Danish New Year Courts: 2004, 2006-2021, 2023, 2024


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Perhaps we should go through what happens at the diplomatic court today, for new members.

This takes place at the royal representation rooms at Christiansborg, the Parliament.
The DRF go through the Drabant Hall, where a detachment from the Royal Lifeguard is lined up and into the Knights Hall.
Here the DRF will line up and the diplomats will line the three walls in front of the DRF.
The doyen (the diplomat who has been the longest time in DK) will on behalf of the diplomatic corps wish the DRF a happy New Year and wish them the Very best. Then the diplomats are called up in order of seniority in order to greet the DRF. All diplomats regardsless of the size and importance of their country has the same status in the eyes of the protocol.
After that the diplomats will be served a little refreshments and something to chew on and they will mingle with eachother and the DRF.
This is a rare opportunity for all the diplomats to be together and meet everybody else on neutral ground and so to speak without any political agenda and also an opportunity to show off a bit in regards to neighboring countries, hence the very much increased use of national costumes.

Earlier on there was another court at Amalienborg, for predominantly the officers of the two guards regiments. They also wish the Majesty and her family a happy New Year and she wish them well in return and in this way thank them for their service in protecting her and her family.
 
Pictures:
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Billedserier/2013/01/03154200.htm

Pictures:
The Danish Royal Family attended the New Year's Reception for diplomats at the Christiansborg Palace:
http://www.newmyroyals.com/2013/01/new-year-reception-for-diplomats.html

I really like that the Danish royal diplomatic reception is shown in Live Coverage. I have always said that the British royal Diplomatic Corps Reception should be covered by the media. The event seems to go on every November/December without much notice or even pictures.
 
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:previous: Thanks for the additional pics, Dman & Polyesco :flowers:

Methinks Mary is wearing a the-cat-just-ate-the-mouse-smile today.
- Perhaps she's expecting....... triplets.
 
Many danks [is that right?]to all who posted the links to the lovely photos. Thank you also to Muhler for the photos of Jardins banquet room. It is magnificent. With regards to the Diplomats, I would guess that the lady in blue with the black hat may be from Bolivia.
 
Many danks [is that right?]to all who posted the links to the lovely photos. Thank you also to Muhler for the photos of Jardins banquet room. It is magnificent. With regards to the Diplomats, I would guess that the lady in blue with the black hat may be from Bolivia.

You are welcome, Tarlita. :) It sure is.

Bolivia? Okay, got it. :)

And a little Danish lesson: ;)
Thank you = tak.
Thank you very much/many thanks = mange tak.
Thanks = tak/takker.
 
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Mary looks really good at the second event. I'd like to see the dress without the jacket.
Queen Margrethe and Pr Henrik are really starting to age, IMO.
 
Mange Tak for that Muhler. Our TV news channel 7 showed Fred and Mary arriving at Christian VII palace for the banquet on last nights news. Lots of light bulbs flashing. It was only a very short clip though.
 
A gallery from BT of the Regent Couple riding in a carriage from Amalienborg to Christiansborg for today's New Year Court/Levee. M&F drove in a car.
Se billederne: Majestæten luftede guldkareten | www.bt.dk

Today's court is for the higher civil servants representatives from organisations and so on.

I will presume Mary will later on hold her own court for representatives from her own protections.

Thanks for the clip, Roskilde.
I heard someone in the background say something about Mary's bare arms.

ADDED: Let's go through the uniforms of the Guards Hussars again, shall we? Yes, we shall, because I love that sort of things and it's deliciously nerdy.
Look at pic #10 in the BT gallery, where the two squadrons of the mounted company are lined up. Notice that horses of the troppers are brown while the horses of the signalmen on the flanks are whitish. So that that commanding officer could easily spot and find his signalman in the confusion of battle.
The signalmen are trompeters not buglars as in say the US cavalry. Because the Guards Hussars use trompets and not horns for signalling.

