Danish Royal Family Christmas: 2003, 2004, 2006-2014, 2016-2023


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
This series of videos is so beautifully done! It's nice to see the kids be able to live a relatively normal life, although Christian's world will change after he turns 18 next year.
 
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I also really enjoyed the series of videos that the royal household shared.
 
The calendar this year is so much better and more enjoyable. The bts of various departments or the DRF is nice to see. Also seeing all members involved is lovely. Having it be a mix of photos, archival material and videos is much more engaging. It creates anticipation for what comes next. IMO this had M&Fs influence written all over it. Thank goodness.
 
Today 16 December:

"Siblings out for a stroll in a Christmas-decorated Copenhagen.

As the darkness fell and the Christmas lights were switched on in the capital, TRH Prince Christian and Princess Isabella took a walk and filmed each other along the way."


https://www.instagram.com/p/CmN74HqjVJz/

One of the advantages with living at Amalienborg is that they are within walking distance of anything interesting.
I doubt few if any noticed them. Young people filming each other is hardly a novel sight in DK or anywhere else for that matter.
 
Eml

This series of videos is so beautifully done! It's nice to see the kids be able to live a relatively normal life, although Christian's world will change after he turns 18 next year.

What a joy that they were able to do this. Well done, let’s hope they manage the same when they visit Australia shortly. Happy Christmas!
 
I have also enjoyed the calendar this year, previous years too. The DRF does a great job for Christmas. Cute video of Christian and Isabella. That the teenage siblings can go out and about, and have some input in a calendar entry is great.
 
Today 14 December:

"Only imagination sets the boundaries when HH Princess Athena builds her peppercake house.

The house is now decorated for Christmas at home in Paris – until it gets eaten!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmIzX9Yj1H4/

How long does she have before she isn't a princess anymore? I know it's soon but I haven't been following it too closely.
 
How long does she have before she isn't a princess anymore? I know it's soon but I haven't been following it too closely.

Sadly, as of January 1, 2023 she (and her siblings) are demoted (for no good reason). :sad:
 
Sadly, as of January 1, 2023 she (and her siblings) are demoted (for no good reason). :sad:

I believe there is a good reason, we (the public) just don't know what's truly going on behind the closed door since we've heard only one side of the story. And we shouldn't know their family issues as it's none of our business.
But this is discussion for another topic.

Check out the royal family instagram, it features Christian and Isabella!
 
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Here is the English version of the announcement, which provides reasons for the change (more or less the same reasons cited by the majority of other European monarchies for slimming down). Of course, readers are entitled to come to their own conclusions about whether the reasons are good ones, or to speculate about private reasons not disclosed in the press release.

https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/news/changes-in-titles-and-forms-of-address-in-the-royal-family
 
I believe there is a good reason, we (the public) just don't know what's truly going on behind the closed door since we've heard only one side of the story. And we shouldn't know their family issues as it's none of our business.
But this is discussion for another topic.

Check out the royal family instagram, it features Christian and Isabella!

I saw that! Lovely video of brother and sister taking in the holiday sights.
 
Today 17 December:

"Located in the Guard Stable, a converted horse stable from 1842 behind Christian IX's Palace at Amalienborg and The Yellow Palace, are the Cabinet Secretariat and the Chapter of the Royal Orders of Chivalry, from where The Royal House of Denmark's constitutional duties are attended to.

But it's also here where both the elephants for the kingdom's finest order of chivalry are managed and where the royal orders and medals are packed and distributed. At the same time, it's also where coats of arms are created.

The Cabinet Secretariat is led by the Cabinet Secretary, who advises Her Majesty The Queen in carrying out the duty as Denmark's head of state and functions as the link between the Government and The Royal House of Denmark. Therefore, the Cabinet Secretariat has been especially busy in recent days in connection with the formation of the government.

The Chapter of the Orders handles the daily administration of the Danish system of orders and decorations, which includes the two orders of chivalry – The Order of the Elephant and The Order of Dannebrog – as well as the two royal medals – the medal of merit and medal of reward. Among those working in Chapter of the Orders are the Order’s historiographer and the royal armorist, whom we also meet in this video."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmQfVbWjodN/
 
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Is there a difference in school holidays between the school of Christian and the younger children or is this a way to ensure that they don't travel together (although some might think that Christian should travel with Mary in that case)? There aren't any events scheduled for Frederik in the Kongehuset-calendar.
 
Is there a difference in school holidays between the school of Christian and the younger children or is this a way to ensure that they don't travel together (although some might think that Christian should travel with Mary in that case)? There aren't any events scheduled for Frederik in the Kongehuset-calendar.

