Queen Margrethe II, Current Events Part 1: February 2018 - June 2020

[Muhler]

QMII has, somewhat surprisingly, returned to Marselisborg today Friday, where she will remain until next Friday where she will officially start working again.

https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelig...a-marselisborg

It is unusual because after Cayx, she usually returns back to Fredensborg, north of Copenhagen.

-------------

On another note.
The visit by the US President has cancelled and the thread closed, but this actually belongs there.
Before all this took place, the former Danish Foreign Minister, Uffe Ellemann, wrote a kind of autobiography.

Back in 1991 QMII visited USA on a state visit (George Bush senior was president back then.)
After the visit QMII and Uffe Ellemann went for a private tour of New York. (Those who follow the DRF know, that she usually do that after a visit to a foreign country.)
She happened to stay at Plaza Hotel that was owned by a businessman named Trump.

Trump learned about the stay by QMII and wished to meet her and be photographed with her.
Uffe Ellemann, in his usually glimmer in the eye-style tells:
"He came barging and wanted to meet the Queen, so that he could be photographed with her.
I got a discreet hint that the Majesty did not think it was an excellent idea, so that was just a job for a foreign minister. So I went out and stopped him, while the Majesty slid away out into the city through a back exit, and I ended up in a conference room with Trump and male assistant."

The otherwise very pro-USA, Uffe Ellemann, saw Trump as an oaf, stupid and uninterested, so he kept the conversation going with stories about Greenland.
That was something Trump found interesting. He listened and asked questions.

Afterwards the assistant said:
"He listened to you. You caught his attention. he has a very short attention-span and you caught him."

- This is from the autobiography.
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/E...-afvist-trump/

[Kataryn]

Very interesting info, Muhler - thank you! Makes one wonder if this wasn't all planned in advances, the talks about Greenland that were not to be and then the cancelling on HM. Trump is childish enough to make such a misstep!

[iceflower]

Here's a belated video of Margrethe's visit to the market in Cahors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIqOcduB2eI

[rob2008]

Her visits to the market with the gigantic straw basket seem to have something of a fantasy about it. But she is the sovereign so if that is what she wants to do, then all the best!

She had intended shopping for the Trump dinner. So, top of the list for him had been a kilo of Epoisses de Bourgogne cheese and a kilo of "Vieux-Boulogne" cheese (look them both up).

Looks like she can have a nice time instead. Go girl!

[Tarlita]

Very interesting story Muhler about The Plaza hotel. I didn't knnow Trump owned it. I knew he put in a cameo in the movie Home Alone.
I bet there have been many others who have had similiar run-ins of that style with Trump.

[Muhler]

I think something like this happens more often than we think. Especially when the royals are on holiday.

[polyesco]

H.M. The Queen is present at Aarhus Festuge's gala opening. Aarhus Theater,
Aarhus Festuge is an annual event focusing on music, art and theater. The Queen is patron of Aarhus Festuge.
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...6e&oe=5DCD0D13
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...1f&oe=5DCC68C5

[Muhler]

You can read more about the ten day cultural week in English here: https://www.aarhusfestuge.dk/en/programme

And should you feel an urge to drop by, there are plenty of cultural event to experience.
The locals however, believe the more folksy events, that were perhaps not so high-culture but nevertheless very popular has been neglected and pushed aside.

[iceflower]

.

Here are two articles about the opening today, the second one includes some videos:


** BB: Dronningen åbnede Aarhus Festuge ** translation **


** tv2ostjylland: Vittig dronning åbner festugen: Der er mange fornøjelser ** translation **


Addition:


** kongehuset gallery: Åbning af Aarhus Festuge **

[eya]

Queen Margrethe unveils a statue of Bernhard Arp Sindberg in Memorial Park, Aarhus, today 31 August .
Bernhard Arp Sindberg is known for his heroism during the Nanjing massacre of 1937-38, where Sindberg saved thousands of people by providing them protection in a factory site.

https://www.belgaimage.be/#/gallery/6692529

[iceflower]

Here are some more photos and a video:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** rex gallery **

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxItqCPCH0

[Muhler]

While in Germany today, QMII was asked about the cancelled state visit by President Trump.

She basically said, such things happen and that the invitation still stands should the US President find the time later on.

- It's the sort of questions that can only get an answer like this.
QMII can hardly say anything else.
She can't say that the US President is no longer welcome, nor can she say she was angry/annoyed/baffled etc. that would cause an unwanted diplomatic strain between USa and DK.
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/E...taar-ved-magt/

The most interesting thing is perhaps the lack of... shall we say, QMII's not expressing too much enthusiasm. - But that is of course dependent on how you interpret it.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Muhler

While in Germany today, QMII was asked about the cancelled state visit by President Trump.

She basically said, such things happen and that the invitation still stands should the US President find the time later on.

