On Sunday, , Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Christian travelled to Denmark’s Southern border to celebrate the centenary of Jutland’s annexation to the country.
The entire succession line to the Danish throne was firstly driven around in a carriage and crossed the boarder between Denmark and Germany. They then went to a church service, where they were reunited with German President Steinmeier.
Her Majesty then proceeded to take on a few more events alone: a visit to the Aabenraa municipality, where she recreated a picture of her grandfather, King Christian X, visiting the area; a visit to Kongekansen, where the Danish army suffered the defeat at the hand of the Prussian army in 1864, but also where King Christian X ratified the accord that made Northern Jutladn part of Denmark in 1920; a visit to the German and Danish minorities museum with the President of Germany; and finally a reception for His Excellency on board the Royal yacht Dannebrog.
The centenary was actually supposed to be celebrated in the summer of 2020, but because of the current global health emergency, the event had to be postponed to 2021. The date remained the same; on the 13th of June 1920, King Christian X ratified the referendum results.
Northern Jutland has always been a contented territory, with various European forces (like the aforementioned Prussian empire, now dissolved) claiming it during the course of history. 1920 marked a key milestone in the area’s standing: for the first time, it was allowed to hold a referendum to let their citizens decide whether they wanted to remain part of Germany (the country that Northern Jutland ended up being a part of after the dissolution of the Prussian empire), like they had been for the past 56 years, or if they wanted to become a part of Denmark.
The faction wanting to become Danish won with 74,9% of the votes, and King Christian X was able to celebrate the addition of Jutland to his kingdom.
