Danish Royal Family, Current Events 2: March 2008 - April 2010

[iceflower]

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary hosted a farewell
reception for hofchef Chamberlain Per Thornit at Amalienborg Palace,
Copenhagen, April 22, 2010:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 ** Pic 5 ** Pic 6 **

[mayzie]

It's lovely to see her confidence soar as she feels the love of the nation, appreciation from her husband and in-laws. And having beautiful kids.

[dazzling]

Thanks for the pics. This wasnt listed on their calender. Who is hofchef Chamberlain Per Thornit? and did he work for the couple at the palace?

PPE Gallery

[iceflower]

Yes, he did, at first for Joachim and Frederik and later for Mary as
well, he helped and introduced her into her new role as a princess
even before the marriage, so I guess they all had a very good and
confident relationship. As the Court Chief Chamberlain he also
functioned as a press spokesman.
Altogether Per Thornit, a lawyer by education, worked for the Royal
House for 25 years, joined Queen Margrethe's cabinet secretariat in
1985, in 1990 he became Frederik and Joachim’s secretary and
Frederik’s chamberlain in 2004. Now he's 68 and goes into retirement.

[dazzling]

Thanks for the explination Iceflower
Here is a lovely gallery which also includes Joachim, Marie and their son.
Its nice seeing Henrik jr but its no an event which was appropriate to take him to.

[Tarlita]

I had no idea Per Thornit was retireing. He does not look well to me. He always looked robust. I wish him all the best in his retirement. I think it is due to his efforts that Prss Mary has taken to her roll as well as she has. And has probably helped Prss Marie too. Thank you Mr Thornit and hope you have many happy years in retirement.

[UserDane]

Thank you for the link to the pictures Dazzling

They also show Mærsk-McKinney Møller who I think is the only non-royal/non-nobel Dane who has been given the order of the Elephant. He did not attend the queen's birthday celebrations though he was undoubtedly invited. But he is an elderly gentleman now, 96 or 97 years old, but still going strong. He is said to turn up in his office every day still, though now only for about 3 hours, and still taking the stairs to his 6th floor office.

[carlota]

Originally Posted by UserDane

Thank you for the link to the pictures Dazzling

They also show Mærsk-McKinney Møller who I think is the only non-royal/non-nobel Dane who has been given the order of the Elephant. He did not attend the queen's birthday celebrations though he was undoubtedly invited. But he is an elderly gentleman now, 96 or 97 years old, but still going strong. He is said to turn up in his office every day still, though now only for about 3 hours, and still taking the stairs to his 6th floor office.

he seems like an interesting man, indeed. i didn't know all those details, but it's impressive all he has achieved. his company is certainly number 1 in the field.

concerning per hornit, i thought it was a lovely gesture to throw a get together for him. i wonder if he also helped marie settle in. so, who will replace him as advisor to the couple?

[stellad]

I looked at pictures of Per Thornit in recent weeks and thought he looked a bit gaunt. Hope all is well so that he can enjoy his retirement although he will be doing an easier job for the Queen in his retirement. Fred and Mary will miss him hugely as I think he became an ' honourary father' to Fred and Mary. It will be interesting to see who will take over his position.

[Lumutqueen]

hofchef? I thought he was the head chef at first not a court adviser.
How wonderful, he's been so involved in the royals lives, it's so sweet that they gave him a personal send off.

[Tarlita]

The Copenhagen Post says "As per the Queen’s request, Thornit will take over the title of Chancery of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry’s Master of the Royal Orders." He spent 25 yrs with the royal household and was Frederik's Lord Chamberlain since 2004. I know from the Australian magazines that Mr Thornit was instrumental in teaching Mary Danish protocol and organized the language lessons and culture lessons.
Fred says in an interview by (Gitte Redder & Karin Palshoj) that after he proposed to Mary in Rome he called Per Thornit from Rome and informed him that he may send out a press release announcing the royal engagement.
Watching the guests at the wedding ball in Fredensborg 14 May 2004, I can clearly see that the happiest man in the room that night was Per Thornit. All his hard work had paid off. The young prince had finally found a bride worthy enough for the family. Mr Thornit knew how hard Mary worked in learning everything. He once said he was sure Mary Donaldson fell into a sound sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow the poor thing.
As Lord Chamberlain he leaves very big shoes to fill. We know he has done his job very well indeed because everything has run very smoothly for the crown prince couple. IE overseas trips etc. He helped Mary choose which organisations to be Patron to etc.
Wishing him all the very best and I'm sure we will still see the great man about.

[dazzling]

The new thread can be found here