Empress Maria Feodorovna laid to rest at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral

Crown Prince Frederik sprinkles Danish soil upon the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna. The soil is from Empress Dagmar's rose garden at her house in Hvidøre in Denmark where she spent her final years - it was a garden she tended herself. It was Queen Margrethe's idea that Danish soil from Dagmar's beloved rose garden should be enclosed with her in her final resting place in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, now beside her husband and near the remains of her son the last Tsar Nicholas II and his family, and other members of the Imperial Family.




photos by Dmitry Lovetsky for POLFOTO

Added: Sydney Morning Herald video clip (1:15) 'Exiled Empress comes home'
Russia reburies empress in imperial crypt Reuters Canada
Russian empress, Danish princess finds final resting spot in The Copenhagen Post

Empress Maria Feodorovna ceremony at St Isaacs

Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik in St Isaac's Cathedral, St Petersburg.

Today Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have been involved in the reburial ceremony at St Isaac's Cathedral along with other dignitories.
Russia reburies Tsarina in imperial crypt EuroNews:Russia. net
Representatives from Europe's royal families were in St Petersburg's largest cathedral, attending the re-burial service for Empress Maria Feodorovna. Her coffin was carried by a guard of honour on her return to the ancient imperial capital 87 years after she left.

Born in Denmark, Maria Feodorovna was the wife of Tsar Alexander III and the mother of Russia's last emperor Nicholas II. She fled the country during the revolution, after her son was shot by a Bolshevik firing squad. She died and was buried in Denmark, at the age of 80.

The Patriach of the Russian Orthodox Church has described the return of her remains as an act of repentance for the state and a historic and spiritual event for Russia. Maria Feodorovna will be laid to rest in the imperial crypt at the cemetery of the Peter and Paul Fortress, alongside her husband and son. She is the only ruler from the Romanov dynasty not buried there, and now she will probably be the last. Relatives say it was her dying wish to be buried with her family.



Photos TV2 gallery



Ivan Sekretarev of POLFOTO

BBC video clip

EuroNews video clip in English - St Isaac's Cathedral

Russia to re-bury tsar's mother BBC News Europe

Berlingske Tidende (in Danish) reports Crown Princess Mary took a break of 10 minutes during the ceremony in St Isaac's Cathedral.

The Death of the Dowager Empress, Maria Fedorovna a first hand account of Maria Feodorovna's death in 1938 from The Memoirs of H.G. Graf, Commander of the Russian Imperial Navy

TV2 article and gallery (in Danish)

Frederik and Mary attend reception

Yesterday, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended a reception aboard the Danish ship 'Ebsen Snare' to mark the reburial of the Empress Maria Fedorovna.

Frederik and Mary visit exhibition

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller, Crown Princess Mary, and Crown Prince Frederik
Today, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended the opening of an exhibition by Danish court painter of XIX century, Lauritz Tuxen, at the State Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg. The Danish royals arrived in St. Petersburg to take part in a reburial ceremony of the Russian Empress Maria Fedorovna, former Danish Princess Dagmara, which married Russian Emperor Alexander III and escaped Russia after the October Bolshevic revolution and died in Denmark.



Crown Prince Frederik's speech (in Danish)
DR1 video clip (1:33)

Empress Maria Feodorovna's remains in Russia

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have arrived in St Petersburg Interfax Russia has reported. B.T. reports that Prince Michael of Kent will represent Queen Elizabeth and King Constanine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece will attend the ceremonies.

Crown Prince, Crown Princess of Denmark arrive in St.Petersburg

ST.PETERSBURG. Sept 27 (Interfax) - Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark arrived in St.Petersburg on Wednesday morning to attend the reburial ceremony of Empress Maria Fedorovna's remains, Russian Culture Minister Alexander Sokolov told the press.

The Crown Prince will open an exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum, entitled "Lauritz Tuksen, a court painter. Works from Danish and Russian collections" on Wednesday. The Crown Prince will also give a reception on his ship.

On Thursday, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary will attend the reburial ceremony of late Empress Maria Fedorovna at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.Interfax Russia


Russian and Danish honor guards carry a coffin with remains of Czarina Maria Fyodorovna in Petergof, outside St.Petersburg on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006. The remains of Czarina Maria Feodorovna were brought Tuesday to Russia for burial from Denmark, the country where she was born and died. Maria Feodorovna was the wife of Czar Alexander III and the mother of Nicholas II, who fell to the Bolsheviks in 1917. The Romanov's include Nikolai Romanov, Dmitry Romanov, Sebastian Romanov (little boy with the candle), Rostislav Romanov, Nikita Romanov and ordinary people paying their respects at the coffin.


Homecoming for a Danish Empress
26 September 2006 - from The Copenhagen Post
The re-internment of Danish-born Princess Dagmar from Roskilde Cathedral to St Petersburg is also the return of Empress Maria Fedorovna to her ill-fated Romanov family
To non-Danes, the name Princess Dagmar probably means nothing: the great-great-aunt of the reigning Queen Margrethe died in 1928 in her suburban Copenhagen villa to be buried in Roskilde Cathedral. On the other hand, mention the Empress Maria from Disney's animated Anastasia (as voiced by veteran star Angela Lansbury), and there may be more than a few nods of recognition. In fact, unlike the Anna Anderson-Anastasia mystery, there's no doubt here that Dagmar and Maria are one and the same person.

How the plainly aristocratic Glucksburg that was Princess Dagmar of Denmark came to be known as the Empress Maria Fedorovna is one of those fairy tales of history to which, however, there was no happily ever after.

Instead, a Bolshevik revolution is to blame for her somewhat inauspicious end in Hvidøre in what is now Copenhagen's Whiskey Belt.

Princess Dagmar's parents, King Christian IX and Queen Louise, matched her with Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, heir to Tsar Alexander II. When Nicholas died of bronchitis in 1865, however, Dagmar was betrothed again to his brother, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich. In 1866, she set sail from Denmark to join the Russian royal family.

Quick to learn
With a speed and efficiency to be admired, Princess Dagmar mastered the notoriously difficult Russian language and was baptised in the Russian Orthodox faith, recreated as Maria Fedorovna. Married in St Petersburg in 1866, there was little trace of simple, vivacious Dagmar in the imperial court of Maria Fedorovna; if her enthusiasm for mastering the language was impressive, it was nothing compared to the way she threw herself into the sumptuous consumption of one of the world's most decadent and glamorous societies of the time.

History as well as Hollywood warns us, though, that a life of luxury does not last, and Maria Fedorovna's offspring were to be some of the last members of the Romanov dynasty. She and Alexander (known as 'the bear') had six children, of which five survived infancy.

Two things happened in November 1894: first Tsar Alexander III died of nephritis, forcing his son Nicholas to take his place, and less than four weeks later he married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, (who became Alexandra) who had been brought up under the strict guidance of British grandmother Queen Victoria.

Revolutionary end
As Nicholas and Alexandra's devotion to each other began to alienate them from the rest of their family, this imperial rift only added to the rising instability within Russia. Alexandra had four beautiful daughters, but no heir: the son finally born in 1904 had haemophilia - a hereditary condition known as the 'royal' disease.

Grandmother Maria, having grown estranged from her beloved son, immersed herself into St Petersburg society, charity work and travelling. She also had a yacht, the Polar Star, which she summered on.

This was to change with the Bolshevik revolution of spring 1917, plunging Russia into civil war and leading to the execution of Nicholas, Alexandra and their family in 1918 and brother Michael a little later. Maria Fedorovna left the country for the final time with what remained of her family in 1919 onboard the British ship HMS Marlborough, which stopped first in Malta before docking in England.

Maria stayed first with her sister's family there but was not suited to playing second fiddle and returned to her roots in Denmark. Right up until her death, it appeared her life had frozen with the revolution, from her Hvidøre villa, she waited quietly for a sign her sons and grandchildren had somehow survived.

Resting place
Empress Maria was buried in Roskilde Cathedral in 19 October 1928 alongside other members of the Danish royal family, but according to family members she always harboured a desire to return to Russia to lie beside her husband.

'It was her greatest wish to be buried beside her beloved husband,' said Dimitri Romanoff, who lives north of Copenhagen and is a direct descendant of Tsar Nicholas.

Plans for a homecoming
Realising Empress Maria's dream became a possibility after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Dimitri Romanoff and his older brother, Prince Nicholas, who lives in Switzerland, noted the change in winds when the former Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, took part in the reburial ceremony for the murdered family of emperors eight years ago in St Petersburg's Peter and Paul Cathedral.

After consulting other members of the Romanoff clan, Dimitri contacted Queen Margrethe in 2003 and received her approval. He then pursued the possibilities for re-internment through a chain of correspondence with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The arduous process paid off, according to Dimitri Romanoff.

