On Sunday, the Danish Royal Household posted on their social media accounts a picture of Queen Margarethe, Prince Joachim, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, with summer greetings from Her Majesty.
The Queen has spent a few days of her holiday in Château de Cayx, near the French village of Cahors, and has been joined there by her younger son and the two children he shares with his second wife, Princess Marie.
The caption of the post states that the Queen would make her way back to Copenhagen on Monday, which will be the last day of her summer break; the Royal House’s official calendar marks the 16th of August as the last day the Crown Prince acts as regent.
Princess Marie is notably absent from the picture and is not credited as the one who took it, which is something the Royal House does every time pictures are taken by members of the family. Her Royal Highness chose not to accompany her husband and children in their visit to France due to her remaining engagements in Denmark. Her last engagement before the weekend was on the 13th of August when she attended the opening concert of the Schackenborg Music Festival, and her next engagement is not until the 18th of August when she will open the Copenhagen Cooking Festival in her role as patron.
Her absence is particularly notable because she is of French descent and has strong ties to the country, in a love that she shared with the late Prince Consort Henrik. In fact, Château de Cayx is located in the late Prince’s home country and was purchased 47 years ago by the family to have a base in a country that had such a special significance to them.
Chateau de Cayx (or Cayx Castle) is also an active vineyard, like many terrains in the area, and has been a staple in the Danish Royal Family’s vacation plans since it was bought. Despite Prince Henrik’s passing in 2018, the tradition of spending a few days in his home country during the holidays has been maintained by the Queen.
