Frederik, Victoria & Haakon to Svalbard archipelago in Norway for International Polar Year

As soon as he returned from the summer tour of southern Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik set off to join Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Haakon Norway in Longyearbyen, Norway before setting off for the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. They joined the Swedish icebreaker Oden at the beginning of their six day polar research trip on June 21, 2008 to sail to Svalbard in Norway and the ocean and area around the archipilago. During the trip the Scaninavian royal successors ('thronefollowers' in Danish) will be shown research techniques and test equipment used in polar experiments on clouds in the Arctic environment. All three are patrons of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 in their own countries. The media will not be onboard the Oden, so the next time we see them will be in Ny-Ålesund on Thurdsay.

"We are going to be cramped, but it will be all right," Crown Princess Victoria said as she boarded the ship, according to Svalbardposten.
"Are you going to have a party?" one of the journalists asked.
"When we are together it is always a party," Victoria said, who was the one who originally suggested the trip.
Even late in the evening the midnight sun shines very strongly.
"I am very happy to be able to show off a small part of Norway on a day like this," Crown Prince Haakon said.




Photos © Rakkestad Avis.no/Ole Åsheim/Nordlys/ANB, Karine Nigar Aarskog/International Polar Year website, Birger Amundsen/Svalbardposten, Hello!/Getty

International Polar Year news (in Norwegian)
Rakkestad Avis.no Kronprinsmøte (in Norwegian)
Nordlys.no 'Kongelig Svalbard-turné' (in Norwegian)
Aftenposten.no 'Kronprinsessen og det kalde kongeriket' (in Norwegian)
Berlingske Tidende 'Tronfølgere tjekker Svalbards skyer' - Successors check Svalbard's clouds
Crown Prince Frederik and the other Scandinavian successors are in Svalbard in connection with the International Polar Year.
Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Frederik arrived in Svalbard today (last Saturday) in connection with International Polar Year.
The three heirs to the Scandinavian thrones, who are patrons for the Polar Year in their respective countries will be in the area until Friday.
They are to be on an icebreaker for five days where tested equipment will be tested for a longer expedition later this summer.
"They leave today from Longyearbyen and sail up as close to the polar ice as they can get," the Palace in Oslo said to the Swedish news agency TT.
The purpose of the summer expedition called Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Summit is to examine the clouds and their meaning for the arctic climate.
Sweden's Crown Princess and Crown Prince Frederik got the idea a couple of years ago after the Swedish king's environmental initiative, the Royal Colloqium, had taken place in Greenland.
The heirs to the thrones will go on the icebreaker to Ny Ålesund on Thursday after which they'll go inland.
TV2 article 'Kronprinsen besøger isbryder' (in Danish)
B.T. 'De kongelige nyder at se på isbjørne i midnatssolen' (in Danish)
The Local.se
Royals join forces on Arctic expedition
22 Jun 08
The heirs to the thrones of Sweden, Denmark and Norway have embarked on an expedition to Svalbard in the Arctic.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark will spend five days on an ice-breaker in Svalbard, a group of islands located in the Arctic off the coast of Norway.
The trio of royals will help to test equipment in preparation for a longer expedition in the summer.
Victoria, Haakon and Fredrik left the relatively mild Midsummer weather, donning winter clothes for their adventure which began in the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen on Saturday.
"They are leaving the four degree temperatures of Longyearbyen to travel as far up the ice as possible," said Sven Gjeruldsen of the Norwegian court to news agency TT.
The heirs and heiress will travel on the ice-braker IB Oden in the Arctic Sea to test newly installed equipment in preparation for the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Summit (ASCOS). The expedition aims to contribute to research about the clouds and their role in the Arctic climate system.
The expedition is part of the polar year, of which the three royals are patrons in their respective countries.
TV2 article 'Kongelig 'fætter og kusine-fest' højt mod nord' (in Danish)

Svalbard weather - as I write it is 1°C
Svalbard image links

Rakkestad Avis.no photo gallery

DR.dk NetTV (00:58)
TV2 news clip
TV2 Nyhetene.no clip (00:58)

Thanks pogo99, cph, gudinde and Valentine!