#9: An excellent view of the commanding officer.
Hussars became fashionable during the mid 1700's. Partly because they reintroduced light cavalry to the western and central European battlefield again, partly because the uniforms were dashing and partly because of the somewhat wild and reckless reputation of the Hungarian hussars.
Hungarians didn't use bottons but instead tightned their clothes with strings and loops and that's the reason for the many loops on a hussars uniform.
The white cords on the tunic is supposed to resemble ribs of a skeleton and a very common symbol for hussars is indeed a skull, but that is not used by the Guards Hussars.
In contrast to heavier cavalry like cuirassiers and heavy dragoons, the hussars wear short boots, simply because hussars in contrast to the above rarely attacked with their knees locked behind the knees of the troopers beside them and therefore didn't need heavy boots for protection. That is often also seen in the sabre they are using. Hussars more often than not used a sabre that was lighter and slightly more curved than normal cavalry sabres. - Heavy dragoons and cuirassiers used heavy straight single edged swords, a pallask.
A defining feature of hussars is of course "the fur". A fur jacket slung across the left shoulder, partly because it looked ravishing, but also to be worn for warmth and in battle as a very good protection against sabre blows to the left side.
The elaborate adornment on the horses is made from sea-shells. Originally it was a part of the protection of the horse as the cavalry tactic up until the mid 1700's was to direct the first cut with the sword on the head of the horse and the second cut to the rider as the horse was going down.
By the time the hussar regiments were formed that protection had degenerated into decoration.
The Guards Hussars are inspired by French uniforms and as such they wear a kepi with a plume on their heads. The plume is meant to resemble the mane of the horse. - Not the tail! Never ever say to a hussar that the plume resembles the tail of the horse. That would be equivalent to calling him a butthead and no redblooded hussar would tolerate that insult! He would run you through with his sabre on the spot.
Because hussars were light cavalry the troopers were small and nimble men, with a physical stature that can be compared to a present day young woman in good shape, albeit that the troopers were on average several centimeters lower. And because hussars seldom fought in dense fomation and rarely if they could at all avoid went up against heavier cavalry they rode lighter horses, often geldings and sometimes even mares.
Back then as today, the horses are often better trained and more experienced than the troopers. So you would and will often see when the trompeter sound the call to say turn right, the trooper will sometimes try to make the horse turn left, but the horse who knows better (they've got bigger heads) will obey the signal and turn right. - No doubt thinking: "I've got the stupidest human in the squadron".
The flag in the background is not a colour as this is a cavalry regiment, but an estandart.

Hussars in particular cultivated the notion that all hussars are God's personal gift to women and saw it as their duty to pursue any female around still breathing. Hence the particular reputation of hussars.
The mascot of a hussar regiment was always a mare. During regimental celebrations the mare was paraded and speeches emphasizing her female curves, attributes and character combined with the delight of mounting and riding her was given, interrupted by countless toasts in her honour. That tradition takes place to this day in the Guards Hussars, - also with QMII or Mary present.
 
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Mary looks like a fairytale princess and Margrethe is shining out.
 
Mange tak for the delicious detail you provide Muhler! :flowers: Indeed, the shells on the horses' bridles are quite visible; the decoration on the breast piece is different on the commander's horse so that I imagine rank is once again indicated by the symbols on the equipment! I did notice that some of the hussars are women and wonder how they react to the somewhat sexist scene you describe at the regimental celebrations!:whistling:
 
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Mange tak for the delicious detail you provide Muhler! :flowers: Indeed, the shells on the horses' bridles are quite visible; the decoration on the breast piece is different on the commander's horse so that I imagine rank is once again indicated by the symbols on the equipment! I did notice that some of the hussars are women and wonder how they react to the somewhat sexist scene you describe at the regimental celebrations!:whistling:

You are welcome. :)
Yes, there are a few details differing between uniforms and equipment, depending on rank and function.
And there are indeed many female conscripts in the mounted squadron of the Guards Hussars and I'm certain they, just like Mary and QMII, truly enjoy the innuendoes. :p

This scene from a movie, does indeed faithfully describe the tradition: (Minus the somewhat pompous singing). You may remember M&F going to such a regimental party two or three years ago?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXdW2mGtyl8

Is it the etiquette to take the glove off the hand when you are shaking someone's? I have also seen Prince haakon do that before?
But Queen Elizabeth never does that..Can someone tell me..

It's certainly good manners. Or so I have been brought up.

The problem with shaking hands with many people is of course that it's terribly unhygienic. So no wonder the DRF (and other royal families I assume) clean their hands with tissue afterwards.
 
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It is considered polite to take off your glove when shaking someone's hand. At least, that's how I learned it. I have no idea why Queen Elizabeth doesn't do it, but CP Mary and CP Haakon are doing the right thing according to etiquette.
 
:previous:

I'm not sure that's true. You are supposed to have your opera gloves on arrival and not take them off while shaking hands or dancing. Gloves should only be taken off when you sit down to dinner, and put back on when dinner is over.

The shorter, everyday gloves are a different matter; while there rules about it too, basically you can choose when to take them off pretty much whenever you like.

Of course, these rules are not carved in stone, or there might have been circumstances/traditions I'm not aware of, or Mary simply wanted to take the glove off. Either way, it's no big deal, really.
 
I read somewhere many years ago that because Queen Elizabeth and the late Prss Margaret did not get any of the childhood diseases that we tend to get, they wear gloves as a precaution. Mostly because if you contract some of these diseases as an adult it is a very serious problem. Now this theory could be wrong, but this is what I read more than thrity years ago, and it makes sense when you look at how closeted they were growing up. They probably didn't get their shots either. Who knows?
 
