General News about the Danish Royal Family 1: December 2008 - January 2013

[ricarda]

No, that is not correct.
Strictly speaking, only Frederik can act as Regent.

H.K.H. Kronprinsen er regent i perioden 8.-28. august

His brother Joachim and Princess Benedikte can act as "rigsforstander".

H.K.H. Prins Joachim er rigsforstander i perioden 31. oktober - 9. november.

According to this (unfortunately Danish) wikipedia page Rigsforstander - Wikipedia, den frie encyklopædi Princess Elisabeth cannot act as rigsforstander (well, at least she isn't mentioned and I can't remember she ever has).

The Bernadotte family reunion in June 2005 (at Sofiero castle) was not attended by Princess Benedikte (and I can't remember Queen Anne-Marie either), which means that she most probably acted as rigsforstander while the Queen, Frederik and Joachim were in Sweden.

[sweettiara]

does anyone know what activities will go for easter?

[Lumutqueen]

activities?

[antonieta]

According to Billed Bladet crown prince couple is on vacation in Switzerland.

[rsfc149]

Hopefully we get to see some pictures

[sgl]

Joachim, Marie, Nikolai, Felix and little Henrik are in Marselisborg, where they will celebrate Easter with the Queen and Prince Consort:

Billed-Bladet - Marie holder paaske hos dronningen

[Ccile]

Did the royal family attend the Easter mass in Aarhus as usual??

[sgl]

Nothing has come out yet showing pictures or talking about their Easter activities. I would imagine that they (at least the Queen) attended Easter mass. She does every year. I would love to see photos of little Henrik celebrating his first Easter. Maybe we'll see some photos later on.

[iceflower]

Here are some cute pics from the Easter weekend:

Princess Marie, Prince Henrik, Prince Joachim and the boys
at the Tivoli in Aahus, Denmark, April 2nd, 2010:

Great to see Prince Henrik having that much fun with his
grandsons


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


Many more wonderful pics can be found here:

** Felix og Nikolai i Tivoli Friheden - se billederne **

[Muhler]

Hi,

Let me start out by introducing myself.
I am Muhler. Those of you who know me, know that I specialise in translations, summaries, excerpts and background info.
I deal almost exclusively with the DRF (Danish Royal Family), which is why I chose to introduce myself here.
I hope I can be of use to this forum.

Let me start with a summary from Billed Bladet. This is from the magazine edition and it is of course verifiable, as a number of you have access to or even subscribe to the magazine.
All summaries are written in my own words, except for "quotes" they are translated directly.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet # 14, 2010.
Felix of Nikolai på skattejagt - Felix and Nikolai goind treasure hunting.

It was actually a pretty cold and wet day and poor la Marie (*), wearing only a skin jacket, was freezing. But she declined Joachim's coat as he, as the gentleman he is, offered her. Instead he held her tight a few times. Her hands must have gone numb because she almost dropped her bouquet, the article tells us.
Felix and Nikolai tried out the various things in the park. Including a newly opened adventure ride. Sort of like Indiana Jones. Ridning in a jeep through a temple, Marie and her partner Felix, and Joachim and his partner Nikolai were supposed to shoot all sorts of bandits and what not. - Joachim and Nikolai won!
Felix and Nikolai said afterwards: "It was really, really fun and not at all scary".
Q: Did nothing scare you at all?
Nikolai: "Yeah, - the flashes form the photographers".

Written by Trine Larsen.

(*) La Marie is meant as an endearment.

Legoland is located near Billund in south central Jutland. Perhaps an hour and a half by car from Schackenborg. We, or at least our children with their grandparents, have gone there each year. So we can expect a private review of the new attraction later this year.

[iceflower]

All posts from today about the Danish TV series "The Monarchy
Inside" have been moved to the extra thread that can be found
here:

** Danish TV series "The Monarchy Inside" by DR **

[Maura724]

Originally Posted by Muhler

(*) La Marie is meant as an endearment.

Are you saying that, in Danish, you can add "la" before anyone's name as an endearment? Is that a common thing to say? (Sorry, that's completely irrelevant to the DRF, but I love languages. )

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Maura724

Are you saying that, in Danish, you can add "la" before anyone's name as an endearment? Is that a common thing to say? (Sorry, that's completely irrelevant to the DRF, but I love languages. )

No, it's just an old joke.
I just think Marie is so very French, hence la Marie.

ADDED: I've over the years compiled a list of useful words, phrases, basic rules for grammar and so on for those who wish to learn basic Danish. Is there an interest in that? And if so, where should I post it?

[Muhler]

Thank you, Iceflower

And here is a summary from Billed Bladet #14, 2010.
Så sød er lille Henrik - So sweet is little Henrik.

And he really is sweet! Bette Henrik, his parents, brothers and grandpapa Henrik, having fun in Tivoli Friheden. Located in Århus, in Marselborg Woods, close to Marselisborg Manor. This fair ground is only a couple of kilometres from the city centre and yet at the same time hidden in the middle of a wood.
Less than four hours after arriving at Marselisborg, Nikolai and Felix, had "persuaded" grandpapa Henrik to take them to Tivoli Friheden nearby.
As PH said: "They know well enough that it's me they shall ask. They will probably have more luck doing that, than asking their grandmother". (*)
PH is an often seen guest in Friheden as the tivoli is known locally. (**)

And he had just as much fun as his grandsons.
Then all of a sudden la Marie, Joachim and Bette Henrik showed up. (***) And after having tried a few things themsleves, with Henrik as an attentive nanny for Bette Henrik, it was time for some ice before going back to Marselisborg.
Written by Ken Richter.