Frederik @ the Royal Mint to strike gold

Photo: Steen Brogaard

A little more catch up. Also on January 28, 2008, there was a special treat for Crown Prince Frederik when he visited The Royal Mint and Denmark's National Bank in Broendby. Here Frederik struck the first gold coin in the second of the series of three of Polar coins, this one inspired by the Sirius Patrol. Crown Prince Frederik is the Danish patron of the International Polar Year.

In February 2000 Crown Prince Frederik was one of the six men who made the 3,500 kilometre polar expedition through one of the world's largest and least explored high Arctic landscapes. The Sirius 2000 expedition marked the Sirius Patrol's 50th anniversary and took a course along the north and northeastern coast of Greenland, from Qaanaaq in the west, to Daneborg in the east. The Sirius Patrol is carried out by the Danish Special Forces each year in what is the largely uninhabited topmost northeast part of Greenland. In preserved parkland territory, Denmark has monitored and protected the area by using special forces who travel by dog sleds and sea kayaks. The Sirius Patrol keeps a two-man team in the area year round who effectively represent Danish sovereignty. Sirius patrollers are known for their endurance under the harshest conditions and the dogs are bred specially to pull the sledges and work with the personnel of the Sirius Patrol. Since no one can afford to be injured breaking up dog fights while on patrol, pups are assessed for their good disposition while they are being raised. The Sirius Patrol is named after Sirius Alpha Canis Majoris, the ‘Dog Star’.

Polar coins: The first polar coin in a new series with the Polar regions as common theme was issued on 26 March 2007. The series will comprise three coins and is launched to mark the International Polar Year 2007-2009. All polar coins will have motifs inspired by the Polar areas of Greenland. The final coin will be issued in 2009.

New coin series with Polar theme
To mark the International Polar Year, Danmarks Nationalbank launches the first coin in a new series of polar coins on 26 March 2007.
The new Polar series will comprise three coins, which will be issued in the period 2007 to 2009.

The motif of the first coin is a polar bear. The polar bear is chosen because of its great importance to the Greenland culture. On the coin you will see the polar bear standing on a split ice floe. The motif is designed by the Greenland artist Niels Motzfeldt, who also designed the motif on the tower coin "Three Brothers". The obverse of the coin carries a portrait of the Queen in profile.

Second coin inspired by the Sirius Sledge Patrol
The motif of the second coin is designed by the sculptor Margrete Sørensen, who has been inspired by Greenland, the Sirius Sledge Patrol and the 'Canis Major' constellation with Sirius as its brightest star.

The Polar coin is minted as a 10-krone coin in 1.2 million copies and will be part of the ordinary coin circulation. The Polar coin will also be issued as collector coins in fine silver and gold. The silver version will have the face value of 100 kroner, while the gold coin will have a face value of 1,000 kroner. The recommended retail prices including Danish VAT are DKK 2,500 for the gold coin and DKK 300 for the silver coin. The gold and silver coins are minted in a number not exceeding 6,000 and 50,000, respectively.

The gold coins are minted in gold originating from Greenland. Danmarks Nationalbank has acquired the gold from the Nalunaq Gold Mine by Nanortalik in the South of Greenland. This goldmine also delivered the gold to the wedding rings of the Danish Crown Prince and Crown Princess. (press release)
Sirius Polar Coin
New Polar coin inspired by the Sirius Patrol
Royal Mint photo gallery
Sirius coin high resolution photo
Polar bear coin high resolution photo
Defence Force news 'Siriuspatruljen på mønten' (in Danish)
Sermitsiaq.gl 'Nye mønter med Siriuspatruljen' (in Danish) - you can click on news in English about Greenland (often an interesting read!)