'Now what we have worked for and dreamed about for years is finally happening,' he told daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende.

Royal ceremony
The re-internment ceremony which began last week essentially retraced the funeral of Empress Maria 78 years ago. First, a ceremony was held in Copenhagen's Russian Orthodox church, Alexander Nevsky Church, on Friday, followed by a memorial service in Roskilde Cathedral on Saturday.

Queen Margrethe and other members of the Royal Family attended, as well as representatives of the Danish government and parliament, together with representatives of the Russian government and the City of St. Petersburg and members of the Romanov family.

From Roskilde Cathedral, the body of Empress Maria was transported to Christiansborg, the seat of the Danish parliament, where a horse-drawn carriage awaited and transported her through Copenhagen to the naval vessel Esbern Snare. From the Copenhagen harbour, her body set sail for St Petersburg once again, following the same route she travelled to meet her coming husband.

Upon landing in St Petersburg on Tuesday - the same place where she placed foot on Russian soil for the first time 140 years ago - the body of Empress Maria was received by an emotional governor of St Petersburg Valentina Matvienko.

An honour guard of Russians and Danes brought her body to a chapel at Peterhof, the royal palace south of the city. Here, visitors could pay their respects to their returned Empress until the official re-internment ceremony on Thursday.

Danish dignitaries attending the ceremony on Thursday will include Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Prince Mary, and the minister of foreign affairs, Per Stig Møller. Crown Prince Frederik brought a silver case filled with soil from Empress Maria's garden in Hvidøre.

Full circle
For Russians, the return of their empress takes on symbolic meaning for a country trying to come to terms with its imperial past after more than seven decades of communist rule.

'The Empress Dagmar is important for Russia,' said Russia's Ambassador to Denmark, Dimitri Ryurikov. 'She brings us in harmony with our history which was denied us for most of the 20th century. That's why it's important for Russia that the wish of our empress is fulfilled and she comes home where she belongs.'The Copenhagen Post

Tsarina Maria Feodorovna reburial sites in St Petersburg

Empress Maria Feodorovna

Today the Esbern Snare arrives in St Petersburg and Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive tomorrow. It is uncertain whether President Vladimir Putin or Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will attend - so far it looks as if the frosty relationship between Russia and Denmark in recent times will mean they do not attend. Neither is the Queen attending because there are various protocol issues to do with state visits and other issues between the two countries. The organisation of the reburial and Frederik's and Mary's visit represents a thawing of relations, so interesting times at various levels.

The reburial program in St Petersburg is designed to emphasise the first journey the then Princess Dagmar took on arriving in Russia 140 years ago to the day. Before marrying Alexander, Dagmar converted to Russian Orthodoxy and took the name Maria Feodorovna Romanova upon marriage. Russia became beloved to her. Before being evacuated in 1919 Maria Feodorovna worked (with her daughter Olga) for the Red Cross helping the Russian soldiers who were fighting in the Crimean war. Other historical tendrils: as Dowager Empress she knew Rasputin and knew how damaging he and Nicholas II's wife Alexandra were to the future of the Imperial Family. She is said to have never really been 'right' about the murder of her family, understandably enough, this would be a very difficult thing to be reconciled to.

Tuesday, 26 September:
At 8 a.m. the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna on board the Danish navy vessel Esbern Snare will pass Kronstadt at the entrance to St. Petersburg. From Kronstadt the vessel will be saluted.

After this Esbern Snare will arrive at the Vasilevsky Island, where the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna will be transferred to a Russian vessel. which will carry the coffin to the Peterhof Castle outside St. Petersburg. Later that day Esbern Snare will proceed to the centre of St. Petersburg and call at the bank of the Neva.

At the place of call at Peterhof the official reception will take place in presence of the Governor of St. Petersburg. The Danish-Russian Honour Guard will bring the coffin ashore.



The coffin will be brought by hearse to the nearby Alexander Nevsky Chapel in the Alexandriya Park at Peterhof.
By noon the ceremony will end with a short service in the Alexander Nevsky Chapel.
In the afternoon the Alexander Nevsky Chapel will be open to the public.

Wednesday, 27 September:
In the daytime the Alexander Nevsky Chapel will be open to the public.

The Crown Prince Couple and Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller will arrive in St. Petersburg.




Thursday, 28 September:
In the morning the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna will be carried out of the Alexander Nevsky Chapel by the Danish-Russian Honour Guard.

The coffin will be transported by motorcade via the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo to St. Petersburg. There will be a short ceremony on the parade-ground of the Catherine Palace.

Tsarskoe Selo is yet another magnificient summer residence of the Russian Tsars situated approximately 20 km to the south of St. Petersburg. Peter the Great presented the area as a gift to his wife, who later became Catherine I, and the palace was named “Catherine Palace”. The palace was in its prime under Catherine the Great (II) towards the end of the 18th century. The Catherine Palace, which is surrounded by a large park (3000 hectares), is especially known for its unique amber chamber. It was removed by the Germans during the Second World War and has not been recovered. The amber chamber was recreated on the occasion of the 300 year anniversary of St. Petersburg in 2003 thanks to a donation from the German company “Ruhrgas”. Also the Danish company, “Velux”, supported the restoration of amber effects of both Danish and German origin from the original Amber Chamber. On her way to St. Petersburg from Peterhof in 1866 Princess Dagmar paid a visit to Tsarskoe Selo and the Catherine Palace. The reburial cortege will take the same route.

The motorcade arrives at St. Isaac´s Cathedral, where the Danish-Russian Honour Guard will carry the coffin into the cathedral.

At noon a service will be held in St. Isaac´s Cathedral conducted by His Holiness Patriarch of the Russian Othodox Church, Alexey II. The Crown Prince Couple, the Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller and the Danish delegation will participate in the service and in the following reburial ceremony.



St. Isaac´s Cathedral has the fourth biggest dome in the world after St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and Maria del Fiori in Florence. The cuppola is 22 m. in diameter. The 101 m. tall cathedral can accommodate 7,000 visitors. The present building with its 17 m. tall and 114 tons heavy monolitpillars was constructed over a period of 40 years (from 1818 to 1858). It served as the dome of St. Petersburg till 1937, when the cathedral was no longer used for services. From then on the cathedral served as an anti-religious museum, in which the famous Foucault pendulum was displayed as a demonstration of the rotation of the earth. After Gorbachev’s perestroika services were again permitted to be held in St. Isaac´s Cathedral, although today the cathedral is only used for religious services on special occasions.

As part of the reburial the Russian Patriarch will conduct a memorial service in St. Isaac´s Cathedral on 28 September. The Crown Prince Couple will attend the reburial ceremony here.


At the end of the service the Honour Guard will carry the coffin to the hearse and the motorcade will drive to Saints Peter and Paul Fortress.

From the Petrovsky Gates the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna is carried in procession to the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. The coffin is carried into the cathedral under accompaniment by the Band of the Royal Danish Life Guards and the Russian Admiral Orchestra.

In the afternoon His Holiness Patriarch Alexey II will conduct the reburial ceremony in Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The Saints Peter and Paul Fortress is the oldest work of engineering in St. Petersburg. It was built on the Hare Island, the smallest of the 42 islands on which St. Petersburg is situated in the delta of the Neva. The fortress was founded on 27 May 1703 and this date is considered the birthday of St. Petersburg.

In the middle of the Saints Peter and Paul Fortress is the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, which was built from 1712 to 1733 by the architect Domenico Trezzini. The gilded spire, which is 122,5 m. tall, is still the tallest architechtural work in town. The Cathedral is the burial church of the Russian Tsars from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family, who were buried here in 1998. In the chapel known as the Grand-Ducal Vault 13 members of the Imperial Family have been buried up to 1917. As the latest, the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirilovich was buried in the Grand-Ducal Vault in 1992.



After the reburial ceremony in Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral the delegations and invited guests will meet at the Ethnographic Museum of St. Petersburg, where a memorial banquet will be held in the Marble Hall.

Following a concert in the State Academic Capella in the evening the Crown Prince Couple and the Danish Foreign Minister will leave St. Petersburg.

Choral singing was an institution closely linked to the Russian tsarist court, and Peter the Great had already established his own orchestra when the city was founded. The present building dates from 1889 and the concert hall seats 803 people. Today the State Academic Capella is an institution concerned with concerts, education and information. The institution has its own choir and a symphony orchestra.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess will attend a memorial concert on 28 September at the State Academic Orchestra. On 26 September the State Academic Orchestra will also be the setting for a concert with the Royal Guard Band and the Admiralty Orchestra.



It was at Peterhof that the Danish Princess Dagmar on 26 September 1866 first set foot on Russian soil. When the Imperial Couple spent their summer in Peterhof, they mostly stayed in a “cottage” in the Alexandria Park adjacent to Peterhof. The nearby Alexander Nevsky Chapel (“the Gothic Chapel”), where Empress Maria Feodorovna’s coffin will be on display until 28 September, served as the couple’s private church during their stays at Peterhof. The “Cottage” is now a museum and is open to the public. Among other items it contains a collection of Danish porcelain.



