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

[iceflower]

The Palace announced the sad news that Queen Margrethe's oldest dachshund Heike has died today. Heike had been the Queen's dog since 2006 and has now been put to sleep after a short stay at an animal hospital.

The shared photo of Margrethe with Helike was taken at Gråsten Castle in August. Now Queen Margrethe still owns two dogs: 1-year-old Nelly and Prince Henrik's dog Tilia.


** kongehuset.dk announcement **

[HereditaryPrincess]

Rest in peace Heike.
Margrethe seems to love her daschunds a lot and losing a pet is always hard especially when they're like members of the family.

[Tarlita]

Originally Posted by HereditaryPrincess

Rest in peace Heike.
Margrethe seems to love her daschunds a lot and losing a pet is always hard especially when they're like members of the family.

I echo everything you said H.P. it's not hard to tell this family love their dogs. The Queens feelings might be a bit raw at the moment as she remembers all the fun times with Heike and Henrick together.

[eya]

Queen Margrethe receives new Ambassadors at the audience at Fredensborg today 5 October

https://www.belgaimage.be/#/gallery/6321367

Video

https://www.facebook.com/detdanskeko...03965364/?t=11

[polyesco]

DRF gallery from the audience today
Ambassadørmodtagelse på Fredensborg Slot | Kongehuset

I had not noticed this blue uniform before
http://kongehuset.dk/sites/default/f...?itok=db-ODKZH

[Muhler]

Nor have I.

Could it be the French military attache? In gala?
He is not an adjutant.
The red lapels and the red stripes on his pants suggest a general-staff officer.

[polyesco]

The Guards Hussars were ready when France's new ambassador, Caroline Ferrari, was picked up at Fredensborg station to be driven into Fredensborg Castle, where she is received by H.M. Queen Margrethe.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Boi3BeeA...ged=kongehuset

[eya]

Queen Margrethe was today at Carlsberg Academy, where she hand over Niels Bohr Medal to physicist Jens Kehlet Norskov

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Do65ygkWwAIF7kN.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Do6e6MDXsAA2gDN.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Do6G9KaXkAEu_YR.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Do6QlrMX4AAzDFk.jpg

And pictures from the Palace

https://www.facebook.com/detdanskeko...h&__tn__=-UC-R

[iceflower]

.

Today, October 10, Queen Margrethe received the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin and his wife for an audience at Christian VII's Palace, Amalienborg.


** Pic **

[Muhler]

The Israeli first lady couldn't find time in her schedule to dress up just a little more?

I have rarely seen an official representative of a country looking more sloppy at an audience!

[LibrarianDaisy]

Nechama Rivlin suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and usually carries a portable oxygen tank with her so I would always give her a pass on how she dresses. The fact that she is there with her husband is something.

[Muhler]

Thank you, Librarian Daisy.
In that case I retract my harsh words and cut her some slack.

I'll leave my post though, lest others should think like me.

[LibrarianDaisy]

Thanks Muhler - I knew you'd understand when you knew the facts

[polyesco]

The presidential couple is in Denmark on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Danish Jews flight to Sweden. Tomorrow, H.K.H. The Crown Prince, together with the President, participates in a memorial in the Synagogue in Copenhagen.

[Muhler]

That's right, Polyesco.

Today there was a commemoration marking the evacuation of Danish Jews to Sweden in 1943.

Part one:
In 1943 there were some 8.000 Jews in DK, mainly concentrated in Copenhagen. The vast majority were fully integrated, often belonging to the higher middle class or at least the middle class in traditional Jewish occupations i.e. doctors, bankers, artisans, civil service and so on. There were a minority also mainly living in Copenhagen, who were remnants of Russian Jews fleeing the pogroms there in the 1800's.
The majority of these refugees were shipped on to America, very much spurred on and financed by their Danish brethren, who actually had a pretty good life in DK, and didn't wished to be associated with these uncouth, smelly, uneducated and no doubt anarchist or at least socialists, which was almost as bad.
As a result of the Danish Jews being so well assimilated there was little antisemitism in DK, even during WWII!