You are welcome. :)
Yes, there are a few details differing between uniforms and equipment, depending on rank and function.
And there are indeed many female conscripts in the mounted squadron of the Guards Hussars and I'm certain they, just like Mary and QMII, truly enjoy the innuendoes. :p

This scene from a movie, does indeed faithfully describe the tradition: (Minus the somewhat pompous singing). You may remember M&F going to such a regimental party two or three years ago?
Thank you Muhler! This scene is wonderful; all I can say is that I hope the Crown Prince and Princess were able to keep a straight face while all this was going on because I would have been reduced to helpess giggles!:lol:
 
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Summary of two articles in Billed Bladet #2, 2013.
Both written by Annelise Weimann.

The court for the diplomattic corps took place in the Knights Hall at Christiansborg.
QMII wore a dress lined with fur from mink, sewn fifteen years ago by Jørgen Bender.
She was a bit under the weather from a cold and her back hurt, so a chair was brought in for the Monarch to sit down and showing solidarity with his wife Prince Henrik also opted for a chair.
Thus seated they greeted 75 diplomats and 35 spouses.
The doyen this year was the Mexican ambassador, Martha Coqui, who on behalf of the diplomatic corps gave a small speech and conveyed the diplomats well wishes to the DRF.
Prince Henrik said "Bonne Annee" to the diplomats he shook hands with.

Mary, who wore a Julie Fagerhold dress from 2008, wished the press corps "Happy New Year" while passing them on the way to the Knights Hall.

The third court also took place at Christianborg. This time the Regent Couple rode through the streets in a newly renovated carriage from 1840. The carriage has been put back to how it looked when it was new. Pulled by six horses the carriage is not heated, but the weather was mild, so the Regent Couple probably didn't have to bury themselves under fur-blankets. As always it was escorted by the Mounted Squadron of the Guards Hussars.
This court is basically the top brass within the civil servants, state administration and "etaterne" = the uniformed branches of the state, like police and military. No less than 830 people! And it took four hours to complete.
QMII wore a long furcoat made from zobel and Prince Henrik wore the gala uniform of a general in the airforce, designed by Margit Brandt. - (Well, I personally find the airforce gala uniform a bit too modern).
The fomer Master of Ceremonies, Christian Eugen Olsen, was there too - this time as one of the invited guests - and that he enjoyed.
 
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I'm sure this has been asked before, but does anyone know of any pictures of Margrethe, Alex, et al at the New Years Banquet from the 1990s? All of the photos I've seen are from the past ten years. I'd love to see more of what Margrethe has worn over the years.
 
As is tradition the first of the New Year Courts will take place tonight at 19.00.

DR1, which should be viewable outside DK, will cover the arrivals in two segments.
The first to start at 17.50. It will last for ten minutes before switching to the news.
- This is where you will be able to find out whether the link someone no doubt will post here, actually works.
I'm not sure much will happen, we may see a few of the first guests arrive.

At 19.05 there will be a second ten minutes segment, this time covering the DRF arriving to the court shortly before 19.00.

But you may wish to tune in at around 18.50 anyway, because the last part of the news hour may show a clip or two of the royals arriving.
 
Are you able to watch this? LIVE Dronning Margrethe afholder nytårskur på Amalienborg | Nyheder | DR
(You may have to reload a couple of times, I had).

The first guest are arriving. Both DR1 and TV2 seems to cover the court non-stop.

There is a change from previous years. This year the guest will be off loaded at the red carpet, so a lot of gala dresses coming up.
at 19.45 the DRF will start to arrive.

(Is nobody watching or is it too much trouble to confirm whether you can see the link or not?
Sorry for sounding sour, but come on, I'm trying to help here).
 
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Are you able to watch this? LIVE Dronning Margrethe afholder nytårskur på Amalienborg | Nyheder | DR
(You may have to reload a couple of times, I had).

The first guest are arriving. Both DR1 and TV2 seems to cover the court non-stop.

There is a change from previous years. This year the guest will be off loaded at the red carpet, so a lot of gala dresses coming up.
at 19.45 the DRF will start to arrive.

(Is nobody watching or is it too much trouble to confirm whether you can see the link or not?
Sorry for sounding sour, but come on, I'm trying to help here).

It is working. Many thanks.
Interesting to see that TV is even allowed to broadcast from inside the Castle as usually we only got pics from the arrivals of the Royals but not from inside.
 
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Are you able to watch this? LIVE Dronning Margrethe afholder nytårskur på Amalienborg | Nyheder | DR
(You may have to reload a couple of times, I had).

The first guest are arriving. Both DR1 and TV2 seems to cover the court non-stop.

There is a change from previous years. This year the guest will be off loaded at the red carpet, so a lot of gala dresses coming up.
at 19.45 the DRF will start to arrive.

(Is nobody watching or is it too much trouble to confirm whether you can see the link or not?
Sorry for sounding sour, but come on, I'm trying to help here).

Thanks you Muhler.The link works for me
By the way,happy new year to you and to every other member of the royal forums
 
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