Marking Queen Margrethe's birthday

Official 70th birthday portrait by Tine Harden

• A new stamp has been released to mark the Queen's birthday - reported here on Lokalavisen.dk - with stamps available from Post Danmark for the keen stamp collectors

• The National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle has a portrait exhibition of Queen Margrethe for three months. The portrait exhibition marks the Queen's 70th birthday with a special exhibition portraying her official and private life, connecting her life story with events in Danish history.

• The Danish Royal Court has released an official portrait and logo to mark the birthday here. Here is a very large version - advise don't download if you are on dial-up

• The program for the Queen's birthday celebrations

• The program for the Royal Gala at the Royal Theatre

• The program for April 16, the Queen's birthday which will include a balcony appearance at Amalienborg, a carriage ride to Copenhagen Town Hall followed by a reception and then a private dinner and dance at Fredensborg Palace which will be attended by many royal guests among others
  

Photos and logo © Kongehuset.dk/Tine Harden/Poul Bjørn

JV.dk story about Ronny Andersen, one of the designers of new coins to mark Queen Magrethe's birthday. He is known as a heraldist, a designer of coats of arms (he did Crown Princess Mary's) but has branched out into coin design for the Royal Danish Mint. He made a design of a bed of daisies for the royal coat of arms on the reverse side of the gold and silver coins. The daisies honour Queen Margrethe's name and her name among family and friends - Daisy.
Royal Danish Mint - you can order the coins
TV2's special birthday page
Billed Bladet - a photo gallery 'Mary makes Margrethe smile'
Post & Tele Museum Danmark - for those interested in stamps, 132 stamp portraits of Margrethe from the age of one, click on 'Næste side' to move through the gallery
Jyllands Posten gallery - birthday balcony appearances
Jyllands Posten gallery - private Margrethe
Berlingske Tidende - google translation 'Fra solskinsprinsesse til farmor'
Jyllands Posten -an interview with Frederik and Joachim in advance of their mother's birthday in which they say their mother and father are a perfect match. Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik fit together like two pieces of a puzzle pieces. Prince Henrik gives the Queen's life a balance in both private and public, say their sons.

For Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim their parents' marriage is a perfect match. Prince Henrik's support has been very important to the Queen through their 42 year marriage," say the princes in an interview with Ritzau newsagency before the Queen's 70th birthday on April 16.
"I am delighted that my mother finds an indispensable partner in my father. He can give both loving and professional advice when she faces a challenge," says Crown Prince Frederik... and Prince Joachim agrees. "In the early years the Prince Consort helped the Queen in overcoming shyness which she herself has said troubled her. My father is calm, so he influenced her not to find challenging situations so confronting," says Prince Joachim.

Crown Prince Frederik recognises that same feeling in his marriage to Crown Princess Mary. "I've felt less alone since the Crown Princess has been by my side. She stands beside me and has another way from me which means we complements each other.

Berlingske Tidende gallery - Margrethe's childhood and adolescence
Berlingske Tidende gallery - Margrethe, family and love
Berlingske Tidende gallery - Margrethe's joys and sorrows
Berlingske Tidende gellery - Margrethe and sport
Berlingske Tidende gallery - Margrethe and travel
Berlingske Tidende gallery - Margrethe and her exciting hats

hellomagazine.com - 'Intimate details of Queen Margrethe's younger years revealed in new books'
hellomagazine.com - 'Denmark gets ready to celebrate the 70th birthday of Queen Margrethe'

*****

In the lead up to the birthday there have been many articles and special retrospective photo galleries published, including this from Billed Bladet, based on a new book Margrethe, My Life in Images, published at the end of last month.

Billed Bladet reported that, according to the Queen, Mary had changed her relationship with Frederik and gives a tribute to Mary for bringing her closer to her son.

"I think I have become closer to the Crown Prince since he got married than I ever was before," says a happy Queen and proud mother in a new book. "I am extremely pleased, not only for her efforts, but also for her as a person. And then she is very good for her husband and he thrives on it, that you can see!" Queen Margrethe is enthusiastic in her praise of her daughter-in-law, Mary. This appears in the book Margrethe, My Life in Images, published in late March. It is rare that the Queen talks about her private relationship with the rest of the royal family. Such remarks and reflections are usually kept within the castle walls. But the Queen is so enthusiastic about Crown Princess Mary that she almost bubbles over with enthusiasm and is more than happy to talk about her daughter-in-law. Mary has done Frederik a lot of good, and this his mother can easily see, which of course she is happy about. Some of the uncertainty that characterised the Crown Prince, is much improved and it's thanks to Mary, says the Queen. What mother would not be enthusiastic about such a daughter-in-law? says Billed Bladet. There is no terrible daughter-in-law to separate mother and son the Queen joked animatedly.

No one knew in advance who Crown Prince Frederik would choose as a girlfriend and of course his mother was anxious. "I have to say that I'm so happy with the Crown Prince's choice. The Crown Princess has now had several years in Denmark, and ... well, I just think she does it so well," said the Queen in the book, and continues "I am so happy for her, and we have a very, very cosy and comfortable ease together."

There is one person Frederik is annoyed that Mary never met. It was his grandmother, Queen Ingrid. It also irks Queen Margrethe. In the book Margrethe, My Life in Images by Helle Bygum she says it directly: "I am so sorry that my mother never got to experience her, because I think my mom would have really appreciated her. I think also that Frederik is quite aware of that. He arrived home from Australia before mother died, and what they said to each other, I did not know. And I still do not know." (Queen Ingrid was very weak and ill when Frederik arrived back in Denmark after visiting Mary in Australia in November 2000, following their initial meeting in September 2000 during the Sydney Olympics.)

Crown Princess Mary is in general an important person in the royal family. She does a great job with her foundations and patronages and with all the organisations she is involved in. It is a fulltime job for the industrious Crown Princess, who prepares thoroughly for every event. In the DR TV series Inside the Monarchy (which has been a year in the life of the DRF broadcast recently on Danish TV) there is clip from a working meeting between Mary and her two ladies-in-waiting, Tanja Doky and Caroline Heering. Here they are planning Mary’s participation in an event on sustainable fashion, and it is Mary, who is in charge. "I think we should have a word with them. I am not an expert on sustainable fashion. Perhaps a more relevant person should be standing there, Mary says honestly, who doesn't wish to put herself forward just for the sake of it, but of course always makes an effort when it is needed (Mary ended up making the speech). There are many demands on Mary but ultimately it is she who decides what she wants do. "It's not as if one says: You must get up at eight o'clock and have lunch at 12 noon. We are planning our own calendar, we are planning our own lives. It is we who control it," the Queen explains. It is clear that Crown Princess Mary is a diligent, conscientious member of the Danish royal family. Her mother-in-law knows this, and Queen Margrethe loves her for it.

Queen Margrethe is also very much pleased about Prince Joachim's choice of wife, she also reveals in the book Margrethe: My life in pictures. The Queen says "It should be no secret that I think I have gotten two very, very sweet daughters-in-law. I think both the Crown Princess and Princess Marie do incredibly well. Later the Queen continues "Both my daughters-in-law are pretty and dark-haired, and one can describe them as similar, but they are very different people, as they do indeed come from two completely different countries. One comes out of an Australian, and in many ways British, background because her parents are Scottish, and Princess Marie comes out of a very French family. But it is a great pleasure to get in the French one more time."

More to come tomorrow, it's past bed time on this side of the planet!
Many thanks to commoner, gudinde, cph, mitchell and aus73 :)