danish about the day and Mary's arrival.
Henrik Rene Olsen's pics (from www.fotokritik.dk)

Mary inaugurates Odense Flower Festival

Crown Princess Mary has opened the inaugural Odense Flower Festival today. It is being held for four days in the centre of the city and outside the Odense Town Hall. If you are wondering about various people dressed in costumes in the photos, it is because Odense is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and some of the locals are dressed as characters for the celebrations.



Photos from the Fyens Stiftstidende photo gallery. There are many, many more here at the gallery at the newspaper's site.


Fyens Stiftstidende (Danish article) tells of Mary's arrival, the opening of the festival by the mayor of Odense, Jan Boye, and Mary christening a newly developed plant, a new variety of perennial bell flower named Kronprinsessens Klokkeblomst (Campanula rotundifolia) by the plant breeder Christian Madsen. The Odense Symphony Orchestra movingly played Bach and Mary toured the exhibit.
TV 2 video clip (1 minute plus - Mary's arrival)
TV 2 video clip (1 minute with Mary christening Kronprinsessens Klokkeblomst)
TV 2 FYN video clip (just under 1 minute of Mary christening the bell flower)
Odense Blomster Festival (in Danish) and photo gallery (click on thumbnails if you are into matters horticultural).
The Italian Culture Institute Copenhagen will be participating in the flower festival with the Dante Alighieri Society of Odense. An Italian film festival will run concurrently with the flower festival also.
Earlier Fyens Stiftstidende reported the plant christened in Mary's honour had been 20 years in development. Horticulturalist Kristian Madsens says the breeding of the plant began 20 years ago and the nursery's 'dream team' has brought a beautiful new flower into being. Last year Mary christened a rose named for her, and that rose now features in a recently award-winning garden in a park in Valby, Copenhagen and in other public gardens it has won awards too.
Mary is recycling her hat and her clothes. Mary wore the hat around this time last year, including to the christening of the award-winning Kronprinsesse Mary (Poulsen) Rose and to a garden fair where she had an encounter with a puppy. The clothes Mary is wearing today are also recycled from various other events and private occasions.

Mary attends CPH Vision and Designers' Nest

Yesterday, August 13, Crown Princess Mary attended a show and prize giving as a part of the fashion fair week at Øksnehallen in Copenhagen. Mary is the patron of the organisation representing fashion designers known as CPH Vision. The CPH Vision fashion fair also convenes a show for design students called Designers' Nest and Mary is patron for this too. The Designers' Nest Prize is presented to the design student deemed most promising and is presented at this show, after fashion designers have assessed the contenders during the Designers' Nest shows since last Friday. Crown Princess Mary presented the prize to Riina Hirvonen, University of Art and Design of Helsinki, Finland.
See a TV 2 news clip (just one minute) of Mary at the CPH Vision fashion fair and presenting the Designers' Nest Prize.




What is Designers' Nest?
Designers Nest began in 2002 as an integral part of the CPH Vision fashion fair. Its purpose is to give design students and fledgling designers in Denmark and the Nordic region the opportunity to showcase their talents in a professional, international fashion and design forum. CPH Vision has made a building at the CPH Vision fashion fair available to four Scandinavian design schools, Danmarks Designskole, Copenhagen – Designskolen, Kolding – TEKO, Herning and Beckmans Designskole, Stockholm, where students have the opportunity to exhibit and present their work. Visitors come to CPH Vision from all over the world and include buyers, designers, trendsetters and representatives of the press. Designers' Nest exposes up-and-coming young Danish and Nordic designers to the fashion industry and helps consolidate and expand Denmark's position as a fashion and design nation.

Here find the CPH Vision designers/brands which are represented and links to the design companies, some of which Mary wears. With these patronages and the CIFF patronage, Mary supports all aspects of the fashion industry in Denmark, from the student vanguard, designers, design companies, clothing maufacturers, textile manufacture and the organisations to promote them all (CIFF and CPH Vision).

