Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday with a full day of events. In the morning, a solo photograph was released of the Crown Prince which was taken by Franne Voigt. The Crown Prince Family and Queen Margrethe also made a balcony appearance at Frederik VIII’s Palace at noon.
Later in the afternoon, a full family photo of the Crown Prince Family, also taken by Voigt, was released by the Royal Danish House.
The evening saw the gala dinner hosted by Her Majesty at Christiansborg Palace with royals and dignitaries in from all over Europe. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive after a carriage ride to greet the Danish people.
The oldest child of Prince Joachim (Crown Prince Frederik’s younger brother), Prince Nikolai made his first gala appearance after turning 18 in August of last year. King Constantine, who looked frail in a wheelchair, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece were in attendance as Anne-Marie is Queen Margrethe’s younger sister and Frederik’s aunt. All but two of Constantine and Anne-Marie’s children were there: Crown Prince Pavlos (with wife, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal), Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos. Princess Alexia and her husband, as well as Prince Nikolaos and his wife, were absent. Two of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal’s children, Princess Maria-Olympia and Prince Constantine-Alexios made their first official gala appearances with Maria-Olympia in her first official tiara event. Prince Margrethe’s other sister, Princess Benedikte and her children were also there.
DR1 screenshot/Fair Use
The other royals attending the gala dinner were King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, and Prince Daniel of Sweden; Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway; King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium; King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands; Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg; Prince Carlo and Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies; and Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein.
The full guest list can be viewed here.
Guests dined on asparagus flan, wild watercress, fjord shrimps, saddle of Danish deer venison, pointed cabbage, new Danish potatoes and Morel sauce, Roquefort tart, and Rhubarb and Lemon Mousse.
Both Queen Margrethe and Crown Princess Mary gave speeches during the event with Her Majesty mentioning Frederik’s beloved maternal grandmother, Queen Ingrid and his late father, Prince Henrik saying, “On Monday, you got all of Denmark to run along with you. Your grandmother would have been so proud of you, and I would wish Papa could have experienced your 50th birthday because he was as proud of you as I am.”
She then spoke about his marriage to Australian born Mary, “When you found Mary, a new period of life began. Then you were two, then three, then four – indeed, six! A whole family that everybody can take pleasure in, and a family that many are pleased to follow and see themselves reflected in. You and Mary have succeeded in creating a safe and warm family life while both of you together and individually assume tasks that take you to faraway places.
“The two of you make Denmark bigger, and you are a credit to Denmark. You make me so happy!”
The full speech can be read here.
Beginning in English and changing to Danish, Mary gave a heartwarming speech with touches of humour; at one point, she joked, “And I have quite simply lost count of the times I had to hear you tell the same jokes over and over again. It is as if you are trying to continuously perfect how they are delivered…
“Those who have had the pleasure of eating out with you, will know for example that if a waiter asks, “Are you finished?”, you can be dead certain that you will answer, “No, I’m Danish”. Every time. And laugh. Every time.”
DR Screenshot/Fair Use
She also spoke about their four children (Princes Christian and Vincent and Princesses Isabella and Josephine) saying, “And according to your children, you are also a very successful father. They describe you as sweet, fun, wonderful, wise, brave, helpful, cool and handsome.
“You are their hero.”
She closed her remarks with a quote from the song “All the Things She Said” by Simple Minds:
“When I look into your eyes, I see a new day rising
Of all the things she said,
She said, this is our time, she said, this is our place
This is the space my heart wants to be.”
The full speech, which had the Crown Prince teary-eyed, can be viewed here.
The birthday boy and his guests then took part in dancing after dinner. The Royal Danish House shared a photo on their Instagram account of the Crown Prince Couple dancing the night away.