- It's the sort of questions that can only get an answer like this.
QMII can hardly say anything else.
She can't say that the US President is no longer welcome, nor can she say she was angry/annoyed/baffled etc. that would cause an unwanted diplomatic strain between USa and DK.
https://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/E...taar-ved-magt/

The most interesting thing is perhaps the lack of... shall we say, QMII's not expressing too much enthusiasm. - But that is of course dependent on how you interpret it.

She was quite diplomatic in her answer (to say the least !).

[Muhler]

If you will care to have a look at Eya and Iceflower's posts above, I will tell you the inspirational story of a genuine hero.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet #36, 2019.
Written by Trine Larsen.

Recently QMII went to the Aarhus, to the Remabrance Park there, located right in front of Marselisborg.
Here she witnessed the unveiling of a statue of the Dane, Arp Sindberg. The statue is paid for by the Chinese city of Nanjing, where he (among other foreigners) are revered as a national hero each 13th December.

Back during the Japanese-Chinese War, in 1937, the then Chinese capital Nanjing was taken and subjected to a medieval sacking by Japanese troops over a period of several months. It was literally free rape, free plunder, free violence and free killing of Chinese and at least 300.000 were killed and countless women were raped, often repeatedly, as they were force-recruited for bordellos for the soldiers, until worn out or killed. - In fact a high ranking general in the Kwantung Army (the Japanese army in China) gave the advise to his soldiers that if they - enjoyed - Chinese women, they ought to either pay them or kill them afterwards.
It was the opinion of the Japanese general staff in China, that their soldiers deserved "a bit of fun" after a hard fight. So free sacking was the norm in China. And the Chinese were subhumans anyway, and since they hadn't done the honorable thing and killed themselves rather than being conquered they were without honor and as such totally worthless. All that in accordance with the extreme interpretation of the samurai code of Bushido that was prevalent in Japan before and during WWII.
The Chinese to this day are still very bitter over these massacres of which Nanjing was the worst. They are even more bitter, because the current Japanese establishment - media and politicians - have actively downplayed incidents like these. And instead they focus on the heroics of the Japanese soldiers fighting in China.

When the Japanese closed in on Nanjing, the relatively few foreigners there, mostly left. A few remained though in various functions, as representatives of major foreign businesses and overseers for businesses.
Their panic-stricken Chinese employees eventually trickled into the premises of these foreign businesses - with their families. And told horror story after horror story of what happened in the city where the Japanese general staff gradually lost control of their solders and officers on battalion level and down. If the foreigners were in doubt, they needed just look out the windows or venture outside the factory gates to see atrocities first hand.
One such atrocity was at a river. A group of Japanese officers discussed "interesting ways of killing Chinese." They chopped of the arms of a group of Chinese men and threw them into the river...
So a number of foreigners took advantage of the fact that they were foreigners and as such protected from abuse by the Japanese and the Japanese authorities were by no means interested in antagonizing major foreign businesses.
So "employees" found shelters by the tens of thousands on the grounds owned by the foreign companies - in order to keep the place running. And they were - mostly - out of bounds by the Japanese soldiers. And there was some bribery of senior Japanese officers as well.

The risk for the foreigners themselves was of course huge, and foreigners were indeed both subjected to abuse and even killed. And this went on for months.
In the end even these shelters were not safe anymore. In an bizarre way of restoring discipline, the Japanese general staff set up brothels for the soldiers - and officers. But they needed "fresh meat" and the only place left to find young - unspoiled - women by now was in these company-shelters. So hundreds of young women were handed over to the Japanese - or the Japanese would come in and take them...
Eventually this savage sacking of Nanjing fizzled out. The soldiers became numb and sick of the months of rampage and the Kwantung army was to move - and just as importantly, the foreign pres had begun to write accounts of what went on in Nanjing. So in 1938 the nightmare gradually ended.

But back to Bernhard Arp Sindberg.
He joined the Foreign Legion and ended up as an overseer for the large Danish cement company F. L. Smidth and he was directly responsible for tens of thousands of Chinese being saved, finding shelter at the plant outside Nanjing.
After WWII he settled and lived in California, where he also died.
His relatives were present for the unveiling - they did not think the statue resembled Arp Sindberg very much, but it's the honor that matters.

Representatives of the city of Nanjing, QMII and the major of Aarhus gave speeches.

Despite being honored in China, Arp Sindberg, was until today virtually unknown in Denmark. What happened in China in the 1930's was very far away and WWII came just a year later and everyone forgot about China and so was Arp Sindberg.
It's good that he at least got a statue.

[gerry]

Originally Posted by Muhler

If you will care to have a look at Eya and Iceflower's posts above, I will tell you the inspirational story of a genuine hero.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet #36, 2019.
Written by Trine Larsen.