Added: Mary steals the limelight at Danish fashion fair in Hello! magazine

Added: From CPH VISION
Designers Nest Award Winner August 2006

The Crown Princess was in great shape when she visited us - very enthusiastic and interested in everything going on at the Scandinavian fashion scene. The winner of the Designers’ Nest Award, a golden chain designed by Dyrberg/Kern and DKK 50.000 from CPH Vision, was Finnish Riina Hirvonen from University of Art and Design in Helsinki with a theme based on the original illustrations from Alice in Wonderland. Graphic lines, mix of materials in black, grey and white, many fine details...

Number two was Laura Baruël from The Danish Design School with a very Nordic "winter concept" and number three Nora Sederlöf who is also from Finland. She worked with beautiful jersey drapings in simple dresses in black and red.

Roman Holiday? No, it was Gråsten holiday

At the end of the Gråsten stay Frederik and Mary had some fun on the old Lambretta scooter which had belonged to Frederik IX. Billed-Bladet reports that after Frederik did a test drive to make sure the scooter was still in good order, Mary had a quick practice and quickly mastered the art of scooter riding before they whooshed out into the palace park with Ziggy. Mary gave Ziggy a whistle as she rode out of the gate with Frederik as passenger. Ziggy took off after them, happy to run along and Mary and Frederik were also happy, laughing with the fun of it all. The scooter had belonged to King Frederik which he used to go swimming nearby because a car was not practical. Queen Ingrid had the scooter fixed for Frederik when he turned 18. It is a vintage scooter, a 1954 Lambretta, and when Frederik and Mary went outside the palace they used some vintage helmets loaned to them by a local vintage enthusiast.




Hello! magazine has the story too:

Romantic royals Frederik and Mary scoot into action

11 August 2006

Crown Prince Frederik obviously isn't the kind of man who's afraid to let his wife Mary take the driving seat for a while. The future king was happy to sit back and let his Australian-born princess take control when the pair went for a spin on an old scooter in the grounds of Grasten Palace.
In a scene reminiscent of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn's classic movie Roman Holiday, the couple took a ride on an old Vespa scooter. The romantic royals may be more accustomed to travelling in limousines or horse-drawn carriages, but they both seemed to be enjoying the chance to indulge in a little two-wheeled fun.
Frederik and Mary aren't the only big names to have discovered the delights of travelling by scooter. British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is well-known for his Vespa, which helped him beat the traffic in London in the early days of his career.
The photographs were taken as the first in line and his wife continued their summer break at Queen Margrethe's traditional summer residence.

Galathea 3 - the Vædderen sets sail

Crown Prince Frederik waves to the crew of the Vaedderen
Today Crown Prince Frederik, as the royal patron of the Galathea 3 expedition, attended the send off of the expedition in Langelinie wharf, Copenhagen. Check our previous post for more info.



Crown Prince Frederik's speech (in Danish)
Visit Madeleine Glindorf's gallery for many more photos.
Around the world in 257 days (denmark.dk)

Galathea 3 - the expedition begins

Today Crown Prince Frederik is visiting the ship Vædderen, the lead ship in the Galathea 3 Expedition which is due to set sail tomorrow. Along with other guests, Frederik is attending this event to highlight the beginning of this third Danish Galathea expedition. Frederik will also be present to see the expedition off tomorrow from the Amalie Quay in Copenhagen.

Galathea expeditions have an interesting history. The first expedition was initiated by King Christian VIII and sailed from 1845 to 1847. See Galathea 1 (1845-47).

The second expedition came a hundred years after the first and sailed from 1950 to 1952. See Galathea 2 (1950-52). Prince Axel (nephew of Frederik's grandfather King Frederik IX) was involved with this expedition.

The Vædderen, which means 'The Ram' in Danish, is the Danish Navy surveillance vessel which will undertake the voyage to circumnavigate the Earth, sailing tomorrow and returning to Denmark in April 2007. The expedition will be concerned with research into biology, geology, culture and history, and climate and the environment. Read about the Vædderen (Danish Naval History) and the preparation of the ship and its facilities for the voyage.

