Queen Mary of Denmark has spoken about the importance of one big event for her children as her royal family made an unexpected Easter move.
Along with King Frederik, Mary walked with their four children to Easter Sunday service, enjoying the spring sunshine on the short journey from their home at Frederik VIII’s Palace to church.
The royals looked like any other family as they made their way to the service. Photographers got a good chance to snap them as the traffic kept moving and King Frederik, Queen Mary and their brood had to wait at a pedestrian crossing for the lights to change.
The family were met at the door of the church by the minister and then took part in High Mass. However, it was after the service that a real personal glimpse of royal life was given.
In a statement on social media and on their website later, King Frederik and Queen Mary spoke of the importance they place on going to church for their children and, right now, their two youngest in particular.
Twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 15, are about to make their confirmations. As they joined their parents and older siblings, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, at church, their future was on the family’s minds.
King Frederik and Queen Mary said ”Participation in church services is a regular part of the confirmation preparation for the thousands of young people who are confirmed in the Danish national church every year. This also applies to Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, who will be confirmed on 18 April 2026 in Fredensborg Palace Chapel.”
It was a striking statement from the royal couple, who have already seen their two eldest children confirmed into the church. Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine have been preparing for some time for their confirmation and their grandmother, Queen Margrethe, has been helping them as they get ready.
A few weeks ago, the teenage prince and princess were seen attending church service with Queen Margrethe at Fredensborg, ahead of their confirmation. Margrethe took a leading role in the preparation of Crown Prince Christian, now 20, and Princess Isabella, now 18, as they got ready to be confirmed.
The choice of Fredernsborg for the confirmation is also symbolic. The church there has been the site of royal confirmations for over a century. Queen Margrethe was confirmed there in 1955 while King Frederik X’s confirmation was held in the chapel in 1981.
The Danish royals have already placed significance on the confirmation of Vincent and Josephine who, just before Easter, were seen meeting the royal confessor, Bishop Henrik Wigh-Poulsen, who will conduct the ceremony. At the time, their family explained they had met to discuss Christianity and faith ahead of the confirmation.
Princess Josephine, who has been at boarding school for several months now, seemed especially close to her mother, Queen Mary, as the family enjoyed Easter together. The two held hands as they walked through Copenhagen. Prince Vincent, meanwhile, stuck close to his brother, Crown Prince Christian, and it was soon clear that he is about to overtake his older sibling in height.
The family went to the Easter service held at Frederik’s Church, also known as the Marble Church, in the centre of Copenhagen. It was started by King Frederik V, who laid the foundation stone in 1749, as part of Frederiksstaden, a district designed to mark the 300th anniversary of the coronation of the first member of the House of Oldenburg in Denmark. However, as money ran low, the project was abandoned and the church wasn’t completed until 1894.
Frederik’s Church is now a place of worship for the Evangelical Lutheran faith and it’s used for concerts as well as being a popular tourist site. Its most famous feature is the marble dome and that has helped contribute to its popular name, the Marble Church.
The decision of Denmark’s royals to mark Easter here ahead of such an important event as the confirmation of Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine underlines the significance they place on their faith. Queen Mary and King Frederik’s statement on their children’s religious education put that in focus once more.
