Dutch State Visit to Denmark, Day One

The King and Queen of the Netherlands have begun their state visit to Denmark, arriving in Copenhagen this morning.

They were welcomed at the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal of Copenhagen Airport by the entire Danish Royal Family: Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, the Crown Prince Couple, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, and Princess Benedikte with her husband Prince Richard. Warm hugs and big smiles were exchanged by the group, the two monarchs inspected a guard of honour and then they headed off to Fredensborg Palace for the official welcoming ceremony.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima had lunch with the Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, at Christiansborg after an audience.

In the afternoon, the couple met up again with Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary for a visit to Aalborg University’s Copenhagen campus, where they participated in the roundtable seminar ‘Sustainability of the Quality of our Societies’. The Queen and the Crown Princess were presented with bouquets of flowers by a group of Dutch tourists waiting outside the building, who had attached photos of themselves with each royal on previous occasions to the flowers.

Day one of the visit ended with a gala banquet at Christiansborg Palace hosted by Queen Margrethe. The royal delegation greeted the guests personally before the dinner. Among the attendees were members of the Danish parliament and Dutch delegation (including Foreign Minister Bert Koenders), Danish footballers Frank Arnesen and Søren Lerby (both who have played in the Netherlands) and actors from the television series Borgen.

Guests feasted on a four-course meal of feuilleté filled with scallop and lobster, venison served with potatoes, glazed onions and ‘wild’ sauce, roquefort tart with radish and celery, and gooseberry cake.

Both Queen Margrethe and King Willem-Alexander delivered speeches, with the King confirming he and Queen Maxima would be returning to Denmark next month for the 75th birthday celebrations of Queen Margrethe.

Queen Margrethe on her part praised the way her godson had prepared for his role and taken up his duties as monarch. She also spoke of the strong relationship between the two countries that has lasted centuries, and how Dutch culture has influenced Danish culture in many ways.

The royal ladies brought their jewels out of the vaults for the gala. Queen Maxima recycled her blue Jan Taminiau gown from the inauguration in 2013, sans matching cape, and a larger version of the Mellerio Sapphire Tiara. Queen Margrethe wore a new ice blue evening gown in one of her standard silhouettes with the Pearl Poiré Tiara. Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie both repeated gowns from New Years Courts (this year for Mary, 2014 for Marie), paired with their respective wedding tiaras. And Princess Benedikte wore a lavender gown with floral embroidery and the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe Tiara.

There was also plenty of order giving between the two monarchs: Queen Margrethe II bestowed both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with the Order of the Elephant, while the King surprisingly gave the Order of the Netherlands Lion to the Crown Prince Couple (a step up from the order foreign heirs typically receive). Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard were all awarded the House Order of the Crown.

Tomorrow, the visiting King and Queen will head to the island of Samsø with the Crown Prince Couple.

Filed under Denmark, The Netherlands
Tagged Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Fashion, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Margrethe II of Denmark, Order of the Elephant, Order of the House of Orange-Nassau, Order of the Netherlands Lion, Orders, Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Richard Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, State Visit, Tiaras.

One Response to Dutch State Visit to Denmark, Day One

1. Pingback: Gala Banquet for Queen Margrethe's 75th Birthday | The Royal Forums