About the Sirius Patrol:
Danish Special Forces (in Danish) conduct the patrol
One man's experience...
on wikipedia

For the coin collectors: the first coin was a polar bear and now the second, recognising the Sirius Patrol

Frederik helps mark International Polar Year

© Steen Brogaard. Crown Prince Frederik with director of the National Bank, Torben Nielsen, and director of The Royal Mint, Hans Denkov. Here the Crown Prince is shown the original sculptures from which the new coins are cast.

On Tuesday, 20 March, Crown Prince Frederik received a gold coin from Danmarks National Bank at The Chancellery House. The coin is the first being released to mark International Polar Year. The final one will be released in 2009. Frederik is the Danish patron of International Polar Year which he helped launch in Copenhagen on March 1 (here).

For more photos, visit Steen Brogaard's site

International Polar Year 2007-2008

Danmarks Nationalbanken:

Polar coins: New coin series with Polar theme

The first polar coin in a new series with the Polar regions as common theme will be issued on 26 March 2007. The series will comprise three coins and is launched to mark the International Polar Year 2007-2009. All polar coins will have motifs inspired by the Polar areas of Greenland. The final coin will be issued in 2009.

To mark the International Polar Year, Danmarks Nationalbank launches the first coin in a new series of polar coins on 26 March 2007.
The new Polar series will comprise three coins, which will be issued in the period 2007 to 2009.

The motif of the first coin is a polar bear. The polar bear is chosen because of its great importance to the Greenland culture. On the coin you will see the polar bear standing on a split ice floe. The motif is designed by the Greenland artist Niels Motzfeldt, who also designed the motif on the tower coin "Three Brothers". The obverse of the coin carries a portrait of the Queen in profile...

The gold coins are minted in gold originating from Greenland. Danmarks Nationalbank has acquired the gold from the Nalunaq Gold Mine by Nanortalik in the South of Greenland. This goldmine also delivered the gold to the wedding rings of the Danish Crown Prince and Crown Princess. It is the first time that a coin is minted in gold originating from Greenland. The legend on the gold coin also shows a small polar bear, which is used as a symbol for gold originating from Greenland...

Frederik at opening of International Polar Year

Today Crown Prince Frederik has attended the launch of the Danish part of International Polar Year 2007-2008, of which he is patron, at the Nordatlantiske Brygge in Copenhagen. Frederik knows first hand about the situation in Greenland ( a part of the polar region) as he was a participant in Expedition Sirius 2000. He was one of six people who took part in the 2,795 kilometre long sledge journey along the coast of North and North East Greenland. Danes followed the journey through a series of documentaries in which Frederik spoke of the hardships as well as the amazing experiences of nature during the four month journey. Frederik has spoken a number of times in interviews about the great impact the Sirius Expedition had upon him. He also participated in a royal colloqium in 2005 focused on the Arctic Under Stress.

International Polar Year 2007-2008 has been launched this week world wide and involves multiple research organisations, educational institutions and will be centred on the North Polar region and on the Antarctic. There are numerous projects operating out of Hobart (the centre for Australian Antarctic research), including educational expeditions. There will be multi-disciplinary research and data collection as well as educational outreach during the Polar Year. The primary launch was in Paris on March 1 and the year will involve 60 nations and 220 projects.



Some symbolic passing around of Greenlandic ice carved as a globe.

Some of Crown Prince Frederik's related patronages:
The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland and the the Greenland Scientific Research Commission
See also Danish Polar Centre
Frederik is patron Danish Expedition Foundation and the Galathea 3 Expedition
Much of the research and concern for these environments centres on the question of global warming and the now evident degradation of polar regions involving melting of massive ice sheets, fjords and affects on wildlife including polar bears, birds and many other species.
BBC NEWS - Huge polar study ready to begin
SMH - Global polar study launched
SMH - Australia to lead Antarctic research

Added: Madeleine Glindorf's gallery (thanks Madeleine!)