The Germans occupied DK in 1940 but because the Danish Parliament opted to co-operate with the occupiers, Denmark remained pretty much autonomous. That meant that no racial laws were implemented. Jews and Communists were registered by the Danish police but that was all. Jews were allowed to keep their jobs, their businesses and their homes. They were protected by the Danish law and authorities being Danish citizens, so no smashing windows, no attacks in the streets.
The German soldiers were under the military penal code and under orders to behave - otherwise they would be send off to the East Front...! That tended to deter even the most hardened Nazi.
(In fact a relative of mine was quite shocked when he learned that a German colonel, who attacked him was send straight to Russia. But that's another story.)
No Danish Jew ever wore the yellow star of David.
It's a myth, refuted several times by QMII herself, that Christian X rode the streets of Copenhagen wearing that star. He did not.
He did however make it clear that if any of his subjects were forced to wear the yellow star, he would wear it too. The result would have been that all Danes, except the most pro-Nazi, would have worn the yellow star within a couple of days.

There was a good deal of live and let live in DK in the first part of the war. If you were a German soldier that was a great deal! You were safe, you could ship dairy products back to your family in Germany, you could listen to the latest jazz music from America and you could walk the streets in safety. The Resistance had a little agreement, Germans soldiers would not be attacked unless a sabotage went wrong and it ended in a shoot-out. In return German soldiers tended to be blind and deaf when convenient. - No need to rock the boat!
Interestingly the contrast with a country in "peace" with a country at war, with the cities being bombed, with rationing and with increasing political oppression meant that there was a growing anti-Nazi sentiment among not least officers. An old proud regiment stationed in the town of Viborg was almost notoriously anti-Nazi. Where the officers, to the shock of German privates, openly showed their contempt for Hitler. Those who did not agree, were "volunteered" for the next march battalion going east...
That also applied to many soldiers who had been stationed in DK for a long time, they often formed relations with Danish women, many married (the reasons for that is endless fascinating IMO!) and as such they formed a personal bond with Denmark and the Danes. - All Danes.
By 1943 it has been estimated that about 10 % of the population were either active in the Resistance in one way or another. Or they were pro-Nazi, going from being collaborators and profiteers, to being informants to signing up for the East Front. Most of the latter were really anti-Communists rather than pro-Nazi, because a lot that happened in Europe during WWII was basically a civil war, not least in Italy and Yugoslavia.

All this is crucial to understand why the Danish Jews got away.

[Muhler]

Part two:


By the summer of 1943 the political co-operation with Germany finally broke down and Denmark was run by a German military governor, administered by Danish civil servants.
That meant it was time to round up the Danish Jews as well - you know, Endlösung.
It was to take place on the night between 1. and 2. October 1943. The trains were ready and the camps notified.
Weeks before that happened the plans had been quietly leaked to both the Resistance (The Germans and the Resistance knew perfectly well how to get in touch...) and to leading Danes, doctors editors, civil servants, even a member of the court. And the Jews were quietly warned.
Then on the 1. October the warning went out: Don't be at home tonight! Go to Sweden. Hide. But don't be at home!
A few didn't get the message and were taken, some chose to overhear the message and were taken they constituted a few hundred in total. The rest went underground.