Anichkov is among the original stone buildings erected along the Nevsky Prospekt (dating from the middle of the 18th century - see both photos for different views of the building) at the Fontanka River. The Palace was the setting for a significant part of Empress Maria Feodorovna’s life in Russia. Anichkov was presented to her and Alexander as a wedding gift and they lived in the palace as Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. Even after Maria Feodorovna became Empress she preferred Anichkov to the Winter Palace. After the death of Alexander III Maria Fedorovna remained at Anichkov as Empress Dowager. After the revolution the palace was used as a children´s centre (the Pioneer Palace). Now the palace is called the “Palace for Creative Youth” as the term “pioneer” has disappeared along with the Soviet System.


On the occasion of the reburial a photo exhibition named “Dagmar and Denmark” dedicated to Empress Maria Fedorovna will be displayed at the Anichkov Palace.


The Winter Palace, founded in 1762 by the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, served as winter residence for the Russian Imperial Family up to the revolution in 1917. The Hermitage Museum consists of five buildings, including the Winter Palace and the Hermitage Theatre, which was formerly the Court Theatre.



The Hermitage is considered the world’s greatest art collection including over three million art effects. Visitors to the Hermitage are at the same time able to see a number of parade halls and private chambers from the period of the Russian tsars.

In connection with the reburial the Crown Prince will open an exhibition at the Hermitage displaying works of the Danish court painter Laurits Tuxen, arranged in cooperation with the Danish National Gallery. The exhibition includes several paintings from Danish collections.


A painting. left, of the wedding of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander. Dagmar's parents, Christian IX and Queen Louise, did not attend Dagmar's wedding because they thought they would not be able to reciprocate the lavish celebrations of the Russian Imperial court.



Right, Dagmar with her sister Queen Mary in their home in Denmark after Maria Feodorovna evacuated from Russia and later settled there during her last years.


Reburial of Empress Maria Feodorovna - official website
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral - the burial site of the Imperial Family

Hare Island and the Saints Peter and Paul Fortress. The final resting place of Dagmar, Princess of Denmark and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Perhaps we can say she is still connected to Denmark through the currents of the Baltic Sea which touches both places.

Frederik and Mary present the Crown Prince Couple's Culture Prize

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have awarded the Crown Prince Couple's Culture Prize last night at the new opera house, Operaen, in Copenhagen. It is the venue for a concert to be broadcast on DR TV. The award of the prize is marked by a concert, and this year P.J. Harvey will be performing. P.J. Harvey described the Crown Prince Couple Awards as prestigious, although it is only in its second year. Last year Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds performed (interesting since Nick Cave used to have a big thing for Polly!). The Kulturepris honours artistic and humanitarian achievements in Denmark and is a wedding present to Frederik and Mary by Bikubenfonden.dk.

Politiken reports the winner of the artistic achievement prize is Olafur Eliasson who was awarded 500.000 Danish kroner. His website is one you have to mouse around to see the info and images. Eliasson was educated at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and works in multiple media but is probably best known as an installation artist who has exhibited internationally and now lives in Berlin.

The humanitarian achievement award was made to Julemærkefonden (The Christmas Seal Foundation) which helps Danish children in crisis through its four retreat homes. It was accepted on behalf of Julemærkefonden by its director Joan Vestergaard. Crown Princess Mary is patron of the organisation. It was awarded 250.000 Danish kroner.

Last year Crown Princess Mary was unable to attend the prize giving because she was ordered by her doctors to rest some weeks before giving birth. So, Mary missed out last year but this year will see Danish rock poet Peter Sommer perform and of course, P.J. Harvey, which is a great coup because she is only doing three concerts this year. Although the Crown Prince Couple decide who the recipients of the two prizes are, they have help from a group which advises them.



Kronprinsparrets Kulturpris
Bikubenfonden.dk (runs the prize)
The Royal Opera Stages
Operaen - the new opera house (the venue)



This last group of photos by Jens Panduro of POLFOTO

Crown Prince Frederik's speech (in Danish)
Crown Princess Mary's speech (in Danish)

TV Avisen clip (0:28)

From The Copenhagen Post:
Eliasson gets royal award

25.09.2006

The 2nd annual Royal Couple's Cultural Award Ceremony was presided over by the crown prince and princess themselves

Artist and sculptor Olafur Eliasson took home DKK 500,000 and the accompanying sculpture Sunday evening in Copenhagen at the second annual Royal Couple's Cultural Awards ceremony, the prize handed over by the award's namesakes, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary.
Eliasson won based on his 'unique ability to forever search deeper and deeper into the human senses' inexhaustible universe,' said the Crown Prince.
Eliasson is known for his work with ambiences of light and shadow, and he was the artist behind the three large chandeliers which hang in the foyer of the Opera House, where the ceremony took place. The award itself, a glass sculpture, was also created by Eliasson with glazier Per Sten Hebsgaard.
The secondary award of DKK 250,000 to the most outstanding charity was given to the Danish Christmas Seal Foundation, proprietors of the Christmas Seal Houses for troubled children.
'With this donation we lend a hand to the Christmas Seal Houses, that the results of their efforts last a long time and, more importantly, leave a positive mark on children for the rest of their lives,' said Crown Princess Mary.
The Royal Couple's Cultural Award is the Beehive Foundation's wedding gift to the royal couple. The winners are chosen by the couple themselves, after consultation with a forum consisting of notables in the cultural circle.~

Dagmar has left Denmark and sails the Baltic to Russia

B.T. and TV2 report on the departure of Dagmar's remains from Copenhagen. The Danish Royal Family waved off the ship and the Romanov family members who are accompanying the casket on the journey to Russia.

Soldiers of the Royal Danish Guard and of the Russian Republican Guard carry the coffin of Danish Princess Dagmar, who later took the name of Maria Feodorovna Romanova (1847-1928). Maria Feodorovna is carried by the Royal Danish Navy frigate Esbern Snare after a re-burial ceremony in the Roskilde Cathedral. Russian authorities are planning a series of ceremonies in and around the former imperial capital of Saint Petersburg to mark the reburial of the last Tsar's mother next week. A coffin carrying the remains of Maria Feodorovna Romanova, who fled her beloved Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, will retrace the steps made by the Danish princess on her first trip to Russia.

The Danish Royal Family waved goodbye to the casket of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna Saturday September 23, 2006. Maria Feodorovna's descendants joined Danish royals, officials and dignitaries to bid farewell to the remains of the mother of Russia's last emperor, 78 years after she died in exile in Denmark. The casket of the Danish-born Feodorovna, who was Princess Dagmar before marrying Tsar Alexander III, was put aboard a ship that sailed to St. Petersburg. The casket will be buried alongside relatives' remains at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where a ceremony is planned for next week.

Some photos from POLFOTO



Check Madeleine Glindorf's photos (click on 'photography' and then Reburial of Empress Dagmar, Langelinie). Thank you again Madeleine for a great job! 71 fantastic photos!

Memorial service for Dagmar in Roskilde Cathedral

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive at the cathedral.
The commemoration and farewell from Denmark of Tsarina Dagmar has taken place today at Roskilde Cathedral.



After the service the casket was carried through Copenhagen to Langelinie. The Royal Family marked the passing procession on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace.



At Copenhagen Harbour, where the coffin of Maria Fedorovna was transferred to the Danish navy vessel Esbern Snare



The service at the cathedral on the website of The Danish Monarchy Divine Service for Empress Maria Fedorovna

The guest list published on The Danish Monarchy site.

Added: for more photos of the farewell and transfer of the coffin after the service in Roskilde Cathedral go to Madeleine Glindorf and select 'photography'. Thanks for the great photos Madeleine!

Mother of tsar makes last voyage BBC News Europe
Denmark releases Czarina's body to rest in Russia Monterey County Herald (thanks mayflower)

TimesOnline:
Tragic Empress of Russia comes home to find the peace that eluded her in life
By Michael Binyon

The interment of Empress Feodorovna in the Peter and Paul Fortress represents Russia's final atonement to its last tsar.

