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Frederik X of Denmark
"Mary and I couldn't have wished for a better start.
On the evening of December 31st, for the first time in his reign, the Sovereign gave his traditional New Year's address. For thirteen minutes, he looked back over the past twelve months, during which he had donned his royal robes. The following day, he and Queen Mary welcomed members of the government and officials to a banquet at Christian VII Palace in Amalienborg. BY MARION PRUDHOMME
Sitting at his desk, he puts on his glasses and grabs the notes laid out in front of him. "The New Year highlights the passage of time. When the clock strikes twelve, two years touch, and an end is transformed into a new beginning", he says to the camera. It's 6pm on December 31st, when King Frederik X of Denmark addresses the nation. After fifty-two years of reign by Queen Margrethe, it was now his turn to take part in an exercise followed by many of his fellow citizens. The sovereign chose to deliver his speech in the reception hall of Frederik VIII's palace in Amalienborg, his Copenhagen residence. In the background, black-and-white portraits of his four children. Decorated by Jesper Christiansen, the room's murals "emphasize Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland", as the Court puts it. Although we've all had a year to get used to it, I'm aware that some people may still be nervous about me. After all, can the New Year's speech be given by anyone other than Queen Margrethe? joked the sovereign. He knows how much his country loves his ever-popular mother [see box]. If Frederik X has remembered one date from the past year, it's January 14. This historic day saw him proclaimed king in front of hundreds of thousands of Danes, gathered at the foot of Christiansburg Castle in Copenhagen. "To receive so much support, joy and love. To stand on the balcony with Mary as King and Queen of Denmark.
Frederik X makes his first speech of the New Year. On the right, the King and Queen are guests at the New Year's banquet on January 1. Mary wears the emerald set, one of the Crown Jewels.
Princess Benedikte, Princess Marie with her husband Prince Joachim and Queen Margrethe: velvet was the order of the day for the ladies of the royal family at this annual rendezvous, attended for the first time by Crown Prince Christian.
MAGRETHE OF DENMARK
Queen of hearts
A year after her abdication, the 84-year-old former monarch remains more popular than ever, reveals a recent poll conducted by Epinion for the DR public broadcasting group. With 88% of positive opinions, Margrethe of Denmark is the most popular member of the royal family, ahead of her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary, and her successor, King Frederik X, both at 85% .
This underlines once again that the change of throne has been a success," he tells
historian and monarchy expert Cecilie Nielsen. According to thelatter, however,the fact that Queen Margrethe occupies such a position could "pose a challenge". "She's getting on in years and her role will become less and less important as time goes by", she points out. In recent years, between a major back operation and a nasty fall last September, Frederik X's mother has seen her health problems catch up with her. "The royal family must therefore be aware of the need to put Crown Prince Christian in the spotlight," concludes Cecilie Nielsen. I absorbed it all, or at least I tried to, moved and overwhelmed," he confides, offering "a thousand thanks" to his fellow citizens. In addition to the "courageous" youth who "accept themselves as they are", the environment, the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, Frederik X evokes the feeling of cohesion "felt by his wife and himself. Whether they're traveling across Denmark, Greenland or beyond their own borders, like their meeting last October with the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It won't happen again, but I'll never forget it," says the King of his first New Year's speech. Mary and I couldn't have wished for a better start as king and queen." Before concluding, like his mother, with: "God save Denmark! On the square in front of Amalienborg Palace, the hundreds of Danes present cheered and applauded enthusiastically. With his baptism of fire behind him, the King can breathe a sigh of relief. "It's a show of strength! says historian and royal family specialist Cecilie Nielsen on the DR set. "It's a resolutely well-written speech," she adds. Present alongside her, Thomas Larsen, political commentator for the daily Berlingske, says Queen Margrethe must be delighted for her son.
King Frederik X and Queen Mary gaze at each other, resplendent in a duck-blue velvet gown by Birgit Hallstein.
Below, the sovereign couple's eldest son is greeted by Colonel Jens Ole Rossen-Jorgensen at Christian VII Palace in Amalienborg, where the New Year's banquet was held.
To the sound of the brass band
of the Royal Guard, Frederik X
and his wife Mary enter
in the Christian VII palace
The following evening, Frederik X and Mary of Denmark welcomed officials, government officials and members of the Court for the first time at Christian VII Palace, Amalienborg, for the traditional New Year's banquet. Not forgetting, of course, their nearest and dearest. The family, so important to the King, his equilibrium, his support at all times. Didn't he declare on December 31 that he was "grateful for [his] life with Queen Mary, [their] four children and [their] two dogs"? And that he was "happy that Prince Joachim and Princess Marie have settled in Washington with their children, and that [his] mother is enjoying her new life"? The King's younger brother arrived with his wife, wearing Princess Dagmar's floral diamond tiara and a velvet Rikke Gudnitz gown. The princely couple were preceded by Frederik X's aunt, Princess Benedikte, who opted for the fringed Sayn-WittgensteinBerleburg tiara. Then comes Queen Margrethe. Cane in hand, the former sovereign wore the Danish floral aigrette and the ice-blue gown depicting her fifty-year reign.
The public's reaction to Crown Prince Christian was immediate. At 19, he was attending the banquet for the first time. His parents were the last to arrive. To the sound of the Royal Guard fanfare, Frederik X and his wife Mary enter the palace. The Queen, in a velvet Birgit Hallstein gown, wears the emerald set, one of the Crown Jewels, as on the official portraits unveiled last April. The couple then proceed to the Knights' Hall, where their guests are seated. Among them are Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Speaker of Parliament Soren Gade. On the menu: chicken consommé, baked celery, veal crown served with truffles and champagne mousse, all accompanied by wines from Rosenborg and Château de Cayx. In addition to this banquet, King Frederik X and Queen Mary will host three other receptions to mark the start of 2025, including two at Christiansborg Castle. Before celebrating their first anniversary of reign on January 14. And to continue writing their history.
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