(*) PH is here using the general word for grandmother "bedstemor". A word few mormor or farmor would use about themselves or prefer to be called as it can imply that your are fossilised.
Mormor = the mother of your mother.
Farmor = the mother of your father.
Farfar = the father of your father.
Morfar = the father of your mother.
The general word for grandfather = bedstefar.

(**) Both Mrs. Muhler and I have been there quite a few times before and after we met.

(***) Marie this time dressed more warmly. Easter fell early this year and it was cold and wet. I guess they have been walking through the woods from Marselisborg.

Originally Posted by iceflower

Here are some cute pics from the Easter weekend:

Princess Marie, Prince Henrik, Prince Joachim and the boys
at the Tivoli in Aahus, Denmark, April 2nd, 2010:

Great to see Prince Henrik having that much fun with his
grandsons


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


Many more wonderful pics can be found here:

** Felix og Nikolai i Tivoli Friheden - se billederne **

[Muhler]

I'm not sure where to post this so it has ended up here.

A translation of a Q&A in Billed Bladet #43, 2010.
Where a Julie Kirkegaard asks why QEII never attends events in the DRF. - Something that is sometimes brought up as it's seen as a bit odd, since other royals do.

Jon Bloch Skipper replies:
There are presumably several explanations for that. Firstly she rarely go to royal events outside Britain, which is probably a combination or her temperament/personality and the often considerable obligations at home. Secondly, the ties between the Danish and the British royal houses are not as strong as those between the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, which are based on both family relations and friendship. QMII has at a couple of occassions visited Denmark, on the 21-23 May 1957 and 16-19 May 1979, but usually she sends her husband or sons as representatives at official events in Denmark. That happened for instance at the burial of Queen Ingrid in 2000, where Prince Charles (*) took part and the the wedding of the CP couple in 2004, where the youngest son of the Queen, Prince Edward and his wife Countess Sophie represented the BRF.

(*) Charles is rarely referred to as the Prince of Wales in DK, but almost always as Prince Charles.
Same thing for all her sons and her husband.

[ashelen]

Who was the regent inDK during the wedding in greece?

[Zonk]

Princess Benedikte was regent.

Based on some old posts, it looks like Elisabeth has acted as Regent in the past. Is she still on the list of acceptable people to act as Regents?

[SLV]

The Queen visited with CP Frederik instead of her husband, but I could not find another thread in which to post it.

Archaeologists excavated part of a gate in a 1.200 year old wall build by the Carolingian to defend themselves against the Vikings.
Long lost Viking gateway found near Schleswig - The Local

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by SLV

The Queen visited with CP Frederik instead of her husband, but I could not find another thread in which to post it.

Archaeologists excavated part of a gate in a 1.200 year old wall build by the Carolingian to defend themselves against the Vikings.
Long lost Viking gateway found near Schleswig - The Local

Thank you, SLV

The history behind the wall Dannevirke, which ran along parts of the base of the Jutland peninsula, in an area that back then belonged to the Danish king, later to evolve into the duchies of Schleswig & Holstein, is interesting and in many ways still not thoroughly explored.
It was actually build to protect Denmark against the Carolingian empire, not the other way around.
Around this time the Carolingian empire was still on the march, force christening people as their conquest continued.
Interestingly it was just around this time that Denmark became officially Christian and it's very tempting to speculate as to whether that christening was political rather than religious. - Because the Carolingian empire could no longer use the pretext of "spreading the word of God" to invade Denmark.
And at that time it was decided that Denmark should became one nation under one king. Also in this case it's interestingly to speculate as to whether this political unification was born out of necessity rather than desire to unify all the various petty kings and chieftains under one overlord.
Anyway, Dannevirke was constructed some distance from the actual border and garrisoned with a permanent army under the command of a jarl = earl. And that remained a permanent state of affair for many centuries.
Now, just like Hadrians Wall, Dannevirke was a political statement and a custums zone, rather than a military barrier. I doubt very much that it would have been more than a tripping wire against a determined incursion, let alone invasion.
It would however have been a considerable nuisance for raiders, especially on the way back.
At that time there was a very lively trade going on in that area and the wall was very useful in that respect to insure a revenue to the king (and the earl), not least in regards to slaves. At that time Denmark had a thriving slave trade, partly as a result of the Viking raids.

The Carolingian empire desintegrated, basically about the time the wall had been finished and the table had now turned. It was now parts of the former Carolingian empire that faced the threat of raids and even invasion from Denmark.
As such Dannevirke decaded. It was still evident in the minds of people, most of which never saw the wall, and it took on mythical proportions even right up to the First Schleswigan War in 1848-51. Few had actually seen it, but everyone knew that Danevirke was down there somewhere, protecting the southern border and that was reassuring.
Well, armies marched up the Jutland peninsula many times and they must somehow have missed Dannevirke....
When the two Schleswigan Wars broke out in the 1800's, there were plans about modernizing Dannevirke and in the minds of the people and not least the press these modernizations took on massive proportions, even in shape of a complete wall with ramparts and moats. In reality that would have been impossible and there were only a few redoubts here and there. As such it came as a huge shock when Dannevirke was abandoned in a winter march in 1864. People could not fathom why this mythical fortification was abandoned virtually without a fight.

So you see, Dannevirke is not just an ancient wall, it's a national concept.

[SLV]

Thank you for the information, Muhler!
As an medieval-archaeologist, I find these things very interesting.

To the mods: My apologies, I should have seen this thread. Thank you for moving it to the right place. :)