WITH royal ceremony and imperial pomp, Denmark will say farewell tomorrow to one of the most tragic figures in its royal history.
Princess Dagmar, who became Empress of Russia and mother of the last tsar, died in exile in her native land 78 years ago. Now, following her last wishes, her remains are to be reinterred in a vault in St Petersburg beside her husband, Tsar Alexander III, who died in 1894. The ceremony in Roskilde Cathedral, 18 miles west of Copenhagen, will be attended by Queen Margarethe II of Denmark and her family, as well as officials from the Danish and Russian Governments and members of the Romanov family.
The remains of the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna — as she is known in Russia — will then be taken by a Danish warship to St Petersburg where they will lie in state. A service will be held in St Isaac’s Cathedral on Thursday and she will be interred the next day in the vault of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where all the Romanov tsars are buried and where the bones of the murdered Nicholas II and his family were interred in 1998. It will be the culmination of Russia’s atonement to its last tsar.
Dagmar’s story is extraordinary. She and her sister, Alexandra, daughters of King Christian IX, were two of the most eligible princesses in Europe and were to marry into the world’s greatest empires. Alexandra became the wife of Edward VII, while Dagmar sailed for the court in St Petersburg, converted to Russian Orthodoxy and was betrothed to Crown Prince Nicholas. He died months before the wedding and instead she married his brother.
Plunged into the fin de siècle turmoil of imperial Russia, she was a helpless witness to the hedonism, plotting and misrule at court. The sisters were almost identical; little wonder that their eldest sons looked so alike. But when the Revolution came, George V, fearful of public opinion in Britain, refused to save his cousin Nicholas II. It was only after his murder that he sent a warship to the Crimea to rescue Dagmar and her daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, in April 1919.
The evacuation is described in a new biography of Dagmar by Coryne Hall, who has been invited to the ceremonies in Denmark and St Petersburg.
As the Reds closed in, Captain Johnson, of HMS Marlborough, tried to hurry the royal refugees aboard. But the indomitable empress dallied. Her servants were loading 200 tons of luggage, box after box, and she headed for a chapel to pray.
Finally persuaded to return to the improvised pier, she embarked, along with dozens of desperate servants. They sailed for Yalta en route to Istanbul and passed Livadia Palace, the tsar’s summer residence. As she stood beneath the White Ensign, tears streaming down her face, a troopship carrying the Imperial Guard on the way to fight the Bolsheviks passed by. The men burst out with the Russian imperial anthem.
Stopping briefly in Malta, Dagmar finally arrived in Portsmouth and was taken to Marlborough House. But her time in London was not happy; she resented the loss of power, Britain’s indifference to Russian refugees and the lapses of protocol among the exiles.
Fussy, difficult and wildly extravagant, “Aunt Minny” antagonised her British relations and soon left for Denmark, where she grieved over her lost family and empire, refusing to believe Nicholas was dead or the claim by a notorious pretender that she was Anastasia, the Tsar’s daughter and only survivor of the royal massacre.
For three generations, Russia ignored her fate. But the mood is changing as the Government tries to heal the wounds of history, so that now Dagmar is going home at last.TimesOnline

The International Herald Tribune:
Family, officials bid farewell to Danish-born czarina as final journey to Russia begins

The Associated Press
Published: September 23, 2006

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Czarina Maria Feodorovna's descendants joined Danish royals, officials and dignitaries Saturday to bid farewell to the remains of the mother of Russia's last emperor, 78 years after she died in exile in Denmark.
The casket of the Danish-born Feodorovna — who was Princess Dagmar before marrying Czar Alexander III — will be put aboard a ship that will sail to St. Petersburg later Saturday. The casket will be buried alongside relatives' remains at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the former Russian imperial capital, where a ceremony is planned for next week.
"Empress Dagmar now will be begin her final journey to the country she loved so much," Paul Kulikovsky said about his great-great-grandmother during the solemn ceremony at the Roskilde Cathedral, west of Copenhagen. Feodorovna is known in Denmark as Empress Dagmar.
Her descendants, including members from the Kulikovsky and Romanov families, sat on the right side of the coffin draped in a yellow Russian imperial flag inside the cathedral. On the left sat Denmark's Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, among other members of the royal family.
A Russian government delegation, headed by Culture Minister Alexander Sokolov and deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov, also attended the ceremony in the 12th century red-brick cathedral.
To end the 50-minute Lutheran service, Royal Chaplain Christian Thodberg asked for "peace to shine over Empress Dagmar."
Ten officers from Denmark's Royal Life Guard and the Russian Presidential Guard then carried the coffin out of the cathedral, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Copenhagen, where Maria Feodorovna's casket has been resting alongside Danish kings and queens since her death in 1928.
After the ceremony, a motorcade including the hearse headed toward to Copenhagen, where a mounted army regiment will join the procession through the city and to the harbor.
The coffin will be put aboard a Danish navy support ship, Esbern Snare, which is due to arrive in St. Petersburg on Sept. 26.
Since the end of the Cold War, the Romanov family have been working for the remains of Maria Feodorovna to be sent to Russia.
Born in 1847 as Princess Dagmar, the daughter of Denmark's King Christian IX and Queen Louise, she converted from the Lutheran Church to the Russian Orthodox faith when she married Alexander. The couple had six children, including Nicholas II, who became czar in 1894 and was executed a year after the Bolshevik revolution.
Nicholas II and his family were killed in 1918, 16 months after he abdicated the throne. His remains were ceremoniously buried in 1998 in St. Petersburg.
Feodorovna fled St. Petersburg in 1917 and reached Copenhagen through the Crimean Peninsula and London.The International Herald Tribune

Reburial of Dagmar - Russian Orthodox ceremony last night

B.T. reports last night there was a special celebration in Roskilde Cathedral to mark the beginning of Empress Dagmar's final journey from Danish soil to be interred in Russia. Romanov relatives, Russian Orthodox priests and representatives from 'official Russia' participated in the ceremony. The vault underneath Christian IX's Chapel in Roskilde was illuminated by candle light while the former Danish princess and later Russian Empress was celebrated and remembered with pious songs and prayers. Bishop Alexander Dimitrov from the Russian Orthodox church in Moscow and the archbishop from the Russian Church in Bredgade, in Copenhagen, were the priests conducting the ceremony.


Right, Tsar Alexander III will soon be joined by his wife as was her wish.

And so, Dagmar has spent her last night on Danish soil and will soon be the centre of the ceremonies marking her final departure from her native Denmark and begin her journey to her final resting place in Russia.


Below, Roskilde Cathedral, the route of the procession from Roskilde to Langelinie today, Dagmar's casket in the Roskilde Cathedral crypt:




Reburial of Empress Maria Feodorovna (Ministery of Foreign Affairs of Denmark)

Reburial of Dagmar the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

The Kaminsky portrait of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, Dagmar Princess of Denmark

Today ceremonies begin to repatriate the remains of the Danish Princess Dagmar from Denmark to Russia. Dagmar married Tsar Alexander III in November 1866. Dagmar, or Maria Feodorovna as she was known in Russia, has been entombed in Roskilde Cathedral since her death in 1928 but it was her wish to lie with her husband in St Petersburg. It is said Alexander and Dagmar had a very happy union. The reburial arrangements have involved some very intricate negotiation between Russia, including President Putin, the Danish Government and the Danish Royal Family.

The ceremonies for the reburial actually began yesterday, September 22, on Danish ground with a Russian Orthodox ceremony in the crypt beneath the Cathedral of Roskilde, where the embalmed body of Tsarina Dagmar/Maria Feodorovna is at rest in a sarcophagus in a Royal Crypt. Today, September 23, a Danish memorial service will be conducted in Roskilde Cathedral, where the Danish Royal Family will be present. From Roskilde Cathedral the coffin will be driven to Christiansborg Slot in Copenhagen. There will be a procession carrying Dagmar's remains through Copenhagen to Langelinie where it will be transferred to a Danish Navy ship, the frigate Esbern Snare, which will then carry the coffin to St Petersburg, which will arrive September 26. In St Petersburg, the former imperial capital of Russia, the casket of the tsarina, as she was, will lay in a state of castrum doloris at the Alexander Nevsky Church in the park at Peterhof. Russian citizens will have the opportunity to pass by the coffin. The next day, on September 28, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna will be taken to the Isaak Cathedral in the city. Later the same day the reburial will be performed in the St Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary will represent the Danish Royal House, Foreign Minister, Per Stig Møller will represent the Danish Government on 28 September when Empress Dagmar is reburied in St Petersburg. The Crown Prince Couple will arrive in St Petersburg on Wednesday September 27 and will take part in a number of Danish-Russian cultural arrangements in connection with the reburial.

Empress Dagmar was the daughter of King Christian IX and in 1866 she married the Russian Crown Prince, who later became Tsar Alexander III. During the revolution in 1917 the Dowager Empress' family was killed and she escaped to England and then later to Denmark in 1919. Dagmar died in 1928 and she stated before her death that she wished to be buried in Russia, when circumstances allowed it.

The Danish Navy ship Esbern Snare will sail from Langelinie on September 23 and will arrive in St Petersburg on Tuesday September 26. This date is significant as it is exactly 140 years to the day since Princess Dagmar first arrived in Russia. The coffin will be taken ashore and placed in the Alexander Nevski Chapel in the park at Peterhof.

