Queen Margrethe's birthday celebrations

Photo: DR.dk/JJ Films

Queen Margrethe will turn 70 on April 16. We are familiar with the annual birthday greeting, usually on the balcony at Amalienborg, but it is a tradition to make a bit more of the celebration when it is a significant number. We saw this in 2008 for Crown Prince Frederik's 40th birthday. A monarch's birthday is one of those occasions when private and public merge. It becomes a moment to celebrate the qualities of the person who embodies her own individuality, her position as the head of her royal house, with all its own traditions and deep connection to Denmark as a nation and her position as head of state in one of the most stable constitutional monarchies in the world. It is altogether a celebration of Margrethe and Denmark: and there will be another 'big number' to celebrate in 2012 with the anniversary of her 40 year reign.

The celebrations so far demonstrate Margrethe's popularity, although this is not to say there are not some in Denmark who wish for a Danish republic. The figure has been roughly around 20% over recent years, which leaves Margrethe and the Danish royal family with the highest approval ratings of any royal family in Europe. Some recent stories in Jyllands Posten suggest more transparency in accounting is being sought by the Social Democrats and some republican protesters have been denied a place by the police in Amalienborg Square to protest their views on the Queen's birthday. The police have stated it is for their own protection since the square is expected to be very crowded with people there to celebrate the Queen. The protesters will demonstrate nearby. Debate about the costs of maintaining a royal head of state or an elected or appointed head of state is not unique to Denmark. The costs of national representatives are probably fairly similar whether under a constitutional monarchy or a republic (with added costs of elections). It is clear that a large majority of Danes value their royal family and all that it represents historically and traditionally to Danish identlity.

Margrethe Alexandrine Þorhildur Ingrid was born at Amalienborg on April 16, 1940 to King Frederik IX and Swedish-born Queen Ingrid. The Heir Apparent acceded to the throne on the death of her father on January 14, 1972 and proclaimed her motto as "God’s help, the love of The People, Denmark’s strength". There are various events and observances as part of the celebrations including the release of a new stamp, coins, a television special about Margrethe and Denmark, various exhibitions, a birthday press conference and official and private galas. There is also extensive coverage in the media.

The DR documentary - The Queen's Denmark - screened on April 5. The documentary was made over four years as the Queen visited the places in Denmark which have meant most to her. The Queen herself is the narrator and it is beautifully shot by the JJ Films crew (yes, Jacob Jørgensen's company, father-in-law to Countess Alexandra, former wife of Prince Joachim). Jacob Jørgensen and Ulrik Wivel directed the program.

Queen Margrethe talks about her passions for culture and history, recounts her many memories linked to different places such as Trend in north west Jutland, Gråsten and Greenland. She talks about her relationship with her father King Frederik and about her marriage to Prince Henrik. The film features previously unpublished reflections on the Queen's strong personal affiliation to Denmark.

The film's director Jacob Jørgensen says "The intention of the film is to show the Queen's very special and warm relationship with Denmark. It is unparalleled that we have insight into the Queen's thoughts about her childhood, about the family and about the job as regent at the same time as we see the places which have meant a great deal to the Queen throughout her life. We have had quite a funny and also exciting collaboration together to make the film."

You can see JJ Films' trailer here on Youtube and the program itself can still be viewed on DR's player here. The program is just under one hour and although it is all in Danish you can get a strong sense of the Queen's deep connection to Denmark, to her sense of human history and nature all about her, to her quite tender reflections about her father and his pride and confidence in her to do the job as regent, remarks about the Danish language (which she finds beautiful) and so on. The cottage she shows us is Trend, a hunting lodge set in deep forest by the north western shore of Jutland. She describes how pleasurable it was as a child to just step outside and be walking in the grass - something special for someone brought up in various castles. Trend is now a favoured place for Frederik and Mary to go for short family breaks. The Queen had an inspirational teacher who introduced her to archeology and she also mentions her Swedish grandfather's encouragement (King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden 1882-1973) of her childhood interest in rocks and nature, where humans have left their mark everywhere just under foot. It is a lovely film with insight not only into the Queen's inner life but also shows us something of Denmark. She says in her youth she might have liked to have been an archeologist, but that changed as she got older when she became more artistic in her private pursuits. She became reconciled to her fate to become regent in her late teens and knew she would always have her deep sense of duty and connection to Denmark. The music featured in the documentary was written and performed by well-known musician Chris Minh Doky, Frederik's friend and husband to Mary's lady-in-waiting Tanja Doky.

