Indeed, Queen Mary is very much still considered the foremost ambassador for Australia in DK, even though we very much consider her one of us.
It is of course also the old idea of the DRF always marrying foreigners, forging ties between countries. Nice to see that it can work today as well.
King Frederik and Queen Mary has been universally praised in the DK press for their conduct and regal behavior as well as focusing so much on the DK minority in Germany. King Frederik in particular has been praised for speaking German. As the traders of second-hand horses we Danes basically are as a people, we know perfectly well what difference such a little detail matters in regards to PR and ultimately trade and commerce. Every little trick to get ahead of the competition matters.
Such praise is not common here! Usually segments of the press and experts can always find something, however trivial, to criticize - and that is probably a good thing, overall, it keeps the DRF on their toes.
King Frederik does indeed speak fluent German. I don't know to what level though. But certainly enough to have at least a not to advanced conversation. But his generation was taught German at school and basically being bi-lingual, perhaps rather tri-lingual if you count English, would certainly have helped.
Apart from Danish, English, French and German it is almost certain that he would know some Swedish, Norwegian and Greenlandic as well. Perhaps even some Russian, because he did study and teach about the security situation in the Baltic countries back in the 90s.
So from a Danish perspective this visit has been a success.
It may not have been headline in Germany, at all, but one drop at a time and eventually you end up with a full bucket.