The Twelve Monograms Fabergé Egg made by Michael Perchin and presented to Maria Feodorovna by her son Nicholas II. Check out Fabergé Eggs here and you can see the 1891 Danish Palaces egg by Michael Perchin which depicted the palaces Dagmar had lived in as a Danish princess, including two royal yachts. After the death of Alexander III in 1895 Fabergé had to rework the egg that had originally been planned for Maria prior to her husband's death. The Twelve Monograms egg (1895) was the first Fabergé egg given by Czar Nicholas to his mother. Featuring in diamonds the royal insignia of Czar Alexander III set against a deep blue enamel background, Fabergé's understated creation was a fitting tribute for the mourning Dowager Empress. Alexander III died at just 49 years old. See also Fabergé Eggs: Mementos of a Doomed Dynasty

There is lots to read! Check out the links - there is so much interesting history about Dagmar's life, the last Romanovs, their connections to other European royalty and the very interesting times of the last Romanovs in revolutionary Russia.

The Alexander Palace Time Machine - read the story of Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, Princess of Denmark

Alexander Palace Russian History websites

Last letter from Dowager Marie in exile to her son Nicholas II (Nicholas II was the last Tsar) from Alexander Palace Time Machine

Neva News Dagmar of Denmark

How did the Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna escape from Russia?
Rescue of the Imperial Family from Yalta in 1919 HMS Marlborough Evacuates Members of the Imperial Family, Yalta, April, 1919 - Alexander Palace Time Machine

Alexander Palace Time Machine - Empress Marie Reburial


In 1866, when Princess Dagmar of Denmark was leaving for Russia, Hans Christian Andersen went to the Copenhagen quay to see her off. But not even the imagination of a fairytale writer could have foreseen the trials that befell his compatriot.

Reburial of Empress Maria Feodorovna September 2006 the official site in English by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Cultural Events in Connection with the Reburial Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Special Royal Copenhagen Exhibition at Peterhof There is ample evidence that the Empress Dagmar bought large amounts of porcelain made at the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory, and that Tsar Alexander III and their son Nicholas II were perhaps even more passionate collectors of the new, and at the time highly modern porcelain produced from the mid-1880s onward. See also Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactury and Peterhof Click here (as in pic 1 below) for panaramic views of the fountain and gardens at Peterhof, the Summer Palace outside St Petersburg, where Maria Feodorovna will lie in castrum doloris and here (as in pic 2) for panoramic views of the Throne Room at the Summer Palace.



How is Maria Feodorovna connected? Check the link - daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise, sister of King Frederik VIII (Denmark), sister of Queen Alexandra (Great Britain), sister of King George I (Greece). Married in 1866 to Alexander III (1845-1894) who was tsar of Russia from 1881-1894. They had five children: Nicolas II (1868-1918), George (1871-1899), Xenia (1875-1960), Michael (1878-1918) and Olga (1882-1960).

Portraits of Dagmar/Maria Feodorovna:



Maria Fyodorovna from reference.com

Maria Feodorovna picture gallery

The Tsar's Mother Marie Feodorovna (1847-1928) by Arturo Beéche on Worldroots.com

The Moscow News (in English) 'Mother of Last Russian Tsar to Be Reburied' this is an interview with Prince Roman Petrovich Romanov, the tsar's godson about how the reburial came about. This interview is very interesting and reveals an Australian connection. Prince Mikhail Andreyevich, Maria Fedorovna's great grandson, is the oldest direct descendant of the czarina and has lived in Australia for the past 60 years.

Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia and the Royal Guards Association, Copenhagen, Denmark

Neva News

Tsar's mother to make last journey home aboard Danish warship

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.14. 15. 16. 17.18. 19.

1) 1856 Dagmar and sisters Thyra (on pony) and Alexandra (later Queen of Great Britain), at 8, 3, and 11.
2) Dagmar and her sister Alexandra in 1847
3) The sisters Thyra (Duchess of Cumberland), Alexandra (Queen of Great Britian) and Dagmar
4) Empress Dagmar and sister Queen Alexandra walking with their father Christian X in Ordrup, near Copenhagen.
5)and 6) and 7) and 8) Maria Feodorovna with husband Alexander
9) Maria Feodorovna with first born son Nikolas (the last tsar)
10) and 11) Maria Feodorovna, Alexander III and children
12) Alexander III and Nicholas II
13) the Russian Imperial Family visiting the Danish Royal Family
14) Dowager Empress Dagmar in Denmark towards the end of her life
15) Dagmar's cossack bodyguard Timofei Jaschik, who guarded her to the last. He stayed in Denmark, married a Dane and had a family
16) Dagmar's cossack bodyguards
17) castrum dolorus in 1928
18) Burial procession in 1928
19) Family portrait at Fredensborg Palace
20. Dagmar and Alexander just engaged

About Roskilde Cathedral and the Roskilde Cathedral website:



And for beautiful St Petersburg, one of the great cities of the world:
St Petersburg
Saint-Petersburg.com

Mary visits Prague - day two

Crown Princess Mary in front of Danish bakery in downtown Prague

Visit to the Danish Bakery, Bilkova 8/6



Old Town Hall, meeting with Mr. Pavel Bém, Lord Mayor of Prague, Staroměstské náměstí 1, Prague 1


Sightseeing


Visit to Strahov Monastery Basilica and Library


Visit to Prague Castle, lunch hosted by the wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Livia Klausová


Added:
TV 2 video clip (2:11 mins)

Mary visits Prague - day one

Crown Princess Mary enjoys a walking tour through the market square in the old town of Prague

Visit to the 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, Charles University Faculty of Medicine, Karlovo, Facility for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and diabetes, based on co-operation with Danish pharmaceutical companies NYCOMED and Novo Nordisk


Taking a tour of Staromeska Namesti in historic Prague, Czech Republic.


Boat trip on the River Vltava, hosted by Mrs. Livia Klausová.


Crown Princess Mary and wife of Czech President Livia Klausova leave Prague's quay after a sightseeing boat trip on the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic.


Concert by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at Rudolfinum Concert Hall


Added:
Czech in for Princess Mary in The Sydney Morning Herald
Mary goes solo for visit to Prague in Hello! magazine
Australians in Prague greet their Danish Princess in The Prague Daily Monitor
TV 2 video clip (3.30 mins) Mrs Livia Klausová speaks in English ("representing one's country is not as easy as it looks") in a mini-interview and the TV presenter mentions how Mary is away from Christian for the first time, she commented to a journalist it is not easy to be separated.

Mary on visit to Prague tomorrow

Face of the Astronomical Clock on Prague's Old Town Hall.

Crown Princess Mary will visit Prague September 21 to 22. The Crown Princess will be received at Prague Castle by the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus and his wife, Livia Klausová, and at Prague City Hall by the Mayor of the City of Prague, Pavel Bém. Prague Castle is the seat of government for the President of the Czech Republic and is said to be one of the largest castles in the world. As always, where Mary goes, we go! (or with other Danish royals). So this week we are off to beautiful Prague. And, just quietly, we are 'going' to another beautiful city with Frederik and Mary next week on a special mission. But more of that in a couple of days (you might like to practice your Russian though!). First Prague.

Crown Princess Mary and wife of the President, Livia Klausová (an economist), will attend a concert by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra playing at the Prague Autumn International Music Festival. Other visits reflect the interests of Crown Princess Mary including the health sector and other commercial sectors with a Danish connection. Crown Princess Mary will also visit some of Prague’s many cultural sights.


The September 21 concert by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra will be in the evening at Rudolfinum Concert Hall in the Old Town and home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
See also Rudolfinum, Prague and Rudolfinum -Prague.net.
Dvořák Hall is where the perfomance will be.



Billed Bladet no. 37 reported that Crown Princess Mary's visit to Prague will be her first solo official visit abroad since her marriage. Since Mary married she has got to know her new homeland well, but she also has a job to do outside Denmark. The Crown Prince Couple's Chief of Court Per Thornit said the trip was the beginning of Crown Princess Mary 'getting to know Europe'. Crown Princess Mary did go to Riga, Latvia, on her own last year in August as patron of The Danish Culture Institute and was hosted then by the Latvian Culture Minister, Helena Demakova. Mary has been to Prague briefly before: as Mary Donaldson on a round-the-world trip after the death of her mother and between working in Melbourne and Sydney.

International Herald Tribune:

Australian-born Danish princess to visit Prague on first official solo visit

The Associated Press September 14, 2006

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Denmark's Australian-born Crown Princess Mary will travel to Prague next week on her first official visit on her own, the palace said Thursday.

Mary will visit the Czech capital Sept. 21-22, where she will be met by President Vaclav Klaus' wife, Livia Klausova, and Prague Mayor Pavel Bem, according to the royal family's weekly calendar.