DR's The Queen's Denmark (56.00)

Margrethe & Benedikte reflect on the garden @ Gråsten

All photos © Timo Battefeld/JydskeVestkysten

The Queen and Princess Benedikte received JydskeVestkysten's journalist Katrine Lund Walsted and photographer Timo Battefeld and showed them around the Gråsten Palace garden to co-incide with the Danish Royal Family's stay at a favourite summer residence:
JydskeVestkysten.dk 'En slotshave i dronning Ingrids ånd' - A palace garden in Queen Ingrid's mind

When Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte think about Gråsten Palace gardens, they have the people in mind. One of the royal house's three dachshunds pads over the gravel in the courtyard with a member of the Court. The gardeners are in full swing in the late afternoon sun. And the Royal Guards sweat in their uniforms while they stand watch. The royal family is in summer residence in these weeks at Gråsten Slot. And when the weather is right, there is time to spend in the garden. It's Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte who come up with ideas for the garden's further development.

The Queen and the Princess have just enjoyed lunch and a cup of coffee on the terrace out next to Gråsten Palace's lake when they receive JydskeVestkysten. The royal sisters have said "yes" to show the local newspaper around the garden. The garden isn't just for the royals, it is also a garden for the people. And the sisters think about it a lot to plan the garden's development. "It shouldn't only be nice when we are here. There also has to be something to look at for the visitors to the garden all year round," Queen Margrethe says.

Gråsten Palace gardens have ten hectares of ground. And what was a park before is now changed to a garden. "Even though the area is large, it's still described as one garden," Princess Benedikte says. The royal sisters took over the garden after Queen Ingrid's death in 2000. And the sisters believe they carry on the garden which was in their mother's mind. One of the first things which Queen Ingrid created in the palace garden was the big colourful herbaceous border out next to against Slotsbakken. "My parents came here in 1936. There wasn't a lot of garden, it was mostly grass and a lot of trees. There was apparently a rose bed, which wasn't very good, so my mother removed it," says the Queen.

The sisters say that the herbaceous border was one of the first things Queen Ingrid built. "The bed was not at all as big as it is now. My mother extended it little by little," Princess Benedikte says. Some years ago the big herbaceous border was rearranged. "The perennials in the beds have always been there, but not necessarily in the same place in the bed." According to the royal sisters the garden beds needed renewal since they had remained the same for many years. "We managed to renew the soil and got a little more variety and more colours into the bed. But it is still in the same style as mother had it," Princess Benedikte says.

Among the local population in Gråsten some people have thought that the big herbaceous border has been changed too much and isn't so beautiful as during Queen Ingrid's time. The sisters think that the beds need time to evolve after the relaying. "There needs to be at least two years after rearranging a bed, it's very flat and bare at first. And then, last summer was horrible and it wasn't particularly good for the garden beds. It had to be adjusted a little. Slots and Ejendomsstyrelsen [the state organisation which runs palaces and gardens] would like to cut down the size of the bed so it isn't so big as it has been," Queen Margrethe says.

The sisters agree that for the first time after the relaying, the bed is now looking beautiful. "Look at the lovely large red phloxes," Princess Benedikte says and points at a large red patch of phlox. The royal sisters are seized by the thoughts about the garden bed and speak happily over each other. "It's beautiful and important to have big lines in big gardens. Here there has to be a bit of show," Princess Benedikte says.

And the Queen adds: "We follow my mother's guide in the colour blends. It's good to have colours, but it must not be too much of one colour. There needs to be a little contrast," Queen Margrethe says.

Garden for the people
We approach the bed from a distance, which spreads like a long green vigorous border with lots of coloured spots in between the green. When standing at a distance you can see that the same elements occur repeatedly. "With a basically good plan for a bed, you can repeat it. There's no need to have 100 different things in the bed," Princess Benedikte says.

In 2006 the sisters put up a couple of benches under some trees. "Here my sister and I thought that there should be a couple of seats. It's such a lovely place. We hope that many people will enjoy these benches," Queen Margrethe says. "It's so lovely and peaceful here," Princess Benedikte smiles.

Every year thousands of locals and tourists visit Gråsten Palace and gardens, and the sisters think about the visitors a great deal when they plan the garden together with the gardener in charge of the summer residence. This year a round bench seat has also been put around the old plane tree by the castle lake. "We often talked about doing it with Queen Ingrid but just never managed to do it... it is nice for the visitors to the garden who can enjoy the view here near the lake and the castle," the Queen says.