Crown Prince Frederik is the patron of the Danish Expedition Foundation which organises the expedition and has been quite closely involved with its organisation. Frederik has already been an expeditioner: in 1986 he went to Central Asia (Mongolia) and in 2000 he participated in the Sirius Expedition travelling 2,800 kms by dog sled across northern Greenland. It is expected that he may paticipate in part of this expedition too, although details are not yet known. See Galathea 3 bound for the seven seas for details of who is involved and its organisation (in English).




Explore the Galathea 3 website, it has some great information about the route, history, research and activities of the expedition. Danish classrooms will have a direct satellite connection to the ship while it is on its journey:
Galathea 3 Expedition (English version)
Galathea 3 Ekspeditionen (Danish version)
Denmark.dk 'Galathea 3 - Voyages of discovery, a venerable Danish tradition'
Politiken's Galathea 3 page (Danish)
Berlingske Tidende's Galathea 3 page (Danish)
Crown Prince Frederik's Sirius 2000 Expedition page (in English from Frederik's website)
Sirius 2000 Expedition and Sirius 2000 - interview with Crown Prince Frederik (both in English)

Mary at opening of CIFF fashion fair

Today Mary has opened the bi-annual Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF) in the Bella Centre in Copenhagen. Like Queen Ingrid and Princess Benedikte before her, Mary is the patron of CIFF, and in the past few years has attended a few events associated with what has become one of the biggest fashion trade events in Europe. The latest fashion trends will be displayed by the 929 exhibitors at the fashion fair – up until now the biggest in Scandinavia, and now Europe’s biggest. This August 2006 CIFF will present fashion for the Spring/Summer 2007 season. CIFF is organised by the Federation of Danish Textiles & Clothing and the Bella Centre.



Added: TV2 photo gallery (Thanks Lotte H)

Denmark Fashion (in English)
CIFF press release 'Crown Princess in new and festive surroundings' (in English)
The Danish-Dutch Axis (in English about increase in Dutch exhibitors and the reciprocal developments fashion between the two countries)
Welcome to the Gardens (in English about the special features of this season's show)
CIFF bigger than CPD (in English about the growth of CIFF overtaking the CPD Dusseldorf fashion trade fair)
CIFFKIDS sold out (in English about the CIFFKIDS part of the exhibit)
Exhibitors' country of origin (in English from CIFF site)
Denmark fashionshows & events the program in English
Denmark.dk article in English 'Taking the catwalk to the sidewalk'
Summer in Danmark: The Copenhagen International Fashion Fair article in English 'The Battle of Europe: and the Vikings win!!!'

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik in Cahors

Prince Henrik and Queen Margrethe, with her dog Heleke.

Today, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik met with the press for their annual press conference and photocall at their Château de Cayx residence in Cahors, France, where they'll spend their summer vacation. Crown Prince Frederik is regent while the Queen is away.



Added: The Copenhagen Post 'It is a very good year'
Hello! magazine 'Danish royals enjoy a Gallic passion at French retreat'

Frederik at Danes World Wide meeting

On Sunday, August 6, Crown Prince Frederik was the guest of honour at a meeting of expatriate Danes. The organisation called Danes World Wide has had its annual meeting at Kronborg Castle. Its president is Peter Heering Snr. The meeting celebrates the maintenance of Danish ties to Denmark, which Danes World Wide does through a number of services, programs and publications. The organisation and annual meeting deal with what is consciously Danish identity and cultural heritage for expatriate Danes. There is also a focus on keeping contact world wide and facilitaing opportunities for Danes living and working abroad. The Queen is the patron of Danes World Wide, but because of her knee operation and some shifting around of duties, Crown Prince Frederik was the guest of honour. Speakers at the meeting focused on new global conditions, how to best adapt to them and make the best contribution possible. You can read an item in English called Danglish 'From a Danish American who still speaks Danglish'. The woman in white with Frederik is Susanne Heering, mother-in-law to Caroline and long-time friend to the Queen. The Heerings are old friends of the whole royal family.

more from Gråsten Palace

Today, the Danish royal family gathered to watch the Guards Band play at Gråsten Palace.