The 34-year-old crown princess will tour cultural sights, including the old town, and attend a concert by Danish National Symphony Orchestra at the Prague Autumn International Music Festival. Her program also includes a visit to Danish companies in Prague.

Since she married Crown Prince Frederik two years ago, Mary has been accompanying the heir of the Danish throne on official trips abroad.

Mary, from the island of Tasmania, met Frederik, 38, in a bar during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The couple's wedding took place in May 2004 at Copenhagen's Lutheran Cathedral. (AP)

16th Prague Autumn International Music Festival
Prague Autumn International Music Festival (in English)
My Czech Republic
photos Old Town, Prague

Where Mary is visiting:
3rd Department, Faculty of Medicine, Charles University (Pharmacology) where Danish pharmaceutical companies NYCOMED and Novo Nordisk are involved in projects with the university for treatment of diabetes and osteoporosis.
The Danish Bakery, on Bilkova will get a visit and Mary will tour a number of spots in Prague with the 'first lady' Livia Klausová including Old Town Hall Square. See the interactive Prague City Map and the Prague Information Service for lots of links about the city including webcam, weather, history, etc.
Mary will go to the Strahov Monastery and also Prague Castle where she will have a meeting with the President and then lunch with Mrs Livia Klausová and other invited guests. See also Prague.net, it has lots of info and links to the sights and history of this beautiful city. Also see Prague Castle - a visitor's account and a link to the Prague Castle webcam

The River Vltava and Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, the Old Town Hall and views from the River Vltava boat trip:

Queen Margrethe had minor surgery

The Queen was hale and hearty at the 400 year anniversary of Rosenborg Castle last week.



The Lord Chamberlain (head of Queen Margrethe's court) Ove Ullerup has announced in a press release that Queen Margrethe was admitted to Copenhagen's Rigshospitalet (University Hospital) last Sunday for a minor hernia surgery.

B.T. reports the Queen has had the hernia operation and says that spokeswoman for the Royal Family, Lis M. Frederiksen, would only confirm the Queen was admitted to hospital on Sunday. Frederiksen said all other details about why and when surgery was decided were confidential between patient and doctor.

The surgical procedure was done by consultant professor and clinic chief at Rigshospitalet Preben Kirkegaard. The Queen has already been released from hospital today (Monday). "And within a couple of days we expect that she will be up and running and able to take care of her duties again," says Lis. M. Frederiksen.

The Queen, 66, had surgery for a left knee replacement this last summer which required rehabilitation. Before that the Queen suffered with pain which was occasionally obvious during official engagements. The Queen has also had a history of back pain and in the future will undergo another knee replacement on her right knee.

The B.T. article also mentions Prince Henrik's recent problems with a leg ulcer last June and the rest and intensive treatment required for it to heal. This time around the Queen is expected to be up and about within several days. (Thanks to Muhler for translation.)

Frederik in new Danish Red Cross appeal

from Dansk Røde Kors:

HRH The Crown Prince has chosen to support the annual Red Cross appeal this year in a new way. In a confronting TV ad the Crown Prince calls for a generous response to the appeal. The TV ad points to the unspeakable suffering which requires an active response to the appeal. It is always a challenge to organize such a big collection, but 20,000 people will volunteer to go door to door throughout the country. "All will listen with the Crown Prince speaking, and I am convinced our appeal will be a great success," says Red Cross general secretary Jørgen Poulsen.

HRH The Crown Prince is committed to the principles of Danish Red Cross and each year is more determined to assist with the relief effort. The TV ad has been made with the Crown Prince's regular photographer Steen Evald together with the Skandinavisk Film Company.

You can also watch the video in quicktime format here (0:29)

(www.redcross.dk)

from DR 1 TV:
The Crown Prince Couple is more and more committed to social matters
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary are coming closer to us in our homes. Mary recently had tea with an immigrant family in Vollsmose, Odense. And tomorrow (well, now) Crown Prince Frederik appears on television in an advertisement for Danish Red Cross.

TV Avisen (2:10)



Thanks to lob4475 for uploading the vid on youtube!

Queen Margrethe & Prince Henrik at Rosenborg 400 year anniversary

On Thursday evening September 14, 2006, Queen Margrethe and Henrik, the Prince Consort attended a Gala Dinner at Rosenborg Castle to celebrate its 400 year anniversary. There were 82 honoured guests invited to the first Gala dinner at Rosenborg Castle in 218 years.

Last photo Jens Dige POLFOTO

DRTV.dk news clip 2 mins
DRTV.dk news clip about Rosenborg Palace (1.45)
Rosenborg Castle

The Crown Jewels worn by the Queen at the celebration. Rosenborg Castle is the home of the Crown Jewels but the pearls have a nice story to do with Queen Ingrid. (Thanks for the reminder gudinde!)

Prince Christian is declared the heir - officially

TV 2 and B.T. have reported that based on the protocol of a royal resolution in 1779, Prince Cristian was entered in the order of succession as heir to the throne to follow his father by Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller last Monday. Although the succession was already established, obviously by Christian's birth, it was nevertheless entered as a formal procedure according to law. Christian's birth and christening details including parents and godparents and full name, Christian Valdemar Henri John, as the heir to the throne to follow Frederik is now 100% official (although it really already was!).



It reads:
On 15 October 2005 was born at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen a son of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian to Denmark and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark.

Baptised in Christiansborg Castle Church 21 January 2006 with the name Christian Valdemar Henri John, His Royal Highness Prince to Denmark

The Godparents:
HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
Mrs Jane Stephens
His Royal Highness Prince Joachim
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Pavlos
Mr Hamish Campbell
Mr Jeppe Handwerk

11 september 2006

In case you were in doubt about the formality, here are some photos of the Foreign Minister of Denmark Per Stig Møller signing Prince Christian into the baptising protocol in Copenhagen. The Foreign Minister does the job because there was no Prime Minister in 1779. In the past, before the mass media informed us of births, deaths and marriages, it was the job of the foreign minister to go forth and announce to the land and to other courts of Europe that a new heir was born. According to The Copenhagen Post by a law dating from 1665 the declaration must be hand written by the Foreign Minister, co-signed by the Justice Minister after the approval of the Queen before it is transferred to the National Archive. Any future born heirs will now take their place behind Christian. (The Post has a different date for the royal succession law, we will try to find out why.) Photos by Carsten Snejbjerg of POLFOTO:

Prince Henrik inaugurates new mermaid sculpture

Prince Henrik, right, standing next to Bjørn Nørgaard
Today Prince Henrik inaugurated Bjørn Nørgaard's sculpture group called 'the Genetically Engineered Human' in Copenhagen Harbour. Like the famous statue of Hans Christian Andersen's character of The Little Mermaid, the new mermaid is made of bronze and is sitting on a stone plinth. But that is where Edvard Eriksen's Little Mermaid from 1913 and Bjørn Nørgaard's new gene modified version ends. A group of new scultures has been installed a short distance away from the original Little Mermaid at Langelinie.
The sculpture is part of Bjørn Nørgaards giant work of art »The Genetically Modified Paradise«. Bjørn Nørgaard said, "It has been very logical for me to take up the theme of geneic engineering as one of the issues of today. With the human body as a starting point, I have wished to create a tableau which discusses the limits of civilisation in a sculptural form." The artist explained that the mermaid is captured at the moment when her tail splits to became two legs, which hurt terribly. Nørgaard said in the old days we said it was thought of as magic, but today we call it gene manipulation. It is most appropriate for Prince Henrik to do this royal duty, since it has been recently discovered that he does bronze statuary himself as a hobby (see our report from Cayx). (Many thanks to Thor for translation from an article in Berlingske Tidende and commentary.)



for more photos, visit Madeleine Glindorf's website
The Little Mermaid Hans Christian Andersen's original story.
A story about the national symbol of Denmark The statue of The Little Mermaid
DR 1 TV Avisen (02:22) a short video clip about the installation of the statues.

Mary attends WHO reception

On Tuesday, September 12, Crown Princess Mary attended the Health Ministers' reception in connection with the ongoing World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe's 2006 conference. The reception was held at Denmark's Aquarium. The Regional Committee comprises ministers of health and other health decision-makers from the 52 WHO Member States in the Region.

You can watch a video of Mary's arrival at www.localeyes.dk (free registration required)



related post: Mary attends WHO conference

Frederik presents IT prize

Today Crown Prince Frederik attended the presentation of the "IT-prize" in connection to the 2006 annual meeting of IT-forum in Middle Jutland, Århus.

The trade association, it-forum midtjylland, was founded in 1996, and its main objective is to strengthen the knowledge and use of information technology. The association has more than 200 members from the private, public and educational sector.



New! Tv2 Regionerne (0:55)
more information and the event's program (in Danish)

Farr 40 Newport wrap up

Crown Prince Frederik and »Nanoq« finished the Farr 40 World Championship regatta in 29th place out of a field of 38. Next year's Farr 40 World Championship will be held in Denmark in Øresund.



