Queen Margrethe's 70th Birthday Celebrations: March-June 2010


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Beautifully put, Madame Royale. I like your description. :flowers:
 
Madame Royale said:
Not to derail the topic, but I find it most interesting that in the States this scuplture should be thought of as scandalous. It just strikes me as somewhat odd when the United Sates is the premier producer and consumer of sexually explicit material throughout the world. Conservative you say? When it suits...;):D

But certainly you cannot taint an entire nation with the same brush, as you have here proven...:)

Personally, I think it's an 'ok' sculpture. Not particularly to my liking as I'm not particularly fond of cast iron sculpturing (which is what it appears to be).
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Oh, make no mistake, the U.S. is a very puritanical country. You wouldn't know it based on what comes out of -- or happens in -- Hollywood, but as a society, Americans are relatively conservative, at least on sexual issues. I would guess that if a president were to give a sculpture like this to his wife -- and display it publicly -- he'd probably face threats of arrest for indecency, possibly even impeachment. (Heck, here in the Washington, D.C., area where I live, a man was recently arrested -- and convicted -- for being nude in his own home while making coffee at 7 in the morning. Some woman walking past his house -- almost 50 feet away from the street -- saw him through a window and found it lewd.)
 
That poor man! Perhaps a certain woman shouldn't have been looking in. It's disgraceful.

Thanks for your response, Kalnel :)

I think it safe to assume that this is the sort of gift only someone who knows you better than anyone else, would give. What better person than the love of your life.

And it's true that Europeans', particularly those in Scandinavia, are known to be more comfortable with sexuality, which imo, is a great thing. It's not something to shy away from. It is what it is and if displayed in a tasteful and natural manner, is perfectly acceptable.
 
Madame Royale said:
Not to derail the topic, but I find it most interesting that in the States this sculpture should be thought of as scandalous. It just strikes me as somewhat odd when the United Sates is the premier producer and consumer of sexually explicit material throughout the world. Conservative you say? When it suits...;)
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I completely agree with you. And what to say about our dear Prince Henrik but he is a real Frenchman, isn't he? :lol: The sculpture is not my cup of tea at all, but given Queen Margrethe and her husband's ages I can't help smiling and thinking how cute it is. :wub:
 
Gosh, I when I opened up the photo of the sculpture I wasn't expecting that! Two people kissing indeed - and the rest! It's very beautiful and like all good art (and Marmite) you will either love it or hate it (or more like somewhere in between!).

Clearly Prince Henrik is as much in love with his wife now as he was when they met and it shows a very string comfortable marriage.

The Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo is home to many amazing and beautifully crafted sculptures some of which make Prince Henrik's gift quite tame!
 
After I read Frederik's speech to his mother I was surprised when watching the video that there were no tears from him, his mother or Mary because it was a very moving speech straight from the heart. Knowing that he is not an eloquent speaker Mary must have been very proud of him so I can understand that she went to him after
and planted that smacker on him. Well done Frederik!....( and you too Mary, good smacker it was.)
 
kalnel said:
It's an interesting and beautiful sculpture, although I must admit that I was shocked at the overt eroticism of it for a publicly displayed gift for a head of state, even if it was from husband to wife.

How do Danes react to seeing this piece? I have a feeling that it would be considered pretty scandalous here in the United States, but I know Americans generally tend to be more conservative than Scandinavians about things like this.
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I don't believe anyone, or at least only a very few, would find it in any way scandalous here in DK and certainly not because it depicts nudity. It takes a decomposing pig in a glass cage or goldfish in a kitchen blender - and the fish actually being chopped up, for an outcry to be heard, or feces in tincans. Which were leaking so that the museum in question had to pay 200.000 DKK in compensation to the artist, because his..., well, yes his sh*t was wasted. Sometimes....!
Incidentally the rotting pigs carcass became a target for visiting school children and kindergardens so they could learn about and see how carcasses decompose.
If there is any critisism of this sculpture it'll more likely come from the cultural elite, who will wrinkle their noses at this "simple" and dare I say it "folksy" piece of art. :p Surely art shouldn't be readily understood by the cultural ignorants, the common riff-raff, you know. Perish the thought! :p
 
That sculpture is interesting, and it tells me something about the giver, and the recipient. The giver (Henrik,) still sees his wife The Queen as a woman in whole, with a girlish figure and face, and a robust taste for joy. And the recipient (Her Majesty The Queen,) displays this openly as her acceptance of their shared vision, as the two of them as young lovers co-existing within the Queen and her consort as they grow older together.

It ties with Frederik's speech as still seeing his mother as a joyful girl. It seems that her spell of happiness encompasses her whole family!

I am, however, glad to not be able to make out the expression on the uniformed guard's face. I don't want to know if he's laughing or crying, or trying to stick a fork in his eye to remove the vision of his dignified Queen potentially ever being in that position!
 
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Not Danish, but I agree with Muhler, I don’t see how this sculpture will cause any problems or criticism. I don’t see it as scandalous at all, not even remotely, and don’t believe it will be viewed as such in Scandinavia. I find it very sweet and beautiful, and don’t agree that it’s portraits something that is very erotic, or as something not acceptable to be seen by the overall public.
 
Madame Royale said:
That poor man! Perhaps a certain woman shouldn't have been looking in. It's disgraceful.

Thanks for your response, Kalnel :)

I think it safe to assume that this is the sort of gift only someone who knows you better than anyone else, would give. What better person than the love of your life.

And it's true that Europeans', particularly those in Scandinavia, are known to be more comfortable with sexuality, which imo, is a great thing. It's not something to shy away from. It is what it is and if displayed in a tasteful and natural manner, is perfectly acceptable.
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Yes, indeed. Personally, I thought he should have sued her for invasion of privacy. ;)

Muhler said:
I don't believe anyone, or at least only a very few, would find it in any way scandalous here in DK and certainly not because it depicts nudity. It takes a decomposing pig in a glass cage or goldfish in a kitchen blender - and the fish actually being chopped up, for an outcry to be heard, or feces in tincans. Which were leaking so that the museum in question had to pay 200.000 DKK in compensation to the artist, because his..., well, yes his sh*t was wasted. Sometimes....!
Incidentally the rotting pigs carcass became a target for visiting school children and kindergardens so they could learn about and see how carcasses decompose.
If there is any critisism of this sculpture it'll more likely come from the cultural elite, who will wrinkle their noses at this "simple" and dare I say it "folksy" piece of art. :p Surely art shouldn't be readily understood by the cultural ignorants, the common riff-raff, you know. Perish the thought! :p
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LOL -- Danish and American "cultural elite" must be on the same page, because they share the same attitude!

I'm sure you're right. I have no doubt that the Queen knows very well what is acceptable to Danes -- as a leader and as an artist -- so it would not be on display otherwise.

vestfoldlilja said:
Not Danish, but I agree with Muhler, I don’t see how this sculpture will cause any problems or criticism. I don’t see it as scandalous at all, not even remotely, and don’t believe it will be viewed as such in Scandinavia. I find it very sweet and beautiful, and don’t agree that it’s portraits something that is very erotic, or as something not acceptable to be seen by the overall public.
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It's interesting to hear the different cultural perspectives on this. I agree that it's a beautiful symbol of their love, and the fact that Henrik gave it to her tells volumes about their romantic relationship. (By comparison, when my mother turned 70 recently, my father gave her a new laser printer. If romance has a polar opposite, that's it!)
 
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Summary of a lot of articles in Billed Bladet #16, 2010.
Written by Annelise Weimann and Ulrik Ulriksen.

Unsurprisingly almost the entire issue is devoted to QMII’s birthday celebrations.

Royal Theatre:
During the intermission QMII and PH walked around on the corridors and greeted loads of people, who were served refreshments.

The Swedish Regent Couple managed to get to the theatre just in time. They had gone by car from Stockholm. The pretty hot Princess Madeleine stayed at home, according to reports because she wouldn’t have to show herself in DK with her fiancée at her side.
The Gran Duke couple from Luxemburg also managed to be present; they had hitched a ride with the Dutch royals, who went by train. They had incidentally just handed over their royal wagon to a museum, but due to a volcano, they had to phone the museum and ask if they could borrow the wagon.

Very tragically Carina Axelsson was informed that her brother-in-law (svoger) had been shot and killed just prior to entering the Royal Theatre. His stepfather (stedfar) shot him and committed suicide afterwards. Just as horrific, her sister and their children were present in the house when the murder was committed. Add to that the ash-cloud has prevented her from going to USA to join her sister.
Among those QMII met, was Cliff Richard, who had flown in from Barbados to sing.

Oh, I guess some of you would like to know about the dresses? No? Here’s some info anyway: QMII’s dress was by Birgitte Thaulow and her fur was a silver fox. Mary was seen wearing a dress by Jesper Høvring and golden sandals. La Marie, escorted correctly by her husband Joachim, wearing the gala uniform of the army, wore a dress by Rikke Gudnitz.

Gala evening at Christiansborg:
After the show QMII went behind stage to greet the artists who had performed. One of those she greeted was Jes Dorph-Pedersen from TV2, also known as Mr News, Mr. Isn’t-he-a-nice-man and Mr. Royal News, who along Cecilie Frøkjær hosted the show. Afterwards he met and exchanged these words with PH: “What a grand show”. JDP: “Thank you, you really think so”. Using the informal you. PH smiled: “I don’t think we have become “dus” yet”. (Dus = using informal you when speaking to each other). About 1.6 million viewers watched the show on TV.

And now for dresses: QMII was wearing a dress by Birgitte Thaulow and her hair was done by her usual hairdresser, Poul Nejlund. Mary wore a dress by Uffe Frank, her hair had been done by her usual hairdresser, Søren Hedegaard. La Marie’s dress was by Rikke Gudnitz and her hair had been done by her usual hairdresser, Dennis Knudsen.

Dinner at Fredensborg:
The CP couples from Norway, Sweden and Holland dropped by Mary and Frederik in Kancellihuset, where they had a chat and a drink, before deciding to stroll the few hundred meters to the main entrance to Fredensborg, over cobbled stones mind you! – To the utter delight of royal watchers and not least the royal photographers who had lined up at the entrance.
It was a bit chilly that evening, but the ladies, three of them dressed in “asymmetric dresses”, which I understand is high fashion right not, did not seem affected by that. The entire party chatted, laughed and goofed a little around among themselves. Prince Haakon had by then finally been able to join his wife, Mette-Marit.

Prince Henrik was really in a romantic mood, not only did he present QMII with a bronze sculpture, he also wrote a very poetic song, which he delivered to his wife after the cameras had been turned off. In French of course, the language of love. Ahh, sweet, eh? The refrain of each verse ended with the words: “My heart belongs to you”.

That apparently was the emotional highlight of the evening because not only did many of the guests have a tear or two in their eyes, so did QMII, Frederik and Joachim.
A note informs us that in total of 1.5 million viewers had turned on to watch Frederik’s speech to his mother and considering it was a Friday evening at that the total population of DK is 5.4 million, that’s not bad.
Unfortunately there wasn’t room for all 241 guests in the main hall of Fredensborg. A number of guests had to dine in adjacent rooms. They could however follow what happened in regards to speeches and so on, on screens.
Mary was placed at table 26, with Prince Carl Phillip, Prince Richard, Queen Silvia and Ellen Hillingsøe, to mention some of them. Frederik was seated at table 28, along with Princess Alexia, Crown Princess Maxima, Otto Reedtz-Thott and Lene Espersen. (*) La Marie sat at table 14, with PH’s nephew Guillaume Bardin, PH’s brother Etienne de Montpezat to mention some of them. A truly French table. Prince Joachim sitting at table 18 had Crown Princess Mette-Marit as his table partner.
At each seat a little present had been placed. That was a porcelain egg, with the silhouette of QMII in gold and the date: 16. April 2010.
Now, Henrik wasn’t the only one singing in praise of QMII. A number of her girlfriends had composed a song with no less than fourteen verses! (**)
After having enjoyed a cup of coffee, the guests went to the Garden Room or had a breath of fresh air, before it was time for dancing. The singer, Lene Siel entertained. (***) Dancing went on until 02.00, where the first guests left, but most stayed and at was near dawn when the last guests left.

One or two among you may have glanced at the dresses and the magazine informs us that QMII wore a dress by Birgitte Thaulow. Mary’s dress was recycled and worn for the first time in 2003. Marie’s dress was by Rikke Gudnitz.
While mom and dad were to party, Christian and Bella went to Cirkus Arli that was at Fredensborg at the same time and here they had a great time with their nanny and a friend of Christian.

All the guests who stayed at Fredensborg left during the morning and forenoon of Saturday.
Things got a little messed up at the noon changing of the guard at Amalienborg, where QMII and her family stepped out on the balcony. The square was packed! Around 50.000 were present. The relieving detachment from the Royal Lifeguard came marching along one of the streets towards Amalienborg, just as they had announced the day before. And the police had indeed cleared a very nice route for them – along a different street. So the detachment simply got caught in the middle of the spectators! A first for the regiment. They did manage to get through just before the DRF stepped out on the balcony at 12.00 sharp. That meant they had to skip the changing of the guard and do that later.
But as the commentators said: The detachment wasn’t stopped because of malice, but because of joy.

(*) Lene Espersen is Minister of Foreign affairs as well as head of the Conservative party and the second-in-command of the government. She is also and less flattering known as “the talking cleavage”. She has faced a good deal a criticism lately and she accomplished the astounding feat of becoming one of the least popular ministers of the government. Remarkable, as foreign ministers are almost invariable among the most popular ministers in any poll for many years.

(**) It’s very common with about a zillion homemade songs at festive occasions in DK and depending on your mood, your state of soberness and age, you can have very mixed emotions about that. In fact I look very much forward to my own sons confirmation and all the songs he will be subjected to. I shall very much enjoy his embarrassment - Payback for all the nights he kept us awake as a baby.

(***) Lene Siel is certainly not a bad singer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOBEEzy0VnQ Those of you who were forced to watch…. I mean enjoyed The Thorn birds in the last millennium may remember this song.
 
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Muhler said:
Very tragically Carina Axelsson was informed that her brother-in-law (svoger) had been shot and killed just prior to entering the Royal Theatre. His stepfather (stedfar) shot him and committed suicide afterwards. Just as horrific, her sister and their children were present in the house when the murder was committed. Add to that the ash-cloud has prevented her from going to USA to join her sister.
Among those QMII met, was Cliff Richard, who had flown in from Barbados to sing.
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Oh my god, ¡what an horrible news for her!
 
I was thinking the same thing!! The absolute most gorgeous she has ever looked. I was referring to MM
 
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kalnel said:
Oh, make no mistake, the U.S. is a very puritanical country. You wouldn't know it based on what comes out of -- or happens in -- Hollywood, but as a society, Americans are relatively conservative, at least on sexual issues. I would guess that if a president were to give a sculpture like this to his wife -- and display it publicly -- he'd probably face threats of arrest for indecency, possibly even impeachment. (Heck, here in the Washington, D.C., area where I live, a man was recently arrested -- and convicted -- for being nude in his own home while making coffee at 7 in the morning. Some woman walking past his house -- almost 50 feet away from the street -- saw him through a window and found it lewd.)
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Believe me, europeans know how "conservative" americans are about sexual issues - we watch it with amusement....
The story about the naked man in his own house is so sick! :bang: I´m so happy and relieved to be a an european when I read this!!!
 
wartenberg7 said:
Believe me, europeans know how "conservative" americans are about sexual issues ...I´m so happy and relieved to be a an european when I read this!!!
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Goodness, that's a sweeping generalization if ever there was one.
 
It might be best to drop the discussion about puritanican Americans and liberal Europeans and focus on the topic of the thread, which is the birthday of Queen Margrethe II. :flowers:
 
 
I'm curious about the singing tradition at Danish celebrations - are the songs actually sung? Did Henrik and Margrethe's friends actually sing to her, or did they just read lyrics they'd written? What a fun tradition!
 
Maura724 said:
I'm curious about the singing tradition at Danish celebrations - are the songs actually sung? Did Henrik and Margrethe's friends actually sing to her, or did they just read lyrics they'd written? What a fun tradition!
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They are definitely sung :p This song-writing tradition is still very much alive, for confirmations, anniversaries, weddings etc. Ususally you pick a tune and then make the lyrics yourself, more or less succesfully. I have made one for one of my daughter's confirmation to the magnificent tune of Pomp and Circumstance - saved by the music! ;)
 
CrownPrincess5 said:
What a nice speech by Frederik. No wonder why Mary ran to kiss and congratulate him.
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Couldn't agree more - but I thought Fred shouldn't have made that joking reaction - it was caught on camera and interpreted as a put-down. It was a long kiss, but you can take the girl out of Australia but you can't take the spontaneity out of the girl! Fred owes it to her to reciprocate at another formal function, on another day!
 
i agree with you his face was surprising for me inthis
 
Statue musings

After reading everyone's comments about and PH's gift to QMII in the form of the bronze statue, and its subsequent digression into a discussion/debate about the prudishness of Americans vs. Europeans, I might add my reaction seeing the picture of this statue.

The best way I can describe is to use a person who was a guest during the festivities as an analogy. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg was present for the theatre performance wearing the art deco tiara with the large emerald stone at its center and with a gown that I believe she has worn before or at least ones very similar. There was much discussion about tiaras and hair during these celebrations and on this occasion, the Grand Duchess chose to wear her hair down. She has again gained some weight - nowhere near her heaviest but certainly noticeably heavier - which has made her face fuller and rounder. Perhaps this is why I have the perception of her as, although a beautiful woman, less elegant. At other times, in similar dresses with similar weight and possibly with the same tiara, she has worn her hair up and seems more elegant.

My reaction to the statue is the same - a beautiful piece, very emotional, and completely appropriate as a gift from a husband to his long-time wife. But - at least in the pictures - it seems to lack elegance.

Perhaps for me it is a blatant representation of erotic love and passion, and I have a stronger appreciation for art which is more suggestive. In terms of sculpture, I have seen pieces which show only a male and female hand clasping which I find is equally passionate, emotional, and erotic - but without the "in-your-face" as it were aspect of PH's gift.

As an American I guess that might make some feel that I am prudish, and that may be true - I don't know. But I think it is more in terms of personal preference in eroticism, hence the following comparisons:

Playboy type photos vs. Hustler type photos
Corvette vs. Trans Am
Catherine Deneuve, Halle Berry, Jaclyn Smith, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Angela Bassett, Sandra Bullock, Melina Kanakaredes, et.al. vs. Paris Hilton, Tara Reid, Amy Winehouse, Pamela Anderson, any Kardashian, any reality tv star, 99% of female porn stars
Carrie Underwood vs. Madonna
Topless revue vs. pole dancer/stripper

Hope that explains my reaction to the sculpture. REMEMBER...this is MY reaction/filter/opinion. I am ONE American and don't presume to represent all, just as I am ONE fan of this forum and don't represent all members.

Right or wrong, appropriate or not, PH - for any faults he may or may not have - seems devoted to his wife. And although they have both aged very much in the last 40 years, when they are together, they seem younger...I think because of their love and devotion. I do know that of the current reigning generation of couples the Danish queen and her prince consort are the ones with whom I would most enjoy sharing a meal, and I wish them every happiness.

Rascal
 
Rascal said:
Right or wrong, appropriate or not, PH - for any faults he may or may not have - seems devoted to his wife. And although they have both aged very much in the last 40 years, when they are together, they seem younger...I think because of their love and devotion. I do know that of the current reigning generation of couples the Danish queen and her prince consort are the ones with whom I would most enjoy sharing a meal, and I wish them every happiness.
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This reminds me of a quote I read once, although I can't remember the source: "Young men should know that we do not cease to fall in love when we begin to grow old; rather, we begin to grow old when we cease to fall in love." :wub:
 
I just watched the TV2 video of Prince Frederik's speech. At part 8:43, or thereabouts, one can see Prince Henrik's dog walking on that black and white floor among the seated guests!
 
The Queen's birthday weekend seemed like a lot of fun. It must have great for her to have her sisters around since they're all living in different countries with busy schedules.
 
The statue is a beautiful present to QM, and I doubt very very much that President Obama would be arrested for presenting Michella with a similar gift. :flowers:
 
That is a great quote, Maura724! I think it captures perfectly the relationship of QMII and PH, at least from what we are able to see. It is not a quote I would use to describe any of the other currently reigning couples, even those who are some of recent histories greatest love stories. In fact, in looking at royal couples who are 50 years of age or older, the only ones that seem to have become younger around one another are the aforementioned Danish couple and the late Prince Bertil and his wife Princess Lilian of Sweden. I wonder how the relationships of the younger generation of current royals will develop over the next 20-30 years. For example, I never found the Prince of Orange necessarily attractive, but with Maxima, he seems confident, calm, and sometimes handsome...or the soon to be wed CP Victoria, who has been glowing since the announcement and seems more mature without seeming old.
 
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