ADDED: Prince Christian gets royal wave lesson from mum (Hello! magazine)

Danish royal photocall at Gråsten Palace

Queen Margrethe with her son, Crown Prince Frederik(R), Crown Princess Mary and her grandson Christian in his arms. The two princes Nikolai and Felix at her left with their father Prince Joachim
The Danish royal family on their summer holiday at Gråsten Palace. The late Queen Ingrid's personal palace has now passed to Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who continues the tradition of gathering the family at the palace during summer.




Pictured from left to right: Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg with new girlfriend Carina Axelsson, his mother Princess Benedikte, Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg with her children Richard and Ingrid, Prince Joachim with his sons Felix and Nikolai, Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary with their son Christian, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Princess Alexia of Greece with children Anna-Maria, Arietta and Carlos.

See following link for names and faces of the Greek branch of the family. Alexia's biography is interesting (she is the oldest of Queen Ingrid's grandchildren). Profiles of the Greek Royal Family.
ADDED: Hello! magazine 'Lazy days of summer fun for Denmark's young royals'

So far at Gråsten ...

The family gathering at Gråsten so far.

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik arrived in Sønderborg on the Dannebrog on 21 July as we have already reported. Princess Benedikte joined them soon after.

On 28 July Prince Henrik inaugurated a new neuropsychiatric ward at Sønderborg (posted in the roundup here. Billed Bladet this week has photos of Prince Henrik trying out an excerise machine at the new centre and dealing with his mobile phone during proceedings.




This year's neighbourhood reception, or welcome for the royal family by locals, at Gråsten Palace was held on July 28. Here you can see Queen Margrethe sitting for the ceremony with her new puppy Heleke on her lap.




On 29 July there was a Royal Ballet performance at nearby Sønderborg Castle park. The Queen, Princess Benedikte, Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Alexia, her husband Carlos Morales and her younger brother Prince Nikolaos attended this event.



TV SYD click for short clip of the Royal Ballet performing in the Sønderborg Castle park
TV SYD article 'Ballet i Sønderborg' (in Danish)
Der Nordschleswiger (in German)

Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Alexia, husband Carlos Morales and their daughters Arrietta and Anna-Maria, and Prince Nikolaus at the circus during the stay at Gråsten Palace. Arrietta (centre with birds) participated in the circus with other children in the audience.



On 30 July Prince Joachim and Princess Benedikte attended the opera. It was a performance by Placido Domingo in concert in the city of Esbjerg in Jutland.



The Legoland in Billund near Gråsten had a visit from 11 royals, including some small ones, on Wednesday. They were accompanied by the Legoland director Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen as they flew on Duplo airplanes and other fun stuff. The members of the roayal family included Princess Benedikte, her daughter Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and grandchildren Richard and Ingrid, Queen Anne-Marie, her daughter Princess Alexia and her daughters Arrietta and Anna-Maria, Prince Joachim and Nikolai and Felix.



Indland Jyllands-Posten 'Prinser i hopla i Legoland' (in Danish)
JydskeVestkysen 'De kongelige på besøg i Legoland' (in Danish)
Jyllands-Posten infocast click to see short clip of the royals at Legoland.

There is to be a concert in the chapel in Gråsten Palace tomorrow and hopefully there will be new photos.

Frederik attends the 2006 WOC

Crown Prince Frederik with the President of the Danish Olympic Committee, Kaj Holm
Today, Crown Prince Frederik, as patron, attended the opening of the 2006 World Orienteering Championships in Mindeparken, Århus. The royal residence, Marselisborg Castle, served as the attractive background for the day’s events.


Photo credit for photos #2-#5: Alternativet

Press Release
2006 World Orienteering Championships
WOC's photo gallery

ADDED: National Nine News (Australia) 'Aussie stunned after winning gold'
A Dane won the men's sprint event and an Australian won the women's sprint event. The young woman is Tasmanian no less. Perfect! Plus, Christian got a boomerang.
ADDED 2: The Hobart Mercury 'World title blows Hanny away'