But if you are a Jewish family and you are not involved with the Resistance, what do you do? Well, some were actually contacted by the Resistance and led to safe houses for later evacuation. But most sought refuge among friends they had among ethnic Danes.
In a country that at the time had a population of 4½ million, most knew someone "in the know" or someone who "could arrange things."
So over the next few weeks most Jews were moved from hiding place to hiding place while arrangements were made for them being sailed across to Sweden.
The biggest danger wasn't really German searching through houses, there was very little of that - and even less enthusiasm....
The biggest danger were Danish collaborators and informants. Many collaborators no doubt learned something but chose to keep their mouths shut. Its one thing to work for and with the occupies, it's another thing to turn someone in, because informants led an interesting - but short life!
But in a small country as Denmark how long do you think it will take before everyone in a small village at the coast will know that Hansen down the road are keeping someone in his attic?
So it was crucial to get the Jews across in a hurry!
That's easier said than done. The Resistance had a system in place for just that and they did indeed take many across, but more than 7.000! That was way beyond their capacity, so many if not most Jews had to rely on fishermen being contacted and asked to take a family or two across to Sweden. Having found such a skipper and a boat, you also needed to get them to the boat.
Many fishermen did that free of charge, others accepted a more modest sum to cover their expenses, they could hardly fish with Jews in the hold! Others had no qualms about demanding as much as possible for sailing a family across. - To that you can of course argue that the skippers really did run a risk. They could be executed or shipped off to a concentration camp, in both cases that was very serious for their families.
Another aspect we should not leave out is the Germans themselves. Normally the Germans had a well-deserved reputation for being efficient and vigilant, also in DK. However, it is baffling how incompetent German patrols, guards, observation posts and not least maritime patrols were during these few weeks. - The Jews almost had to stand on deck singing Hava Nagila in order to be noticed!
The distance between Sweden and DK is short and there were several hundreds of fishing boats at sea every night, so most Jews got across.

What happened to the Jews that were caught. Well, most were shipped off to camps in Germany and treated mildly. There were three reasons for that. Danish civil servants made a lot of effort checking up on what was still Danish citizens in "custody" in Germany. Norwegian and Danish Jews were inquired about very actively by Count Bernadotte, who also at the end of the war evacuated them back to Norway and Denmark in white ambulances. And lastly because they were seen as a possible bargaining chip by a number of top-Nazis who by late October 1943 had an idea where the war was going.
The idea being that they could say to the Allies: I'm a big humanitarian. I have always been against Hitler! Look at these nice Jews here, that I, at great personal risk, saved. Not a hair has been ruffled on their heads, thanks to me. In fact I have always liked Jews. - Did I mention that I've always been against Hitler! - You get the idea, right?
I think less than 200 Danish Jews died in the Konzentrations Lagern.

They returned home, and now comes the bit that I personally as a Dane feel most proud of. The Jews were welcomed home - as basically the only country in Europe where that happened!
On top of that they came home to their homes. The vast majority went home to homes that had been left undisturbed, with their belongings intact, nothing stolen, their rent having been paid or their landlords accepted that no rent had come in. In most homes neighbors had looked after the homes and dusted off when needed. Their jobs were mostly also waiting for them - as it was indeed for Resistance members who had gone underground as well.
That is unique for that period! In practically everywhere else Jewish homes and property had been seized and/or plundered. There was little if anything to return home to.

Why did the Danes get themselves involved with evacuating the Jews?
Because thousands were directly involved in this and many thousands more knew something and kept their mouths shut.
Well, my bid is that the Jews were as assimilated as possible. They were no trouble, they did not stand out. So they were naturally seen as a part of the tribe and seeing innocent members of your tribe being dragged away is an affront, a great injustice. In a society that was more close-knit than today and much more homogeneous, you are almost morally obliged to help. It was also an act of defiance as well as an eye-opener. Now it was time to fight! Because the numbers of acts of sabotage grew to almost epidemic proportions by 1944.
- That at least is my view.

[iceflower]

Queen Margrethe presented the Queen Ingrid's Research Prize today, October 12.

This year Arthritis researcher Søren Overgaar of the Odense University Hospital received the prize:


** kongehuset: H.M. Dronningen overrakte Dronning Ingrids Forskerpris **


** Gigtforsker Søren Overgaard modtager ærefuld pris ** translation **



And in the afternoon Queen Margrethe unveiled a statue of Danish officer and author Thomas Dinesen at the Churchill Park in Copenhagen:



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[Muhler]

Thank you, Iceflower.