At the rose bed by the church there are new English roses planted, and this year, there is a new surround for the gold fish pond. Last summer the royal family had a selection to choose from and they chose some flagstones from Petersen Tegl. "It's a joy to see how the flagstones are consistent with the old stones," Princess Benedikte says.

A piece of Gråsten
The royal sisters stop and look at the old Gråsten apple tree. The Queen picks up an apple and takes a bite. "They are a little sourish still. But they aren't immature," the Queen says. Queen Ingrid was fond of the apple blossoms. "There were some fantastic summers here at the garden. The place here is the quintessence of summer and summertime," Queen Margrethe says. We go down towards Billeddammen, which has a number of old oaks standing near a close neighbour. "This place was one of my mother's favourite places. In the evening when the shadows from the trees fall over the pond, it is very beautiful," says Princess Benedikte.

We go on along the Bille-pond and up against Princess House and Princess Garden. In front of the garden there stand square beds with roses. The number of beds has been reduced during the years. "Some people would probably think that it's pity to reduce the number of roses. But it's important to preserve the good places in the garden with the resources we have, so we put in as much effort as possible," says the Queen... The Princess House was home for two gardener families and later a storage place for tools. "It was in the winter apparently in 1941-1942 that Queen Ingrid made it into a playhouse for me...and it was a favourite place when we were children," Queen Margrethe recounts.

"I can't remember that there was a greenhouse here at all," says Princess Benedikte.
"Can't you remember that we picked berries down on the slope? It must be the four years between us...," the Queen smiles at her sister.

The Princess Garden stands by and large as Queen Ingrid built it. "We have simplified this too but have not altered it very much," says the Queen, who together with her sister has planted a number of lime trees, where the branches will grow together in time [pleach].

On the path from Princess House and down to the castle lake a giant Gunnera stands, which is also called a mammoth leaf. It is an exotic feature, "It almost looks like something from the Amazon River, I have never seen it so large before. It's totally exotic," the Queen says and touches the impressive plant...

At the tennis court there is a new playing surface so that it is possible to play shortly after rainy weather. "It's something the young ones think is cosy, my mother and father also thought so too when they were young. But I am a clown with everything to do with ball games," the Queen smiles.

Out on the terrace next to the castle lake there is a large swimming pool and a children's pool. "My father arranged to [build and] present the pool in 1969 when he was 70 years old. When we were children we drove down to Dynt Strand [beach] near Vemmingbund so we could bathe...So we were very glad for that pool," the Queen says.

The Queen and the princess looked forward to Gråsten during their childhood, spending summers in the garden together with Queen Ingrid. "There were some fantastic summers here in the garden. The place here is the quintessence of summer and summertime," Queen Margrethe says.

In her adult life the Queen has begun to do some of her paintings in the garden. "We enjoy the garden when the weather is good. Put us here, put us there," says the Queen, and points here and there at the cosy corners of the garden.

When the time for the summer stay in Gråsten approaches, the Queen begins to feel happy. "The days are counted, it's like this - ooh! - now it gets closer. I am happy to be at Marselisborg, but I also look forward to coming here. This year were we so lucky to be here for three or four days for Prince Joachim's wedding. And so we managed to see the rhododendrons and the azaleas in flower, which we are not normally in time to see," the Queen said.

And it isn't just the garden that the Queen looks forward to at the summer residence. "Being a haven is a part of the pleasure of the summer residence and there is no doubt it is also being in the house of Gråsten and in Southern Jutland. Summer vacations have always been here," the Queen smiles.

The Queen and the Princess developed their own interest when they got their own gardens. Until now the young ones haven't shown a great interest. "When we were young we also didn't think so much about the gardens. But when one gets one's own, it changes. When the Crown Prince and Crown Princess take over the place here, it'll come. I am in no doubt about that," the Queen says.*




Photos © Timo Battefeld and JydskeVestkysten

JV.dk photo gallery - all Timo Battefeld's photos

*rough blog translation!

Frederik: a little life history

WE know a little more of Frederik's journey from boy to man according to his own account since the publication of the new biography marking his 40th birthday. The occasion has caused the publication of a number of well known and not so well known stories in a new light. The week has included some retrospective photos of Frederik's life which we will post here as well as a few more anecdotes from the book Frederik - Crown Prince of Denmark and some others we have had up our sleeve waiting for the right moment to post.

