Dutch State Visit to Denmark, Day Two

The second day of the Dutch-Danish state visit was focused on the island of Samsø, which King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima travelled to via ferry accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary.

A welcoming ceremony took place in the Anton Rosen Square with the Mayor of Samsø, Marcel Meijer, telling the two couples about the island’s renewable energy scheme (Samsø receives 100% of its energy from wind power). Mr Meijer is actually a Dutchman, he moved to Denmark over twenty years ago to take advantage of the land available for farming. A rendition of ‘You Are My Sunshine’ was performed by a choir for the visitors before they headed off to the Samsø Boarding School.

The staff and students of the school gave the Dutch and Danish couples a tour of the facilities, where students spend a great deal of their time learning about energy and green solutions. King Willem-Alexander and Crown Prince Frederik were allowed to take the controls in the school’s flight simulator. The next stop on the whirlwind visit to Samsø was a visit to Ballen/Brundby, a company which provides heating to almost 300 homes on the island through heating hay bales to create power. It was then on to the Samsø Energy Academy for a roundtable discussion on sustainability and the growth of green energy.

For the second day, grey and tan were the colours of choice for Queen Maxima and Crown Princess Mary. The Queen donned a tan coat dress with leopard print heels and a brown hat, while the Crown Princess wore a grey cape over a black dress paired with beige boots and a hat in a similar style to Maxima’s.

Before returning to Copenhagen, the four royals had lunch at the Walthers Hvile restaurant with members of the Dutch business delegation, where they dined on a number of local delicacies. On the ferry trip back, a quick photo session took place on the vessel’s rear deck, although Maxima and Mary may have been a little regretful of their headgear choices when they were caught in a gust of wind!

In the evening, the Dutch King and Queen hosted a return dinner performance at the Black Diamond. Orange and black were the colours of the evening, with both Queens wearing the namesake colour of the Dutch monarchy. Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie both wore black evening gowns.

Filed under Denmark, The Netherlands
Tagged Climate Change, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Education, Environment, Fashion, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Margrethe II of Denmark, Prince Henrik the Prince Consort, Prince Joachim of Denmark, Princess Marie of Denmark, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, State Visit.