Danish New Years Court for the Order of the Elephant

The first event of the 2010 Danish calender took place last night in Copenhagen, the annual New Year’s Court for members of the Order of the Elephant (Denmark’s highest honour), the Danish government and the Royal Court.

The members were received by HM Queen Margrethe II and HRH the Prince Consort at Christian VII’s Palace in Amalienborg, before a banquet took place attended also by TRH the Crown Prince and Princess, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie as they do each year. This year’s Court was the first for Lars Løkke Rasmussen as Prime Minister (he became the PM back in April), as well as the first for newly-elected Green Minister Lykke Friis (who wore a green dress).

What everyone was wearing is always a major talking point of the Court, and this year all three royal women brought out new dresses for the occasion – Queen Margrethe in fuschia, Princess Mary in burnt orange and Princess Marie in dusty pink. Each women accessorised with jewels from the royal vaults and furs. Another talking point, fashion-wise, was Prince Henrik’s ensemble, whose white-tie tuxedo took a break from his usual military uniform.

Two more Courts will be held in the coming days, on January 5th and January 6th, for various other guests. View the New Years Court thread here.

In other New Years news, Queen Margrethe’s annual New Years speech took place on December 31st, broadcast live across Denmark. The 69-year-old monarch, who turns 70 on April 16th, spoke largely about the recent COP15 Summit which was held in Copenhagen, as well as family milestones throughout 2009 – the birth of Prince Henrik in May, Princess Mary’s visit to troops in Afghanistan and the Prince Consort’s delight in showing his family his childhood home in Vietnam during their November State Visit to the nation. You can view the speech here, and read a transcript here.

Filed under Denmark
Tagged Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Margrethe II of Denmark, New Year's Court, Order of the Elephant, Orders, Prime Minister L.L. Rasmussen of Denmark, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark.

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