No, not really. They follow the same vacation plan.
It's more likely that it was easier for Christian's younger siblings to miss the last week of school up to Christmas. Basic school (which is what we in DK call the grades 0-9) being less demanding than high school, that Christian is attending.
Apart from that I think Frederik would very much like to be present when the new government took over. (See audiences). He has after all worked with most of the senior ministers of the new government and he can expect to work with them over the next term.
It is of course bending the unwritten travel rules a little in regards to Frederik and Christian flying together, but Isabella isn't so the succession is secure in case of a tragedy.

There are AFAIK no fixed rules for DRF members traveling. It however been a custom for many years that those in the Line of Succession try and avoid traveling together on planes.
But flying is now so much more safe than it was back when this custom started. Even as late as the 1970s planes were crashing all over the place, but today there are orders of magnitudes more planes in the air and much fewer crashes.
The same thing used to apply to ships. With fewer and less reliable means of communication and next to no reliable weather forecasts sailing could be a real hazard. Not least after WWI and WWII when it also happened that ships struck mines.

There are stories enough in contemporary Danish traffic history to introduce the custom of traveling separately when possible.

You may recall that the Swedish crown prince was killed at an plane crash in Copenhagen Airport and a few years later a hyper-modern and ostensibly very safe ship, Hans Hedtoft, especially designed for rough weather in the Arctic, vanished on her maiden voyage off Greenland.
Around that time a ferry struck a mine in Danish waters.

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

ADDED.

According to the article Mary and the youngest left last Friday, so they must have arrived in Australia sometime during last weekend. Slipping under the radar, because I have noticed no news from Australia about their arrival.
 
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Is there a difference in school holidays between the school of Christian and the younger children or is this a way to ensure that they don't travel together (although some might think that Christian should travel with Mary in that case)? There aren't any events scheduled for Frederik in the Kongehuset-calendar.

Frederik was with the Queen on Thursday welcoming the new government and old government for audiences.
I'm think Christian being older had more things to do at school that he couldn't sneak out.

If true of course that Mary and the 3 younger kids had already left. Wishing the whole family a great time in Australia.
 
Unless things have changed majorly since I went to upper secondary school, I'm fairly certain Christian has a significant assignment due in the coming days: the "studieretningsopgave" or SRO. It's a multidisciplinary paper of his A-level subjects and a preparation for the biggest written assignment in the Danish upper secondary school – the "studieretningsprojekt" or SRP – which he will be working on this time next year.

There's a large assignment in Isabella's 9th grade as well but to the best of my recollection, that's usually scheduled for spring which explains why she is able to go before school is out for the year.
 
Thanks for your explanations. I fully agree that Isabella (and her younger siblings) not flying with Frederik and Christian is most likely while it is considered acceptable for them to fly together. And while airplane crashes are less and less common, it did impact the Brazilian succession only a little over 10 years ago when prince Pedro Luiz who was the heir in his generation passed away when his plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.
 
Well, It made me very nervous to find out that the second and third in line are flying together. Safe journey to all of them.

PS: According to the article, the CP family will return before New Year's Eve, so maybe QMII won't be spending all of the holidays without at least one child and grandkids by her side. Or perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part.
 
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I’m rather surprised that Christian didn’t travel with Mary and Isabella with her father. Or, at least, Christian flying solo. I still can imagine QMIi allowing Frederick and Christian on the same flight.
 
Today 18 December:

"The fourth candle in The Royal House of Denmark’s Advent wreath is lit by HM The Queen.

The custom of having a wreath with decoration and four candles symbolizing the four Sundays in Advent is originally a German tradition. It is said that The Queen’s paternal grandmother, Queen Alexandrine, who was married to Christian X, helped to introduce the tradition of Advent wreaths in Denmark.

Queen Alexandrine is believed to have known the custom from her north German childhood and youth in the town Schwerin in northern Germany. Around 1940, a weekly newspaper published a report about the royal family’s Christmas activities with pictures of Queen Alexandrine’s Advent wreath. It thus became known that Queen Alexandrine had introduced the Advent wreath as a part of the family’s celebration of the Advent and Christmas season. The custom spread to Danish homes, and, in 1946, the Advent wreath motif was on the year’s Christmas seal."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmTFm75jRn2/
 
:previous: It sure has caught on here!

There is hardly a home with a family, and few where only one is living that hasn't got an advent wreath or at least a Christmas decoration with a candle.
We are still obsessed with candles here! Although - and fortunately - LED lights are now very much incorporated in homemade Christmas decorations here.

The custom with advent wreaths and table Christmas decorations have very much spread to Muslim homes as well, the reason being very simple: They are decorative and the children often bring a homemade decoration back from school or which they have made in after-school.
And as you know things made by your children must be displayed. (Says so in Guidebook for Parents, page 3.)