From Billed Bladet, no. 22, 2008 'Køre hundeslæde med Christian of Isabella' - Ride a dog sled with Christian and Isabella by Anna Joahannesen (excerpts):
Christian Buchwald about Frederik and children: "Frederik is very attentive to the well being of his children and I'm confident that the Crown Prince Couple will make sure that their children also learn about life outside the polished floors and golden door handles. Our children have enjoyed the company of Frederik. Not just because he is funny and doesn't mind entertaining children, like swallowing a live spider, dance a cossack dance or sing sailor songs ... nor because he knows about the latest music, but because he genuinely listens to them and ask about their lives." Mary about Isabella: "Isabella is the spitting image of her father. It's almost funny to look at. She is completely like Frederik. A female version of him." * We find out that Christian's first word was "baby" and that he later said åbne (= open) to everything. Frederik about bringing up children: "We try not to be fuzzy about them. Children are not made of porcelain but (they are) enormously robust and can handle a lot. As long as we treat them with common sense from the beginning I think it will rub off on them, so that they will become more active and dare to explore the world..." Frederik is looking forward to show Greenland to his wife and children one day, sleeping in a tent on the ice and ride a dog sled with them.
* Mary is in a special position to recognise this of course, but many can see the likeness between Frederik and Isabella.



THIS is about Frederik's realisation of his peculiar situation in Danish life:

Marking the 1983 transfer of Schackenborg Manor and estate from Hans and Karen Schack to Prince Joachim, then 14 years © POLFOTO

It is about the day it really dawned on him that he was special and destined to be someone special. it was when he was ten and on a holiday at Marselisborg. Friends Karin and Hans Schack were visiting and were involved in handing over Schackenborg Manor to Prince Joachim.*
"My parents said that my brother should inherit Schackenborg after Hans and Karin. How about me? What do I get? I couldn't quite comprehend it and my mother said: 'But you are going to inherit the whole country one day.' It was a bit 'eeh-what!'. At that age I mostly thought about things in a material context. My brother got a big estate and what did I get? I couldn't understand about inheriting an entire country. It was too big. As a small boy I couldn't relate to it at all. A huge piece of land. What was I supposed to do with that?"

And the day it really dawned on him that he had obligations to the press:

In the early 80's he went to soccer training at a local club near Fredensborg.
"When I arrived for pratice, Mugge# stood there with a photographer and wanted to take pictures. I became terrified and went home on my bike again and told grandmother (mormor - Queen Ingrid): 'I don't want to go to training, there was a photographer'. I just wanted to be allowed to come and go from the football field and training. Why did journalists and photographers have to be there? I really hated it. But mormor was good at explaining that 'You are so and so and you have to do it.' I just wanted to be a part of the crowd and not stand out. Mormor was clearly the best and was the calm, understanding communicator of what my role was - that there was no going back," says Crown Prince Frederik.
After the conversation with mormor - Queen Ingrid - Frederik returned to soccer training and Mugge got his story for Se & Hør. #

* The Schacks were childless and Margrethe and Henrik took over the house and the estate for Joachim at great cost since both were very run down.
# Mugge was a very well-respected royal reporter for Se & Hør for many years. He was also very respected by the DRF, which meant that in return he got quite a few exclusives. Since he retired Se & Hør has declined as a newspaper and has become gutter press.

Surprisingly perhaps, Frederik thinks he has a generally good relationship with the press.

Crown Prince Frederik is probably, in relation to the press, under the strong influence of his wife, Crown Princess Mary. She is the strongest card in the DRF, in regards to the media - and in regards to the relationship with the people in general. It is apparently completely to her credit that members of the DRF today will greet members of the public with personal handshakes at official events. Early on in Mary's and Frederik's marriage it clearly didn't come naturally to Frederik to go and shake hands with members of the public, but he quickly learned from his wife.

Mary says about the future of the DRF when they become regents:
"It's about us developing and that the DRF remains an important institution that Denmark is proud of and very fond of. But you must not underestimate what it means for Denmark that there are some people who can open doors that otherwise wouldn't open that easily. And we must give the Danes a better understanding of the fact that our day to day lives also consists of work. Because it's a misonception among many perhaps that when we are not out on official business, we are doing nothing. That it's only when they see pictures of us that we are working. If you compare the workload of the Crown Prince to how many pictures get into the weekly magazines there is no connection. It's important that this misconception is corrected," says Mary.

