Thanks, Tommy100
A picture of a stylish Mary in Roskilde:
Billed-Bladet - Fejringen af dronningen begyndte i København
What is happening now is that the changing of the guard will take place at noon as usual. Then the Horse Squadron from The Guards Hussars will line up, before the Regent Couple will ride out in the carriage.
You may notice in the various clips that the sentries on duty from the Royal Lifeguard is looking around. That's normal. Their function is primarily to physically protect the DRF, secondary to perform ceremonial duty. I happened to notice the relieving detail lock and load their rifles in front of their barracks at Rosenborg Slot. (Anyone who has served is familiar with that practice before guard duty).
The Guards Hussars consists of conscripts. All the conscripts in the Horse Squadron are volunteers and a little more than half of them are now women. (Physically speaking women of today are excellently suited as hussars. Modern women are actually a bit taller than hussars were during the Napoleonic Wars).
In contrast to other ceremonial hussar regiments around the world, the Danish Guards Hussars were kepis with plumes, instead of fur caps, which is more common. Nor does the the Danish hussars use a skull as a badge on their headgear. The skull traditionally being the symbol of hussars.
The privates in the Horse squadon are not addressed by their name, but by the town they come from. If a hussar is from the town of say Roskilde, he (or more likely she) will be addressed Roskilde.
That had a practical purpose. In the old days with no or at best inadequate maps, the commander of the squadron would call out Roskilde! When the squadron approached that town. The private with that name would ride up front and guide the squadron through the streets and also help guiding the other troopers in finding the places they were billeted.
Apart from the Guards Hussars, there will also be mounted police officers and mounted representatives from the British, Swedish and I believe the Norwegian armies.
QMII isn't the only gal who is celebrating her jubilee this year. Dannebrog will turn 80 in 2012, on Frederik's birthday to be exact.
There is a two year waitning list to serve as a volunteer conscript onboard Dannebrog.