The decorations can go from pretty simple:
https://interflora.dk/sites/default...format=webp&auto=avif&fit=cover&quality=65 2x
To quite elaborate:
https://images.interactives.dk/1245...&ch=Width,DPR&dpr=2.63&ixjsv=2.2.4&q=38&w=430
https://dec5d6x1eivq1.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/xsbdstxoszbpvlst2d-cwsjgbck-1024x1024.jpg
https://drupaller-prod.imgix.net/ma...ning_inspiration_tips.jpg?ixlib=imgixjs-3.4.0

And it is so ridiculously easy to make one yourself that even I can figure out to make something decent.
https://dalsgaardiskivholme.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/billede311.jpg

You only need a plate. Paper-plates will also do fine. Two-or three to create a firm base.
Some clay.
Candles or a candle.
Whatever stuff you find outside or in the nearest wood.
A glue-gun.
Some wire.
And if you wish, whatever stuff you can find in your drawers.
https://sommerhusdromme.dk/i-haven/julevaerksted/juledekoration-saadan-goer-du/

Don't forget the outside. ;)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8PQFRJWv...FISfsXAvbOtf-0kE3D4pxAgV3RwCLcB/s1600/003.JPG
 
Today 19 December:

"December is a special month for Her Majesty The Queen’s table setter, who uses the Christmas month to prepare for the New Year’s banquet, which takes place every year on 1 January. These preparations have probably been made by the table setter in December every year for more than 400 years.

The table setter, who in everyday life manages the Silver Room, is responsible for handling, maintaining and keeping track of the inventory of the collection’s many effects, such as The Royal House of Denmark’s 800 silver plates with the Danish Coat of Arms, Christian the 7th’s soup tureens and the collection of Frederik IV’s glasses. The royal service and cutlery are carefully chosen depending on the occasion, and the table setter normally makes preparations several months in advance – when there’s time between the daily laying of tables at the residence palaces.

The current title “table setter” was instituted in 1858, and, up until then, it was the so-called “sølvpop” (“the keeper of the silver plate”) who was responsible for the Court’s collection of gold- and silverware as well as porcelain. The sølvpop also had a predecessor, namely The King’s “skænk” (“sideboard”), who was in charge of setting tables for Renaissance dinner parties and, at the same time, was present to pour (“skænke”) wine and beer during the meal. From accounts dating back to the Middle Ages, you can also read about the “mundskænk” (“taster”), who, in fact, tasted the sovereign’s food before it was served. "

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmVrIC0jTwP/
 
The least the Daily Fail could do is get their titles correct...but what can you expect from them.
 
Prince Christian does not appear in these photos. Is he still in Denmark?
 
In the video of Queen Margrethe II lighting the four Advent candles, there was a picture of the dog resting comfortably on the couch. What is his/her name?
 
The least the Daily Fail could do is get their titles correct...but what can you expect from them.

And getting Frederik's name right. Especially as it is spelled correctly in the obviously copy-pasted text inserted in the article.
- It's sloppy. A late editor-in-chief here in DK pestered his journalists to get the grammar, spelling, names etc right. Because credible journalism is in the details. If you don't get details like a name right, what else is wrong?

I have rarely seen photos being reused that many times in one article.

Anyway, I notice Josephine has eye-contact with the photographer and that Frederik waves, so at least the photographer stood out in the open.
 
And getting Frederik's name right. Especially as it is spelled correctly in the obviously copy-pasted text inserted in the article.
- It's sloppy. A late editor-in-chief here in DK pestered his journalists to get the grammar, spelling, names etc right. Because credible journalism is in the details. If you don't get details like a name right, what else is wrong?

I have rarely seen photos being reused that many times in one article.

Anyway, I notice Josephine has eye-contact with the photographer and that Frederik waves, so at least the photographer stood out in the open.

The Daily Fail is not known for its accuracy, integrity or ethical practices....unless you have some sort of agreement with them. And we all know that the BM don't consider any other royals as real royals anyway. So to them who cares if they get things right....The British Media, especially the Royal Rota, don't rank high on journalistic integrity.

But anyway, they all look great! I wonder if Christian has not flown down yet?
 
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The Daily Fail is not known for it's accuracy, integrity or ethical practices....unless you have some sort of agreement with them. And we all know that the BM don't consider any other royals as real royals anyway. So to them who cares if they get things right....The British Media, especially the Royal Rota, don't rank high on journalistic integrity.

But anyway, they all look great! I wonder if Christian has not flown down yet?

That, unfortunately, is true.

Here and in other Continental European countries foreign correspondents are expected to be well versed in the royal families of the monarchies they are stationed in. In the UK press even the royal reporters are often woefully ignorant about senior royals from other countries and that ought be considered basic knowledge for any royal reporter.

I think Christian is around. But a teenage guy, trotting the streets with his parents? Shopping? - Nah.
Not when there is a nightlife, probably relatives and their friends of his age he can hang out with and a beach nearby. And no one knows him, so he can let his guard down a little.
Oh, he's around alright. And having a great time I trust.
 
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