Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's State Visit to Japan: November 15-22, 2004

[pdas1201]

November 15, 2004--NARITA, JAPAN: Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark arrive at New Tokyo International Airport. They are in Japan until November 22. JUNKO KIMORA/GETTY IMAGES.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

So Margrethe will stay in Japan until 22/11?So long!

 

[Mandy]

Dronning Margrethe ankommer til den danske ambassade i Tokyo og modtages af ambassadør Poul Hoiness og ambassadørfruen Annette Hoiness.
Foto: Scanpix
From www.tv2.dk

 

[Mandy]

From www.bt.dk Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik in Japan.
Pictures by Getty/Alloverpress

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Very nice pictures.Did Margrethe meet The Emperor and Empress yet?Did they attend the State Banquet?Hope we can have pics of Princess Masako!

Margrethe has just begun her State Visit!There are some pics of the Welcome Ceremony from Getty Images incxlude:Emperor,Empress,Japanese Prime Minister.But Margrethe is really tall!Her height is more than Emperor a lot!She looks like his mother or sister in these pics! And looks has more Majestic than Emperor Akihito!

 

[karolinabraganza]

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51750567.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DEA53A95B58FB16D35E081334DA4AC00100AC7DB71DE363EC8
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51750566.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DEA53A95B58FB16D35E081334DA4AC001009DD16EB454C5404
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51750565.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DEA53A95B58FB16D35E081334DA4AC0010F7E239D882C4777E
the gala

 

[MarieLouise]

Thank you for posting those Karolinabraganza.

What a great dress. Has she worn that before? I can't seem to remember it.

 

[Mandy]

Thanks for the pictures everyone. Queen Margrethe looks elegant and regal as always.

 

[Mandy]

November 16, 2004 - Scanpix and TV2 picture series of Queen Margrethe.
www.tv2.dk

 

[Mandy]

November 16, 2004 - At the Royal Palace. Part 1

Pictures form www.bt.dk (APF, Bjarke Ørsted, Getty/Alloverpress and Reuters)

 

[Mandy]

November 16, 2004 - At the Royal Palace. Part 2

Pictures form www.bt.dk (APF, Bjarke Ørsted, Getty/Alloverpress and Reuters)

 

[Mandy]

November, 16, 2004. Tokyo, Japan. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Royal Palace in Tokyo at the gala dinner for Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik.

Photo: Klaus Moeller www.colourpress.com

 

[pdas1201]

Beautiful pics...everyone!!!

Queen Margrethe is looking truly regal, just like a queen should look. Actually, she always looks like that

 

[Mandy]

November 16, 2004 - Royal Palace Dinner. Scanpix picture series from www.tv2.dk

 

[Mandy]

TOKYO - NOVEMBER 17: Takeo Fukui, president of Honda, shows Queen Margrethe II of Denmark cars and motorcycles in the showroom of the company's headquarters November 17, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. H.M. Queen Margrethe and H.R.H. Prince Henrik are in Japan until November 22. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

TOKYO - NOVEMBER 17: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark shakes hands with Honda's robot Asimo as Takeo Fukui, president of Honda (L), looks on at the showroom in the company's headquarters November 17, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. H.M. Queen Margrethe and H.R.H. Prince Henrik are in Japan until November 22. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty

TOKYO - NOVEMBER 17: Honda's robot Asimo leads Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (C) and Takeo Fukui, president of Honda (R), at the showroom in the company's headquarters November 17, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. H.M. Queen Margrethe and H.R.H. Prince Henrik are in Japan until November 22. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

 

[pdas1201]

Gosh, that is so cute, the robot gave Queen Margrethe flowers and shook hands with her....go robot....

I read that the humanoid robot called Asimo walked, stood on one leg and kicked a ball before the Danish queen....WoW, I am impressed...

 

[pdas1201]

Queen Margrethe's Speech at the State Banquet in the Imperial Palace, Tokyo.

Your Majesties,
The Prince Consort and I thank you for the warm words and good wishes which Your Majesty has just addressed to us and to our country.

Both of us have so many good memories of our previous visits to Japan and of the hospitality which Your Majesties have extended to us and to our family. We also recall with pleasure the number of visits which Your Majesties and the Imperial Family have paid to us in Denmark, most recently when His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito attended our elder son's wedding in May. Therefore, we have been looking forward to this State Visit, and the cordial welcome we have received has made a deep impression on us.

The ties between Denmark and Japan are characterized by an increasing diversity. The ties have grown strong, especially during the last half-century, and in each of our countries familiarity with the other country and its culture is steadily increasing. Our cultures are indeed different, but the mutual fascination is so much the greater.

No Dane is so well known in Japan as Hans Christian Andersen, and it may be said without exaggeration that, outside Denmark, there is no country where his fairytales are more widely read and cherished than here in Japan. That Hans Christian Andersen on the other hand was conscious of Japan appears from the fairytale "The Nightingale", where the author makes the Emperor of China state that he has read about the nightingale and its beautiful song in a book, which "was sent to me by the high and mighty Emperor of Japan, and so it cannot be untrue". The point of the bird being Nature's own singer calls attention to something that I believe to be typical of Japanese culture. It is evident to this very day on the larger as well as the smaller scale: In the fascination with nature in all its grandeur as in the dedication to detail; in the swift and masterly strokes of the ink brush on paper as in the universe encompassed by three flowers and an exquisite vase.

Both Japan and Denmark set great store by simplicity and elegance. In Denmark, Japan is well known for its impressive contributions in the fields of handicraft and applied art, design and architecture. In these areas there is much mutual inspiration and exchange between our two countries. As an example, I am happy to mention the Royal Copenhagen exhibition, which includes a series of early 20th century works produced in the "Japonesque" style. It affords me much pleasure that it has been possible to show this exhibition at the Imperial Museum here in Tokyo. We are also looking forward to presenting examples of modern Danish applied art and design as well as other elements of Danish culture to a Japanese audience during this State Visit.

