Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Princess Benedike of Denmark attended the International Horse show at Flyinge in Southern Sweden on Wednesday, November 04th 2009.

Click at the image to get to a gallery at Svenskdam.se

Princess Madeleine just returned home from her month-long stay in New York.
Yesterday the Princess attended a large horse show. Among the participants in the show was also Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who competes in the World Cup in dressage. Nathalie is the daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, who joined Madeleine.
The two Princesses arrived in a horse-drawn carriage in the large indoor riding school where the show was held.

You can find a gallery here.

Her_Majesty Danish Royals, German Royals, Swedish Royals Horses, Princess Benedikte, Princess Madeleine, Princess Nathalie, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Sport

 The Danish Royal Family today attended the opening of the 2009/2010 Danish parliamentary season at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The royal family traditionally attends the opening each year, where the current Prime Minister opens the season.

Click to see the image at Billed-Bladet

HRH Princess Benedikte, the younger sister of HM Queen Margrethe, arrived at Folketinget (the Danish parliament) first just after 11:45 local time. She was followed by TRH Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, who was dressed in a green coat-dress and a matching beret-style hat; and then TRH Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. The Crown Princess was wearing a black coat and skirt, with a grey hat and accessories.

Click to see the image at Billed-Bladet

HM Queen Margrethe II and HRH Prince Henrik arrived shortly after their eldest son and daughter-in-law, and the Queen was greeted by the Speaker of the Danish parliament, Thor Pedersen, before the royal family entered the parliament building. A video of the arrivals, and of inside parliament, can be found here.

At noon, the royal family took their places in the royal box and Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen began his first speech at the opening of parliament (he became Prime Minister earlier this year). As usual, the Danish royals had a hard time keeping their eyes open during the event, and images of the monarch and her consort catching forty-winks is not unusal.

Click here to view the Opening of Danish Parliament thread, which includes photos from previous years.

JessRulz Danish Royals Margrethe II, Parliament, Prince Frederik, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim, Princess Benedikte, Princess Marie, Princess Mary

HRH Princess Benedikte, the Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, has recently completed an official visit to South Korea, which begun early last week.

On Wednesday September 9th, Princess Benedikte was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from the Seoul Women’s University at a ceremony presided over by the University’s president, Rhee Kwang-ja. The Princess was awarded the doctorate due to her work with young women, and promoting their education.

Princess Benedikte is also in South Korea to attend the 2009 Olave Baden-Powell Society Annual Event for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, an organisation she has been patron of since 1984. She attended a media round-table on Saturday September 12th, where she told the press her passion comes from “motivating young women to become stronger.”

Benedikte also praised the South Korean girl scouts, stating “I think Korea’s [girl scout movement] is the most active. I feel this country acts as the leader [for girl scouts worldwide].”

HRH is an active patron of Denmark’s two highest scouting organisations, the Green Girl Guides of Denmark and the Danish Guide and Scout Organisation, as well as the OB-PS.

Click here to view Princess Benedikte’s current events thread.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Official Visit, Patronage, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Scouting, South Korea

According to politiken.dk, the Danish Royal Family will next year receive an increase in their allowances totalling 1.9 million kroner.

The Queen’s husband Prince Henrik will receive a total budget of 7.1 million kroner, which is a rise of 200,000 klroner from last year, whilst Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will receive an increase of 100,000 kroner, for a total of 3.1 million. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary will have their budget increased by 400,000 kroner, to a total of 17.6 million. Princess Benedikte, sister of Queen Margrethe, will be given a total of 1.1 million kroner, and even Count Ingolf, the cousin of the Queen, will receive an increase of 100,000 kroner.

