Queen Margrethe's Visit to Italy: April 11-14, 2012

[dazzling]

THE QUEEN WILL VISIT ITALY
11.-14 APRIL 2012

HM The Queen will visit Italy in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition 'The Wild Swans', 13 april in Rome at the Museum 'Palazzo Massimo alle Terme'.

The exhibition, which shows the Queen's decoupage and costumes from the movie 'The Wild Swans', have previously been built in Denmark, Mexico, USA, China and Japan.

During his stay in Italy, the Queen pay a courtesy visit of President Napolitano to visit the Danish Institute in Rome. As part of the program, the Queen and President Napolitano, among other things, attend a concert in the Italian presidential palace "Palazzo del Quirinale ', on the occasion of the Danish EU Presidency.

The queen will be accompanied during the visit of Minister of Culture.

Detailed program and further information will follow.​

Source: Kongehuset - Forside

 

[Marika86]

The program for the Queen's visit to Italy.

Program for Dronningens besøg i Italien den 11. - 14. april 2012 - Kongehuset

Google Traduttore

 

[Marika86]

Queen Margrethe arrives at the Danish Institute

BelgaPicture - Category details ** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3

Zimbio: H.M. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Visits Danish Institute in Rome

 

[Muhler]

Thanks Marika86.

I don't recognice the protection officers as coming from PET, so I guess they are Italian.
The burly looking guy in front look intimidating. He only needs a spike-collar.

 

[NGalitzine]

Thanks Marika86.


The burly looking guy in front look intimidating. He only needs a spike-collar.

He probably saves that for weekend nights at a leather bar.

 

[Marika86]

Concert in the Cappella Paolina at Presidential Palace, Quirinale. April 12, 2012 Rome

Notizia ** Belga Picture

Getty Images: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Attends Concert At Presidential Palace

 

[Artemisia]

More pictures from today.
- Queen Margrethe
- Queen Margrethe II meets Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano
- Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and President Giorgio Napolitano meet the Danish delegation

Gallery from Daylife

 

[iceflower]

.

Another gallery from today can also be found here:



** sn.dk: Dronningen mødte præsidenten **

 

[Muhler]

Thanks for the pics.

I see QMII is conforming to the protocol, on this pretty informal visit.
I.e. dropping by the Italian head of state to say hi. - Anything else would be an affront.

I mention it because elsewhere people can't figure out whether this is a private visit, an unofficial visit or some sort of official visit. Whatever, as a head of state she is still obliged to greet the head of state in the country she is visiting.

 

[Lady Felicity M]

More pictures from today.
- Queen Margrethe
- Queen Margrethe II meets Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano
- Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and President Giorgio Napolitano meet the Danish delegation

Gallery from Daylife

The second picture is not a flattering one

 

[iceflower]

.


Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Queen Margrethe at the inauguration of the exhibition entitled:
'The Imaginary Kingdoms' on April 13, 2012 in Rome.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** gettyimages/reuters/Ap/daylife ** gettyimages **

 

[dazzling]

Thanks for the pics.

I see QMII is conforming to the protocol, on this pretty informal visit.
I.e. dropping by the Italian head of state to say hi. - Anything else would be an affront.

I mention it because elsewhere people can't figure out whether this is a private visit, an unofficial visit or some sort of official visit. Whatever, as a head of state she is still obliged to greet the head of state in the country she is visiting.

According to the visit announcement it was a "a courtesy" visit. I actually don't mind when whether private or formal visits to a country that the Queen/Prince etc visits the president or the other ruling party. Its quite a nice gesture IMo.

 

[Artemisia]

The second picture is not a flattering one

That's a very demanding colour and suit style; few ladies of the Queen's age could carry it well, but I think she manages it.

. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Queen Margrethe at the inauguration of the exhibition entitled: 'The Imaginary Kingdoms' on April 13, 2012 in Rome. ** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** gettyimages/reuters/Ap/daylife ** gettyimages **

Thanks for the pictures, iceflower!
Queen Margrethe looks lovely, although I'm not usually a fan of the style of the blouse she's wearing.

Queen Margrethe attended the exhibition "Wild Swans" at Museo Nazionale Romano of Palazzo Massimo alle Terme on April 13, 2012 in Rome, Italy.
The exhibition shows 43 decoupages and 12 dresses created by the Queen, used as scenography and costumes in the cinema version of Hans Christian Andersen 'Wild Swans'.

Some highlights of the exhibition:
- Costumes and decoupages
- A decoupage
- Costumes 1
- Costumes 2

 

[Marika86]

More from "Svenskdam"

Drottning Margrethe träffade Italiens president | Svensk Damtidning

Drottning Margrethes italienska resa har påbörjats | Svensk Damtidning

Gallery from lehtikuva.fi

 

[Tarlita]

It must be a lovely thrill for HM to see her work on display in such prestigious places. And she does such lovely pieces from what I can tell from the photos.You are lucky in Denmark to have not only a dedicated wonderful Queen, but a truly talented one as well, who will leave behind a diverse lasting legacy for future generations to admire.
It wouldn't surprise me if one day when Frederiks children are grown up, he picks up a paintbrush and has a go at painting.

 

[dazzling]

I think its great that the Queen is still going ahead with what she does well & her hobby even though she is Queen. I also like how she works for it to be displayed in different countries ad taking it to the next level.

 

[Marika86]

Another gallery from Bt.dk

http://www.bt.dk/royale/dronningen-udstiller-i-rom

 

[Muhler]

Summary of a long article in Billed Bladet #16, 2012.
Glade feriedage i Rom - Happy days off in Rome.
Written by our Rome correspondent Annelise Weimann.

QMII's visit to rainy Rome was supposed to have been private, as in unofficial. But it really was semi-official, because President Napolitano invited QMII to a concert at the presidential palace, Quirinale from the 1500's.
It's of course common curtesy that a visiting head of state, even on a somewhat private visit, drops by to say hello to the head of state of the land that is visited. - But this went beyond that.
QMII had a chat with the President and later met his wife, Clio Napolitano before it was time for a concert. A couple of hundred guests attended the concert, which was also a celebration of Denmark currently holding the chairmanship in EU. The jazz musicians Palle Mikkelborg and Chris Minh Doky entertained.
There was a reception after the concert, alas, QMII hardly sampled anything she was too busy talking to the guests, so she and her LiW, the Minister of Culture, Uffe Elbæk and her chief of court, Ove Ullerup, went to a good restaurant to sample the Italian cuisine.

Apart for the exhibition, which President Napolitano wished to see, with QMII as tour guide, she was very busy enjoying the Italian capital.
One of the stops was Accademia di Danimarca, every year on the 16th April a grant is presented from Her Royal Highness Princess Margrethe's grant, but on this year QMII presented the grant herself, albeit a couple of days early.
She went to ISCR, an institute for paintings and archeology as well as the renaissance Palazzo Farnese, which nowadays is the French embassy. here she got a personal tour.
During the visit QMII was driven around in a Mazarati and the security around her was tight.

There was also a press conference, but the microphones went completely dead and unfortunately only three questions were answered before the whole thing was abandoned.
Q: The Exhibition about The Wild Svanes have been shown all over the world like Washington, Tokyo and Mexico. But it's the first time you yourself are present at the opening. Why are you present here in Rome?
QMII: "Rome is a very special city for me. I have been here many times in my life, especially in my younger days. So it was utterly irresistable for me to come back to Rome".
That led the Italian journalists to applaud enthusiastically and QMII looked slightly baffled but also a bit shy over the response.

Later on our reporter met QMII and asked a few questions.

QMII said: "It's a city I first came to together with my parents in 1955 after I had been confirmed. (*) There are still things from back then that are very clear in my memory. And then I've been here with my morfar (**), back then I went out on excavations. That was the Etruscian excavations and the first time I took part was in 1956. I was in Rome with my morfar several years in a row until 1962, or was it 63. The terrible thing is that I've hardly been here since".

Q: Why haven't you?
QMII: "You can't find time for everything. There are many other thingst to find time for as well. But now I've been in Rome for three days and it's been a lovely experience to come back here again. Here are so many memories for me of my parents. About how it was to be here both with my parents and with my morfar. There are plenty of things I remember from back then.
The palace where the exhibition takes place is however new to me, why it's a fantastic place. It isn't that terribly long ago the antigue collections moved here. (***) Yes, there is still something new happening in Rome".

Q: Are you pleased with your own exhibition here in the palace?
QMII: "I think it has become mighty neat/good/well turned out. It's presented very well".

Q: Does it mean anything to you that H.C. Andersen lived here?
QMII: "Yes, it certainly does. I think it puts both H.C. Andersen and Rome in perspective".

The presidential guards get a mentioning in the article as well. Consisting of unusually tall men. Judging from their uniforms they are heavy dragoons or perhaps chausseurs? Perhaps one of our Italian members can confirm that?

(*) Oddly enough it seems like the age for confirmation in Copenhagen is around fifteen, here in Jutland it's around the age of fourteen. Perhaps FasterB can elaborate?

(**) Maternal grandfather. I.e. King Gustav Adolph who was also very interested in archeology.

(***) So QMII must have been like a fish in the water.

 

[American Dane]

Hi Muhler!

As you know, I'm not Italian, but I'm very familiar with the Corazzieri (the Italian presidential honour guard you mention above). Here's more information about them -- wikipedia, so most of the "facts" are correct One requirement is a height of over 6'3"...

Corazzieri - Wikipedia

 

[Muhler]

Thanks, American Dane.

So they are cuirassiers.
They didn't wear any cuirass in the pictures, confusing poor me...