What happened in France in 1988:

The press conference the day after the crash in August 1988 © Berlingske Tidende

This is a well known story in the annals of the Royal Family, when Frederik was 20 and Joachim 19, from Billed Bladet (1989) 'Prinserne fik en opsang' – The Princes got a dressing down.
Prince Joachim and Crown Prince Frederik were close to death on August 23rd, 1988, when, along with mates Peter Heering and Anders Moltke-Leth, they crashed in the DRF’s speedy little Peugeot 205.
In the middle of the afternoon the princes and their friends went whooshing way too fast along the narrow winding roads near the family’s Château de Cayx in Southern France when the accident happened.
Joachim (who was driving) turned so that the right front wheel ended up on the verge of the road to avoid a car coming from the opposite direction. This is how the Prince lost control of the car, which proceeded towards some trees on the opposite side of the road, swivelled around and landed on the roof down near the bank of the deep River Lot.
Crown Prince Frederik who sat in the back seat with his friend Peter Heering, was knocked unconscious, fractured his collarbone, got a laceration on the back of his head and was flung out of the car. Peter Heering too was knocked unconscious and flew out through the shattered rear window, but came to when he landed in the river.
Prince Joachim and Anders Moltke-Leth miraculously escaped from the accident with minor cuts.
Local fishermen on the river raised the alarm in the nearby town of Luzech and police and ambulances arrived quickly and took the Princes and their friends to the hospital in Cahors.
The next day, after Crown Prince Frederik was the last to be released from the hospital, the Princes had to face a dressing down at a press meeting at Cayx, where both the Queen and Prince Henrik talked in very short shrift and did not hide how glad they were for the miraculously good luck of their sons, but also how annoyed and angry they were at their inconsiderate driving.
(Muhler's comment: I remember that press meeting. Prince Henrik seemed slightly in shock, though annoyed. But Queen Margrethe, jeez! she was mad! She was visibly angry. And Joachim and Frederik looked like they hoped the ground would open up and swallow them.)




Billed Bladet (20, 2008) reminds us that among the stories of Frederik's childhood, there was 'quality time' once Frederik and Joachim were four years old and joined their parents at the dinner table. At this time the family was together a hundred percent. The Crown Prince has never neglected to remember with joy the almost daily out-loud reading of stories that followed in the wake of the communal evening meals of the family: it was when Mum came up to the prince’s room and read stories aloud, often lasting an hour. It wasn’t just Winnie the Pooh or similar stories, it was also the big adventures like Tolkien and H. C. Andersen. This is where the Queen was a super mom.

Crown Prince Frederik during childhood:




Going to high school:



Prince Joachim and Crown Prince Frederik giving their 'ping pong' speech at their parents' 25th wedding anniversary dinner to the amusement of all, hanging decorations at Fredensborg for the anniversary, the wedding anniversary gala, the Kavaler cottage at Marselisborg where Frederik lived with Holger Foss as a student at Aarhus University, with Holger Foss in the kitchen:



Frederik with his beloved mormor Queen Ingrid and cousins, in the last photo in this section Queen Ingrid had just presented him with the sabre of his grandfather Frederik IX:



Frederik reaching 18, with his musician friend Alex Nyborg Madsen in 1995, in the Copenhagen Marathon and beginning official duties:




Frederik in the military. The last two photos were taken ten day before Frederik met Mary in Sydney:



At the Olympics in Sydney, where Frederik supports Denmark and tries his hand at bowling a cricket ball (needs some work), with Joachim at various times and events, playing the harmonica last year in a surprise appearance in Copenhagen, meeting President Clinton in the Oval Office in 1993:



In Greenland to mark Denmark's Sirius Patrol:



Engagement to Mary 2003, marriage 2004, summer cruise 2004, Athens Olympics 2004, Greenland 2004, birth of Christian 2005, Christian's christening 2006, the Queen's birthday 2007, birth and christening of Isabella:




Photos © Berlingske Tidende, Politiken, Jyllands Posten, Billed Bladet, POLFOTO, Jens Dresling, Thomas Borberg, Rasmus Baaner, Martin Lehmann, Peter Hove Olesen, Tine Harden, Lars Harden, Morten Langkilde, Jacob Maarbjerg, Erik Gleie, Lars Krabbe, Torben Stroyer, Thomas Larsen, Steen Wrem, Mik Eskestad, Ole Lind, Johan Mikkelsen, Lars Bertelsen, Carsten Ingemann, Alex Hultzelsider, Ulrich Borch, Bo Svane, Kurt W. Sørensen, Carsten Andreasen, Holger Bundgaard, Finn Fransden, Steen Brogaard, and others unknown.

Video clips of Frederik as a child from DR.dk:

01:10
00:32
00:56
01:03
04:24

Huge thanks to Muhler! And to cph!