The former wife of Prince Joachim, Countess Alexandra, will also be given an increased budget of 2.1 million kroner, an increase of 100,000 upon last year. However, as a private citizen, the Countess does not have tax-exempt status and will as such  be paying tax upon it.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Danish Royals Count Ingolf, Countess Alexandra, Finances, Margrethe II, Prince Frederik, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim, Princess Benedikte, Princess Marie, Princess Mary

Continuing with her two-day visit to Germany, HM Queen Margrethe II yesterday was still in Dresden. She and her sister, Princess Benedikte, first attended a luncheon at Eckberg Palace. This was also attended by the Saxon Governor Stanislaw Tillich, and his wife Veronika.

Click to see the Getty Images gallery

The two sisters then opened an art exhibition at the Princes Gallery of Dresden Castle, entitled “With Fortuna Over the Sea. Saxony and Denmark Marriages and Alliances in the Mirror of Art (1548-1709)”. The exhibition, which contains art from the Royal Collection at Rosenborg Castle in Denmark and the State Art Collection in Dresden, is being held to mark the 300th anniversary of King Frederik IV’s month-long visit to Saxony, which took place in 1709. The King visited Augustus II the Strong, the Elector of Saxony between 1694 and 1733.

At the opening, Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte also got to met King Christian IV (ruler of Denmark for the period 1588-1648) – in bust form, however.

Click here to read the thread about Margrethe and Benedikte’s visit to Germany.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Exhibition, Germany, Margrethe II, Official Visit, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

HM Queen Margrethe II is currently on a two-day visit to her southern neighbour, Germany. She arrived earlier today in Berlin, where she was greeted by the German President, Horst Köhler. The pair had a brief meeting before the Queen had her first engagement.

Click to see the Getty Images gallery

A move to Dresden and the city’s Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) was the site of this engagement, and Margrethe was fascinated by the church’s beauty. She spoke with HE Jochen Bohl, the State Bishop of Saxony, and pointed out several items on the church’s ceiling which captured her attention. The Queen was accompanied by the Governor of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, and his wife Veronika.

Princess Benedikte, the Queen’s younger sister, joined in the visit tonight for a dinner at the Zwinger Art Museum, in honour of Queen Margrethe. This was followed by the duo attending a performance of the ballet Giselle at the Semper Opera.

Queen Margrethe’s visit concludes tomorrow.

Click here to view the thread regarding the visit.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Germany, Margrethe II, Official Visit, President Köhler, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Click the image to see the photo at wbfsh.org

Royals usually give out the trophies not receive them, but how unusual must it be to receive a trophy in your own name?

Princess Benedikte, sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, had this unique experience when she was awarded her own Challenge Trophy by the Danish Warmblood Society this past March. The Danish Warmblood Society, of which the Princess is patron, is the pre-eminent Danish association for breeders of Danish Warmblood horses. These large and powerful, yet graceful horses are making their way into the top levels of equestrian competition including the Olympics, particularly in the area of dressage.

This past March, the princess was awarded the Princess Benedikte Challenger trophy for her stallion, Digby, who has had outstanding success at last year’s Beijing Olympics with Benedikte’s daughter, Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, The Danish Warmblood Society awards the Challenger Trophy to a stallion, which is licensed within Danish Warmblood and who by his own performance or as sire of competition horses have come to the fore in equestrian events in the previous year. Nathalie and Digby had topped off their success by helping the Danish dressage team secure a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics.

Click to see the photo at staerebogaard.dk

Click to see the photo at thedaily.com.au

Princess Benedikte fondly remembered her first thrilling ride as a little girl on a gigantic native Danish horse. Her mother, the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark, saw her interest and bought a more child-size pony for the young princess to ride. At that time, Benedikte remembers, there were no small horses in Denmark, so Queen Ingrid had to import a pony from England. Now, Princess Benedikte is the most successful breeder of the Danish Warmblood in Denmark and her horses are drawing attention to discerning competitors across the Atlantic. In 2005, she sold a foal to an American for $18,000, Certainly the princess should be thrilled at the success of the breed in international competition. In last year’s Olympics at Beijing, several nations featured her beloved Danish Warmblood on their teams.

ysbel Danish Royals, German Royals Awards, Horses, Princess Benedikte, Princess Nathalie, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg