DRF @ Danish Home Guard's 60th anniversary

Queen Margrethe, Prince Consort Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte attended the 60th anniversary parade of the Danish Home Guard yesterday at Nymindegab. Crown Princess Mary and her private secretary and lady-in-waiting Caroline Heering were uniformed participants in the parade. In the evening Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended a gala dinner celebrating the occasion with 300 guests and the Minister for Defence. The Home Guards celebrated the anniversary with an hour-long military parade in Nymindegab, where their school is located on the Jutland west coast. Crown Princess Mary was reported as smiling and comfortable with her fellow Copenhagen Region Home Guard members while waiting for the formalities to begin. Crown Princess Mary has the rank of lieutenant in the Home Guard, in which Queen Margrethe and her sister Benedikte also participated. The Queen made a speech commending the Home Guard and gave out medals to 68 veterans who have been members for the whole 60 years of the Home Guard's history. In her speech Queen Margrethe expressed pride in seeing Crown Princess Mary in the Home Guard uniform. The Queen inspected 300 soldiers which included Crown Princess Mary, who stood under the banner of the Total Defence Region Copenhagen, and said that her own time in the Home Guard had been some of the happiest memories of her youth.
"It has pleased me that the Crown Princess has chosen to train in the Home Guard, and I am proud to see the Crown Princess take part in the parade today," the Queen said. Mary was wearing a ceremonial sword as a recently appointed officer and like other members of the royal family, she also wore her Star of the Order of the Elephant.



In the evening Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended the gala dinner with around 300 guests including the Minister for Defence, Søren Gade:



Photos © John Randeris/JV.dk, Jørgen Kirk/Stiften.dk, Ole Bo Jensen/Hjemmeværnet, SogH

Hjemmeværnet media release (in Danish with photos)
Hjemmeværnet media release (in Danish with photos)
Danish Home Guard - wiki

Fyens Stiftstidende 'Dronningen: Hjemmeværnets indsats er uden sidestykke' - The Queen: The Home Guard's effort is unprecedented
The Queen expressed her pleasure about the Home Guard's ability to adapt, in her speech in Nymindegablejren.
The Home Guard's 60th anniversary in Nymindegablejren saw the participation of the royal family, at which the Queen gave a speech.
The Queen looked back on the Home Guard's work over the 60 years and noted how the Home Guard has been able to move with the times.
"It produces great respect for such an organisation that it is able to change," said the Queen, denoting a spirit of self-sacrifice which is why the Home Guard enjoys a very good reputation.
The Queen was happy, along with Princess Benedikte, that the Home Guard is in a strong position today and especially that Crown Princess Mary has chosen to participate in the Home Guard.
"Some of my best and most happy memories from my youth are from the Home Guard," smiled the Queen, who also was pleased to acknowledge the support the Home Guard always provides the royal family when it travels around the country.
The Queen extended her tribute to the Home Guard and said "In military history 60 years is a short time. But when looking at the Home Guard's effort, it is unprecedented and worthy of imitation." The Queen distributed medals to 68 veterans who have been members for the whole 60 years of its history.
TV2 article 'Mary luftede uniformen'
TVSyd article 'De kongelige til fødselsdag i Nymindegab'

JV.dk gellery
B.T. gallery
TV2 gallery
Dagbladet gallery (click on 'Næste')
Gert Blume gallery (beautiful photos!!)
Søren Steffen gallery

Hjemmeværnet video (01:56) - the soldiers in lighter uniforms with beards are headed for Afghanistan (thanks Muhler!)
Fyens.dk webTV (00:52)
B.T. webTV (00:46)
TV2 clip
DR.dk clip
JP.dk TV (00:50)
Se og Hør clip (00:46) - scroll down