Official Visit to Denmark from the UK, Day Three

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are currently in Denmark, the last stop on their Scandinavian Diamond Jubilee tour.

Yesterday, March 26th, began with a visit to Kastellet Citadel in Copenhagen, where the Prince of Wales and Crown Prince Frederik laid wreaths at the national memorial, which is located at the military base. Joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and Crown Princess Mary, they then viewed the Eternal Flame and the memorial wall, spending time reading the names of fallen Danish soldiers on the memorial wall.

A reception with Danish soldiers and their families then took place, giving the royals a chance to mingle with those most affected by deployments to the front line. The Duchess of Cornwall acknowledged the work of all soldiers currently on tour, saying “They’ve all done a fantastic job out there.” Prince Charles was interested in the “relationships between the British troops and the Danish army”, one officer told reporters. Danish and British troops often serve together in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

From the Citadel, Charles and Camilla travelled solo to Helsingør for a tour of the Old Town, and then a visit Kronborg Castle for a Hamlet workshop. A walking tour of the Old Town allowed the visitors to greet hundreds of locals who turned up, before they visited St Mary’s Church. The Prince and the Duchess got the chance to get some ice-cream from Brostræde Fløde-IS, Denmark’s oldest ice-cream store, before heading to Kronborg Castle.

The day concluded with a black-tie dinner at Christian VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg, hosted by Queen Margrethe II. The dinner was also attended by Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte. A dramatic entrance was made by Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl, a star of the television series The Killing, who gave elaborate curtseys to the royal party.

Each of the senior royal women repeated their evening gowns – the Duchess of Cornwall choose a cornflower blue gown worn previously on many occassions, Queen Margrethe wore a black and brown lace number (and the dreaded Golden Poppies), and Crown Princess Mary a strapless brown chiffon gown.

In what can only be seen as a coincidence, the fire brigade was called to Amalienborg during the dinner, as a service lift in the basement overheated and caught on fire. The official party was undisturbed and the fire was quickly extinguished. A similar incident occured the last time a member of the British Royal Family was dining at Amalienborg – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were at a private lunch with the Crown Prince Couple in November last year when a fire alarm went off.

Filed under Denmark, The United Kingdom
Tagged Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, Fashion, Margrethe II of Denmark, Military, Official Visit, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales.