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Denmark

Denmark’s royals hold high profile diplomatic meeting

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, accompanied by her son, Crown Prince Frederik, have received the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at Amalienborg Palace in audience. He was visiting Denmark and was received in an audience with the royals together with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeppe Kofod.

Antony Blinken landed in Denmark on Sunday night. On Monday, he met with Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, where topics such as security work, climate and the Arctic area were discussed. According to Danish press, the meeting was also a part of the preparations for a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin this summer. This is the first time Denmark has been visited by a member of President Joe Biden’s government. There are great possibilities that Biden and Putin will hold their upcoming meeting in Denmark during the summer.

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The meeting with the royals consisted of a private audience where the Queen and the Secretary of State spoke together before posing for official photos. Queen Margrethe is determined not to get involved in politics, but sources from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs claim that the Queen was updated on the official talks between the two foreign ministers. Following his audience with Queen Margrethe II, the US Secretary of State was given a guided tour of the quantum materials lab at the University of Copenhagen. Later Monday evening he headed to Reykjavik, Iceland where he is currently taking part in the Arctic Council meeting.

Some have debated whether this a form of apology from the United States after President Trump abruptly cancelled his planned State Visit to the Nordic kingdom following reports he had asked to buy Greenland from Denmark in 2019. Queen Margrethe of Denmark was reported to be ‘shocked’ after President Trump cancelled his upcoming state visit to the Kingdom after a dispute over Greenland. A spokesperson for The Queen reacted to the news saying: “That was a surprise! We are simply lost for words.”

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.