Denmark attaches great importance to our trade relations of many years. Next to the USA, Japan is the most important overseas trading partner for Denmark. Economic and commercial relations are developing continuously, and new areas such as high technology, protection of the environment, and energy present a constant succession of new challenges which will also involve science and research. I am convinced that the years ahead will offer further prospects of fruitful cooperation. In connection with this State Visit, a comprehensive Danish industrial campaign has been organized, which includes a number of prominent representatives of Danish business life. It is my hope that Danish and Japanese business executives will find inspiration in the events taking place, and will make use of the contacts established here, for the benefit of both our countries.

In a wider, international context, the relations between Denmark and Japan are likewise undergoing change. The increasingly active role assumed by Japan has revealed new areas where our views coincide and where it, therefore, has been natural for our countries to cooperate. In particular this is the case within the framework of the United Nations, and in Denmark we welcome that the relations between our countries are now to include the Security Council, to which both Japan and Denmark have just been elected members.

Your Majesties,
No one who like the Prince Consort or myself has had the experience of attending the Imperial Enthronement will ever forget the impression of ancient culture which we witnessed on that occasion. So much more impressive as we know that behind the splendid costumes and grand ceremonies are two highly gifted and warm-hearted personalities. Throughout the years, Your Majesties have lived for and with your country and your people, not only out of a sense of duty, but with all your hearts; at the same time, however, Your Majesty has succeeded in remaining involved in the research which caught Your Majesty's interest at an early age; similarly, Her Majesty Empress Michiko has given much pleasure to adults as well as children through her beautiful poetry and charming stories - an artistic activity which is well known also outside Japan.

In the hope that the warm and enduring relations between Japan and Denmark will prosper and develop, and wishing Your Majesties and the Imperial Family as well as Japan and the Japanese people happiness and prosperity, I raise my glass together with the Prince Consort to propose a toast to Their Majesties The Emperor and The Empress of Japan.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Yes very nice pics of Margrethe on day 2 in Japan.She looks very Majestic on these pics!

 

[pdas1201]

Can anybody post the video of Queen Margrethe at the Honda Showroom, when she got the flowers from the robot??? I read on another board that the robot spoke to her as well and it was hilarious...

 

[pdas1201]

November 17, 2004: The Japanese royal family arrive at the Akasaka State Guesthouse for a return banquet hosted by Queen Margrethe in Tokyo, Japan. Quee is in Japa for a five day state visit, plus a three day personal holiday in Okinawa. AFP PHOTO/POOL/Erika Sugita

7) Princess Sayako

8) Crown Prince Naruhito

 

[pdas1201]

some more pics....

 

[pdas1201]

1) Queen Margrethe II of Denmark poses for photographers with, from L to R, TV personality Yu Hayami, actress Maiko Kawakami, flower artist Shogo Kariyazaki, actress Hisako Manda, Mr Hans Kristian Hojsgaard, CEO of Georg Jensen, Mr Elliott, director of the Mori Museum and Mr Yuji Okitsu, president Georg Jensen Japan, at the Roppongi Hills Mori builbing, in Tokyo.

2) Queen Margrethe II of Denmark poses for photographers with, from left to right, Mr Yuji Okitsu, president Georg Jensen Japan, Ms Amanda Warthaw, spouse of the CEO of Georg Jensen, Mr Elliott, director of the Mori Museum, Mr Hans Kristian Hojsgaard, CEO of Georg Jensen, Ms Mori, spouse of the Mori Building Company and Ms Alice Helleland, director of the Danish National Museum, at the entrance of the Georg Jensen exhibition, in Tokyo.

3-4) Queen Margrethe II of Denmark congratulates winners of the "Novo Nordisk art contest for Children", in Tokyo.

5) Nine Japanese Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors appointed in the presence of HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark at Hans Christian Andersen 2005 press launch in Tokyo. From the left: Designer, Mr. Jun Ashida, actor, Mr. Musumi Okada, singer, Sachiko Yasoda, singer, Saori Yuki, HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Director of Andersen Bakeries, Seiichi Takaki, tennisplayer, Shuzo Matsouka, entertainer, Matthew G. Minami and singer, Ryoko Tsunoda

 

[hillary_nugent]

Queen Margrethe is one jolly queen isn't she? ^__^

 

[Lyonnaise]

MAEBASHI, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 18: (L-R) Emperor Akihito, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark and Empress Michiko watch local people peforming Japanese dance at Gunma prefectural office on November 18, 2004 in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. They are on a day trip to Gunma with the the Japanese Emperor and Empress.

 

[Lyonnaise]

MAEBASHI, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 18: Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark (L) and Queen Margrethe II arrive at Maebashi station on November 18, 2004 in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. They are on a day trip to Gunma with the the Japanese Emperor and Empress.

 

[Lyonnaise]

more photos from Polfoto...

 

[Lyonnaise]

even more from today..

 

[pdas1201]

more from colourpress....

thought I'd just add the last one for fun, cute cat...

 

[pdas1201]

November 19, 2004: Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik bid farewell to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Akasaka Palace State Guesthouse in Tokyo. The Danish royal couple were in Japan to help kick off celebrations marking next year's bicentennial of the birth of Han Christian Andersen.

The Queen and the Prince Consort will now embark on a three day personal holiday to Okinawa, Japan. Thanks to some persistent photographers, we'll the get pics, yippeee..

 

[lynn]

Loved her gown from the first royal banquet--the gold one. I think she may have incorporated the flower design in her gown. Could it be a chrysanthemum?