Recently QMII went to the Aarhus, to the Remabrance Park there, located right in front of Marselisborg.
Here she witnessed the unveiling of a statue of the Dane, Arp Sindberg. The statue is paid for by the Chinese city of Nanjing, where he (among other foreigners) are revered as a national hero each 13th December.

Back during the Japanese-Chinese War, in 1937, the then Chinese capital Nanjing was taken and subjected to a medieval sacking by Japanese troops over a period of several months. It was literally free rape, free plunder, free violence and free killing of Chinese and at least 300.000 were killed and countless women were raped, often repeatedly, as they were force-recruited for bordellos for the soldiers, until worn out or killed. - In fact a high ranking general in the Kwantung Army (the Japanese army in China) gave the advise to his soldiers that if they - enjoyed - Chinese women, they ought to either pay them or kill them afterwards.
It was the opinion of the Japanese general staff in China, that their soldiers deserved "a bit of fun" after a hard fight. So free sacking was the norm in China. And the Chinese were subhumans anyway, and since they hadn't done the honorable thing and killed themselves rather than being conquered they were without honor and as such totally worthless. All that in accordance with the extreme interpretation of the samurai code of Bushido that was prevalent in Japan before and during WWII.
The Chinese to this day are still very bitter over these massacres of which Nanjing was the worst. They are even more bitter, because the current Japanese establishment - media and politicians - have actively downplayed incidents like these. And instead they focus on the heroics of the Japanese soldiers fighting in China.

When the Japanese closed in on Nanjing, the relatively few foreigners there, mostly left. A few remained though in various functions, as representatives of major foreign businesses and overseers for businesses.
Their panic-stricken Chinese employees eventually trickled into the premises of these foreign businesses - with their families. And told horror story after horror story of what happened in the city where the Japanese general staff gradually lost control of their solders and officers on battalion level and down. If the foreigners were in doubt, they needed just look out the windows or venture outside the factory gates to see atrocities first hand.
One such atrocity was at a river. A group of Japanese officers discussed "interesting ways of killing Chinese." They chopped of the arms of a group of Chinese men and threw them into the river...
So a number of foreigners took advantage of the fact that they were foreigners and as such protected from abuse by the Japanese and the Japanese authorities were by no means interested in antagonizing major foreign businesses.
So "employees" found shelters by the tens of thousands on the grounds owned by the foreign companies - in order to keep the place running. And they were - mostly - out of bounds by the Japanese soldiers. And there was some bribery of senior Japanese officers as well.

The risk for the foreigners themselves was of course huge, and foreigners were indeed both subjected to abuse and even killed. And this went on for months.
In the end even these shelters were not safe anymore. In an bizarre way of restoring discipline, the Japanese general staff set up brothels for the soldiers - and officers. But they needed "fresh meat" and the only place left to find young - unspoiled - women by now was in these company-shelters. So hundreds of young women were handed over to the Japanese - or the Japanese would come in and take them...
Eventually this savage sacking of Nanjing fizzled out. The soldiers became numb and sick of the months of rampage and the Kwantung army was to move - and just as importantly, the foreign pres had begun to write accounts of what went on in Nanjing. So in 1938 the nightmare gradually ended.

But back to Bernhard Arp Sindberg.
He joined the Foreign Legion and ended up as an overseer for the large Danish cement company F. L. Smidth and he was directly responsible for tens of thousands of Chinese being saved, finding shelter at the plant outside Nanjing.
After WWII he settled and lived in California, where he also died.
His relatives were present for the unveiling - they did not think the statue resembled Arp Sindberg very much, but it's the honor that matters.

Representatives of the city of Nanjing, QMII and the major of Aarhus gave speeches.

Despite being honored in China, Arp Sindberg, was until today virtually unknown in Denmark. What happened in China in the 1930's was very far away and WWII came just a year later and everyone forgot about China and so was Arp Sindberg.
It's good that he at least got a statue.

Thank you Muhler for telling us about Arp Sindberg and thank you to the municipality of Aarhus for commemorating this hero. The events at Nanjing must never be forgotten; here in my province of Ontario we have many members of the Chinese community who work hard to keep those memories alive.
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https://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...-massacre.html

[iceflower]

.

Queen Margrethe attended a mass and reception on the occasion of the Holmen Church's 400th anniversary at the Holmen's Church in Copenhagen this morning, September 8:


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

[polyesco]

In relation to this the DRF shared some pics from previous DRF events at this church
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2JeRq8A..._web_copy_link

[eya]

The Queen today thanked the Dannebrog's crew for this year's sailing season


https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PB-wqAwQy/


https://www.facebook.com/detdanskeko...4045530214989/

[eya]

The Queen participates in ceremony and reveals a new memorial for Danish soldiers who lost their lives in Danish and Allied service in the period 1940-45 today

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2owVRsA5fR/

[iceflower]

Here's a video of today's ceremony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcByC6iPqfU