Right, Mary and Christian in Newport last week.

Se og Hør reports that even though Frederik was busy, Mary and Prince Christian made a flying visit to the U.S.'s east coast (which we already reported). In God's own land (that's what it says) mother and son were able walk about anonymously without anyone recognising them. Mary did some shopping at the local Baby GAP. The shop assistant told the reporter the shop had been visited by some Swedes and Norwegians in town for the sailing, but she was clearly unaware that she had served the Danish crown princess.

Mary attends WHO conference

Crown Princess Mary has spoken at the opening of the fifty-sixth session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee for Europe conference for 2006. Top of the agenda is a new regional strategy to fight the growing burden of chronic diseases and action on key health security issues including averting a possible influenza pandemic. Mary accepted this patronage in May 2005. We have already noted a number of times in our royal roundups that Mary has attended numerous meetings to establish her relationships and knowledge for this patronage, which has ramifications outside of Denmark. This is Mary's first address as patron of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Crown Princess Mary has recently pledged to support WHO in its campaign to improve maternal and child health and mental health, and to promote healthy lifestyles. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is based in Copenhagen, so Mary's involvement as patron is a good match for the benefit of the important work of WHO. "The World Health Organization is the UN agency with a specific mandate for health. The 192 WHO Member States are grouped into six regions. The WHO Regional Office for Europe works with 52 countries in western and eastern Europe and central Asia and is based in Copenhagen. Its mission is to strengthen national and local health systems and improve the health of the people in the Region, in collaboration with governments, NGOs and other partners."

Delegates from the 52 European Member States of WHO will discuss the European strategy on non-communicable diseases, the proposed program budget for 2008-2009, the medium-term strategic plan for 2008-2013, the future of the WHO Regional Office for Europe and health security. There will also be discussion of other internal WHO Regional Office for Europe matters (see link). Also, for an insight into the breadth of the progams and projects WHO Europe is involved in check here. From Marc Danzon (he greeted Mary on arrival in grey suit), WHO Regional Director for Europe: "Despite the remarkable achievements of the past, the new century sees more than 165 million people in the 53 countries that make up the WHO European Region living below the poverty line. These people live under conditions of economic instability and social exclusion that prevent them from realizing their right to a healthy life – a basic human right of all citizens of the world."
You can read the biennial report of the WHO regional director for 2004-2005 here in pdf format.




Photos by Tariq Mikkel Khan of POLFOTO:


Crown Princess Mary's speech (in English)

Mary at Benneweis Circus benefit for mental health

Yesterday, September 10, Mary attended an evening charity performance of the Benneweis Circus at Bellahøj in Copenhagen. The special performance is in aid of The Danish Association for Mental Health. Mary is the patron of the association, which advocates better understanding and tolerance of people with mental health problems. It also focuses on special support initiatives to promote mental well-being, prevention and recovery. The association operates throughout Denmark.

Nanoq wins race 7!!

Crown Prince Frederik and the Nanoq crew (and boat!) won the final race on the second last day of competition in the Farr 40 World Championship. This leaves Nanoq in 24th place out of the field of 38 in the current standings in the regatta. From Regattanews.com: "There were three winners in each of today’s races – run by Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio with assistance from the New York Yacht Club race committee. The first race was won by 2002 World Champion Steve Phillips on Le Renard (Annapolis, Md.), the next race was won by Wolfgang Stolz on Opus One (GER), and just as the sun was beginning to set over Newport, the final race was won by HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark on Nanoq." Yay!

Frederik Farr 40 race 4 update Newport RI

Crown Prince Frederik and the "Nanoq" crew has slipped a bit in ranking in the racing pack to 25th in the 38-strong fleet in the fourth race. See the latest here. Tabloid magazine Se og Hør got some comment from Frederik about being a father (a miracle) and they took photographs of him which they have published. The next day they attempted to take photos of Frederik, Mary and Christian leaving the house where they are staying but Frederik challenged them and asked them not to -- it was a bit of a heated exchange apparently. A little more sailing -- the regatta finishes 9 September 2006. Several beautiful photos of the fleet, "Nanoq" is the first full keel visible in the bottom left corner of the first photo.

Frederik Farr 40 update, Mary & Christian in Newport

No. 17 »Nanoq« racing off Newport September 6th.

A report in Billed Bladet says Mary and Christian flew to the United States last weekend. They have stayed in a house together with the »Nanoq« crew in Newport, Rhode Island. After a drive on the Ocean Road during the day, Frederik and Mary attended a dinner hosted by the New York Yacht Club in Newport last Sunday. Mary will have to return to Denmark before the Farr 40 regatta is finished for an engagement on Saturday (also remember Frederik and Christian cannot travel together by air). Sorry, no photos of Mary and Christian to now.

Frederik and the »Nanoq« crew are currently running 19 out of 38 entrants in the competition. Frederik attended a captains' meeting (he is next to the doorway) and the remainder of the photos of Frederik in Newport are from this week's Billed Bladet. Check today's news at Regattanews.com, there are a Danish and an Australian boat in the current top 10, but unfortunately not »Nanoq«. From Farr 40 Worlds: "The Opening Ceremonies were held last night at New York Yacht Club, Harbour Court, where Commodore George Hinman welcomed competitors from 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Japan, UK, and U.S.
Today’s after-race social events took place at Belle Mer on Goat Island, where the North Sails Race Day award was presented to Flash Gordon." (read about this on Regattanews.com)

Queen Anne-Marie's birthday in Greece

We posted here about Queen Anne-Marie's 60th birthday. Anne-Marie's immediate and extended family gathered in Greece for the celebration. King Constantine gave his wife a sailing boat for her birthday called »Afroessa«. Here are photos from the celebration published this week in Billed Bladet no. 36. Queen Anne-Marie looked as though the best birthday gift of all was to be with her family, including all her grand children, out on the boat and then later at a party for the adults. Queen Sofía of Spain (sister of Constantine) and nieces Infantas Doña Elena and Doña Cristina were there with the Danish side of the family for the celebration. Some of the Danish and German family members were not able to be there, but it appeared a good time was had by all. As a special treat, we have included a photo of the scar on Queen Margrethe's knee! Also, Nikolaus' girlfriend Tatjana Blatnick was among the guests - a wedding in the wind? Constantinos went "all Zorba" and everyone looked particularly happy to be celebrating the birthday in Greece.

Frederik at the Farr 40 World Championship

Crown Prince Frederik and his Farr 40 sailing team are in Newport, Rhode Island, USA for the 2006 Farr 40 World Championship from 1-9 September. Mary is staying in Denmark with Christian [edit: they later joined Frederik in Newport]. The 38 entrants have competed in the pre-regatta events and the World Championship begins tomorrow. Last year Crown Prince Frederik secured the 2007 Farr 40 World Championship for Copenhagen. Regatta News Rolex Farr 40 has the news of the races posted each day.

Danish Royal roundup # 9

On August 4, 2006 members of the foyal family attended a concert in the chapel in Gråsten Palace.



On August 9, as we already reported here , Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik gave their annual press conference. Billed Bladet gave it more extensive coverage after that post. The Queen said the knee replacement had gone very well and that it had been a pretty good recovery experience all things considered. Prince Henrik was asked how his leg was and the Queen interjected that his was in solidarity with hers, and the same leg too. Prince Henrik said he had not been able to play tennis and he hoped the press would pass on commenting about his larger belly! The Queen was asked about the press pairing Prince Joachim with a tennis player and she replied that certain magazines were in more of a hurry to pair him up than he was himself. This got a laugh from the press. Asked about the Crown Prince, the Queen said he was so very happy because he has a lovely wife and a lovely child and that since the period preparing for the wedding, Frederik has become a happier and happier person, which is lovely to see, she said.

Click for a DR.dk video clip (3 mins) of the press conference at Cayx and some snippets of earlier ones too, dating back to 1999 when they were about to become grandparents for the first time.

It was also revealed that several of the quite impressive bronze statues in the gardens at Cayx had been made by Prince Henrik. He was asked why he had kept this a secret and he replied that it is a hobby and that he does not take himself seriously, but he likes to work with his hands. Why secret? To avoid being criticised!
(With thanks to Muhler, Jema and Lasse.)

Some photos from the Billed Bladet coverage:



On August 2 Queen Margrethe attended a celebration of the 50th anniversary of King Christian X's Gigthospital in Gråsten.



Peter Schiødt of TV 2 reports that with his relationship over with Marie Cavallier, Prince Joachim cut loose in early August at the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix. Joachim put his "pedal to the metal" and came fourth in his race, which helped the Cortina Racing Team to a respectable sixth placing. Joachim's nerves were settled with lots of cigarettes amidst the petrol fumes and blokey atmosphere.