Very appropriate as QMII herself has suffered a lot from arthritis.

[Muhler]

Let's see what QMII has to say about her creativity.

Summary of article in Billed Bladet #40, 2018.
Written by Henrik Salling.

The occasion is that the Museum at Amalienborg is exhibiting a number of the costumes QMII has created as a set designer, both for professional productions as well as for the ballet school of her childhood friend Susanne Heering, who BTW turns 80 today.

If you want to get in contact with QMII don't try on a Thursday! Because that's the day she "works from home" and that means she's working on her creative ideas.

Q: What does it mean to QMII that she has a creative side as well?
QMII: "It has meant a tremendous lot to me that I have been able to make things. I probably would anyway no matter the circumstances... more or less. So many do that."

Her more official creative work started many years ago when she was asked by DR1 to assist.
QMII: "Well, at some point it spread beyond the walls of the house and it has been very, very amusing to be allowed to spread your wings in full public glare, to be frank.
The very first time was... yes, it I guess it must have been... at DR1's TV-show The Shepherd and The Chimney Sweeper (*) That was probably the first time.
But then there was more of it. Especially as I got involved at the Royal Theater. It was a fantastic experience to be allowed to create the scenography and costumes for A Folks Tale (The Danish national play.) which premiered in 1991."

Often when talking about a play, QMII get ideas:
"I must admit that if you start talking about things of that kind or if someone asks me, then I can't help thinking about how you could approach it.
I have always liked to do something with my hands and when I went to kindergarten (at Amalienborg) I loved to cut and paste. So I have never really left that stage with the kindergarten."

She works mostly alone in her studio:
"I'm afraid I'm sitting with it all alone. Preferably completely on my own.
I haven't been so good at showing my grandchildren how you can do it. I should perhaps have done that. But I work better on my own and I'm probably a little too selfish to spread it to others.
When I go into my atelier and sit down to do something, I usually have something I need to finish and which must be done. A performance where I have said yes to or something else. Then I begin to think about how it should look. Then I sketch a little... and then I sketch a little more."

For many years QMII has been involved when Susanne Heering's ballet school had their prom night.
"It started with me getting hold of some carnival-hats, which you can buy and which you can also use at New Year. So what if you took them apart, then it might be that this could be made. So I started by copying them in the colors I would use myself and figured out that you could make all sorts of things based on these templates. So one thing took the other. The templates became sheep and wolves, birds and all sort of strange things."

She hopes for the audience to go home after the visit, with a wish to create something themselves.
"I hope You (plural formal) will have funny experience and perhaps would see that one need not be afraid of making things yourself. That's why we have made some sheets which children can shape themselves.
There are two heads for which I have made the foundation. A small dachshund and a little bird. It might be that you get bitten by the bug and will do it yourself the next time you dress for carnival. It's not that terribly difficult."

Her job as Queen also involves some creativity.
"In a way it doesn't get worse that you perhaps use a little bit of creativity when are to do something. It is a part of it and it helps."

QMII herself is a storyteller extraordinaire!
"Isn't it always nice to hear a good story? No matter from where it comes or when you are from yourself. I think fairy tales are timeless and especially when they start with: Once upon a time..."

QMII ends by encouraging people to play some more:
"I think people play more than you think. Perhaps more than they care to admit!"

Scans from the article for good measure:
https://app.box.com/s/jsitf4t720n4d1i4jhj3qdl3w60wrhzs
https://app.box.com/s/mrklonc9iwh5cm098x2s594sd94te0ln
https://app.box.com/s/uh9wp20w534fqcitst0wczjw02tn45lf
https://app.box.com/s/niizojhtbww57d7eo78lmvq4yddhlvag
(*) Is that what you call a dude who sweeps chimneys?

[iceflower]

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Queen Margrethe received the Prime Minster of Vietnam, the President of South Korea and the President of Ethiopia for audiences today, October 20:



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