Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have wrapped up a successful working visit to India with their visit billed as an economic promotion of green initiatives related to water and energy.
The royals led a delegation including government ministers and 38 Danish companies.
On Sunday 26 February, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary began their visit with a visit to the07 Taj Mahal in Agra. This was their first visit to the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site, and they received a tour before posing for photographs on a white marble bench in the foreground. Afterwards, they visited the Agra Fort and received a tour of the area.
In a speech a few days later, Crown Prince Frederik would call the Taj Mahal “a magnificent monument and symbol of India,” and vowed “I hope one day I will be able to show to our children.”
The official programme began in earnest the next day in the capital city of New Delhi. Their first engagement was to meet with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who previously visited Denmark in 2021.
Afterwards, they laid a wreath in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated 75 years ago. They lunched with Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and officially opened an exhibition on silver at the National Museum.
The exhibit, Silver Treasures from Denmark and India, showcases over 200 pieces of silver from the respective countries while exploring silversmithing and the craftsmanship of artisans. According to the Danish Royal Court, the National Museum and the Kolding Museum partnered on the exhibition as part of a commitment to strengthening the cultural exchange between the countries.
Finally, the Crown Prince and Princess attended a Grand Dinner for all participating Danish government ministers and businesses, as well as guests chosen specifically by the business leaders.
On 28 February, the Crown Prince and Princess attended the business seminar, Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress. Crown Prince Frederik gave an opening speech, noting, “Our two countries share these overarching aims, and I am pleased that Denmark and India have joined forces through the Green Strategic Partnership. Together, we can support the global effort to secure a greener, more sustainable future.”
He added that Danish and Indian cooperation “represents opportunities for both our countries. In the short run as well as in the long run.”
After his speech, Crown Prince Frederik stayed at the seminar to take part in sessions related to green industries and transitions and how Denmark is poised to assist India in building up their own green programmes.
Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mary travelled to the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences in her role as patron of the Maternity Foundation.
The Crown Princess’s visit was billed as a way to learn more about the ways India has worked to achieve lower infant mortality rates in the past 20 years. During the visit, she learned about ways the government is supporting programmes to support overall maternal health; and saw how a training app is teaching midwives and healthcare workers safer delivery procedures to increase successful childbirth rates.
The Institute later shared on Twitter that Crown Princess Mary’s visit “sheds light on the importance of quality maternal health care to fight maternal mortality.”
After reuniting later in the afternoon, the couple met with Danish businesses involved in the visit, particularly those involved in wind efficiency. That evening, the royal couple met with President Droupadi Murmu at the Presidential Palace.
On 1 March, the Crown Prince and Princess continued their working visit in the city of Chennai, India, an area with a high concentration of existing Danish business.
Crown Prince Frederik attended a symbolic sod-breaking ceremony at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras to mark Danish and Indian collaboration in energy fields. He also attended seminars to discuss wind energy, and onshore/offshore wind and later met with students working on projects related to green transition.
Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mary visited the Danish engineering company Larsen & Toubro to learn more about their work with water and energy. She later visited the headquarters of Grundfos, which is another Danish company that works in the water industry.
Reunited, the couple attended a luncheon at the residence of the Governor of the Province of Tamil Nadu, Ravindra Narayana Ravi before attending the closing ceremony of the Denmark and Tamil Nadu – Partners for Sustainable Growth seminar. Their final engagement in India was a dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Grunfos in India.
Following their visit to India, the couple returned immediately to Denmark where Crown Prince Frederik assumes the role as regent while Queen Margrethe continues to recover from back surgery.