On August 12 Crown Prince Frederik and the Prince Consort (Henrik) attended the wedding of Fleur Just & Anthony Foreman at Holmens Church in Copenhagen. Fleur Just is Prince Henrik's goddaughter and she has known Frederik all her life. Prince Henrik returned from France for the wedding and then went back to his vacation with the Queen. Reported in Billed Bladet no. 33.



Still on a wedding theme, Prince Joachim attended the wedding of his friend Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille last week to Caroline Ohlsen, Billed Bladet reported.



Crown Prince Frederik has been regent for most of August while Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik have been holidaying in France at Cayx. Frederik is now in Newport, Rhode Island, sailing in the Farr 40 World Championship and Joachim is acting as regent while the Queen and Prince Henrik are in Greece celebrating Queen Anne-Marie's 60th birthday. We will bring you news of Frederik in Newport on the Nanoq (the Greenlandic name for polar bear). So far, in the pre-regatta competition, Frederik and his crew are doing quite well amongst a feild of 38 competitors. You can keep up with the Farr 40 news here. While he was regent Frederik had one of the regent audiences which Queen Margrethe adheres to as a traditional role of the monarch. Any citizen of Denmark can ask to have an audience with the Queen, and they do. The Queen usually sees a number of people for all sorts of reasons during the fortnightly audiences.


On August 9, 2006 Prince Henrik of Denmark went shopping at the local market of Luzech while he and Queen Margrethe were on vacation in their Caix Castle near Cahors.


Then, on August 10, Prince Henrik of Denmark is photographed at his vineyeard with his labrador dog Pollack in front of the Castle of Caix near Luzech.



A new book about Princess Bendikte's daughter Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and her horses is to be released this month. Princess Nathalie is an accomplished horsewoman and competed in the recent Equestrian World Games in Germany. The book is written by Vivi Sjøner in co-operation with Princess Nathalie. Princess Benedikte attended the games to watch her daughter represent Denmark on her horse Digby. But, it was another royal, Zara Phillips, who won the three day eventing competition. But Denmark did come fourth in dressage! You can check Princess Nathalie's site here, but it is in German.


Prince Joachimof Denmark opened the cultural festival "Images of the Middle East" on August 12 in Amager Strandpark. The festival will run until September 20, 2006.



The recent fashion events in Copenhagen are considered to have been very successful. Crown Princess Mary's involvement as patron of CIFF, CPHVision and Designer's Nest is having the same effect on Danish exports as support by other members of the royal family on sectors of Danish exports in agriculture and heavy industry. According to a report in Billed Bladet by Dorte Quist, in the two years since Mary has been patron and attending the fashion fairs twice yearly, Danish clothes exports have increased by 27 per cent. The hard-nosed fashion press is focused on the quality and development in Danish fashion. It is now Mary's face which is associated with Danish fashion. Eva Kruse, fashion manager for the Danish Fashion Institute, said that Danish fashion was in the ascendency when Mary arrived in Denmark, but that it was now stimulating much more interest in Danish design abroad. Kruse said Mary's style and interest lifts up the clothing industry and creates appeal to wider target groups in Denmark and abroad.


B.T. reports Queen Margrethe has paid JJFilms for the completion of a film portrait on Hans Edward Nørregård-Nielsen. JJFilms, owned by Princess Alexandra's partner's father (or father-in-law as B.T. puts it), has completed a number of royal film projects. The film company received 25,000 kroner from the Queen for work done on the commissioned project. Alexandra's partner Martin Jørgensen works in his father's company, which has established a relationship with the court on various films.


On August 20, 2006 Princess Alexandra was at the opening of the Ecco Walkathon. She was accompanied by her sons, Nikolai and Felix, who did the 6 km walk at the Ecco Walkathon in Copenhagen (although Felix was sleeping on four wheels by the end!). To see many more photos go to Madeleine Glindorf's site and click on 'Photography' and then select Ecco Walkathon, Copenhagen. Thanks Madeleine for such great photos!


Then the next day on August 21, 2006 Princess Alexandra awarded the Gerda Prize.


and on August 30, 2006 Princess Alexandra attended the opening of the Sea Festival in Odense Harbour, Denmark.



Princess Alexia was hospitalised in Greece recently suffering from pneumonia. Alexia is well now but became ill when a previously poorly treated respiratory infection resurfaced while in Greece for the family celebration of Queen Anne-Marie's birthday. Alexis had been in Gråsten with the family before travelling to Greece. She was discharched on August 18 accompanied by her father King Constantine. She was tired but eager to return to her children who had sent her drawings and letters while she was in hospital. Alexis continued medication treatment after leaving hospital and was well by Queen Anne-Marie's birthday (although she still looks pale in photos).



Back to school for Nikolai. Prince Joachim had picked him up from his last day before summer vacation and Princess Alexandra dropped him off for his first day back for the new school year at Krebs School, not too far from home in Copenhagen.



Susan Moody, Mary's stepmother, in writer-mode, has just had her latest book, her 26th, Kirsten's Letters, published in Danish as Kirstens Breve. Billed Bladet has a feature story to co-incide with the release of the book. Susan tells of the retirement plans she and John Donaldson have after John Donaldson finishes the two year commitment he has as a mathematics professor at Århus and Copenhagen Universities. They have given a lot of thought about what to do. They have seven children between them spread out all over the world in Australia, California, England and Denmark. So, surprisingly, says Billed Bladet, they have chosen France as the place they will settle. Susan and John celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary this week.


Billed Bladet reported in a cover story last week, for Prince Nikolai's seventh birthday, that Prince Joachim joined 'stepfather' Martin Jørgensen in a harmonious family occasion at Princess Alexandra's house in Copenhagen. Hello! magazine also reported the story 'Alexandra's friendly greeting for ex-husband Joachim', but it is easy to see from the photos the two happiest at the family celebration were Nikolai and Felix, content in the knowledge that the important people in their lives are focused on their wellbeing.

Although he is not 'officially' recognised, privately Martin Jørgensen has become a fully fledged member of the family. Martin lives with Alexandra and the boys at Østerbro in Copenhagen, shares duties of taking the boys to school (Felix goes to kindergarten/pre-school) and does many of the things any dad would do. On the morning of his birthday Nikolai was surprised and delighted by his father who was waiting for him with a birthday greeting as he was dropped at school by Alexandra and her mother. Nikolai had chocolate cream-filled buns with him to share with his class and the birthday celebrations went into full swing when he arrived home from school after 2pm. Martin had gone to a neighbour's to collect some sand for the base of the umbrella stand for the party (that is what he is carrying in the photo).



In its editorial this week Billed Bladet writes against all the odds these days, when divorce can be so difficult, that Joachim, Alexandra and the third partner Martin have shown the way with an excellent model of how a divorce can be. There is no doubt from the birthday pictures and photos on other occasions that Nikolai and Felix are thriving. The Queen also mentioned the happiness of her grandsons in her press conference in Cayx. Billed Bladet's editorial also commends Mary and her visit to Vollsmose. It is described as a very positive initiative with a significance which should not be undestimated. (Many thanks to Muhler for translation.)


Last weekend Frederik and Mary went to a 20th anniversary party with a difference. Frederik was flying and so were a few others at an 80s-themed party with close friends Baron Ditlev and wife Baroness Dorte Wedell-Wedellsborg on the island of Langeland. Frederik arranged for a helicopter to do a some stunt flying and as a jumping off point into the sea. Frederik was one of the first to jump, along with his mate from the Frogman Corps, Jeppe Handwerk. There was music, singing, dancing and good food in a tent set up on the beach. Many of the circle of Frederik's and Mary's good friends were at the party including Jeppe and Birgitte Handwerk, Helle Joof, Rikke Juul and Michael Brandt, Peter and Caroline Heering, Peter Warnøe and girlfriend Julia Tholstrup, Jule Mølsgaard and many others. Most guests slept off the party at a nearby hotel, while Frederik and Mary stayed with the hosts. They had brunch the next morning, except Mary, who left early to go to one of her official duties. Reported in Billed Bladet. (Again, many thanks to Muhler for translation.)




As we have reported before Mary visited an exhibit of Danish jewellery. Here is a photo which we didn't have access to before now. But more important is an upgraded Arts and Crafts Market website. Mary is the patron.


Looking very well and rested, Queen Margrethe opened the week-long Århus Cultural Festival, of which she is patron, on September 2 says B.T. In the sparkling style she is known for, she made a joke on the theme of this year's festival 'Womania', which focuses on women's art. The Queen wondered if the men from Århus thought women couldn't understand Danish? According to her 'womania' should have been 'kvinderier'. For non-Danes, this should be interpreted as the Queen making a comment on Danish not being corrupted by English. Reported in Århus Jyllands-Posten as well, she attended a banquet and gala musical evening also (photo right).