Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis and Europe’s royalty must also contribute to lower their use of energy. In Denmark, the government has now come up with a new set of rules that also affect the Danish Royal Family. And one of them will see Queen Margrethe having to turn off the lights in her palaces.
Most of the Danish castles and properties are not owned by the Royal House. Instead, they are owned by the Danish Palace and Culture Agency. However, it is the Royal House itself that pays for electricity and heating.
Because the buildings are owned by the Danish Palace and Culture Agency, they are subject to the guidelines for public buildings, which were adopted in September 2022. The guidelines for public buildings during the energy crisis is to lower the temperature to 19 degrees in public offices, switch off outdoor lighting and shorten the winter-heating season.
The Danish Royal Court has commented: “The electricity bill for Amalienborg Castle is increasing just like for everyone else, but we do not have the exact figures for how big the increase will be at this time. The royal house itself pays for electricity and heating in the residences at Amalienborg.”
The Royal Court continues: “Among other things, the temperature in the Royal Palace’s offices and workrooms has been lowered to 19 degrees. The Royal Palace is constantly considering, in collaboration with the Danish Palaces and Culture Agency, where there are opportunities to lower energy consumption, including reducing electricity consumption.”
Queen Margrethe lives in one of the four almost identical mansions at Amalienborg Castle. Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary and their four children live in another of them. Prince Joachim and Princess Marie also live at Amalienborg when they are in Denmark with their family. Princess Benedikte also has an apartment at Amalienborg.
Although the electricity bill is going up at the royal residences as it is in homes across Denmark, the Danish royal family is also expected to get more apanage in 2023. It appears from the Danish finance bill that Queen Margrethe’s state allowance in 2023 will increase from 87.8 million Danish Crowns to 91.4 million Danish Crowns, an increase of 4.1 %. Meanwhile, it has been proposed that the expenses for the other members of the royal household be increased from 27.3 Danish Crowns to 28.1 million Danish Crowns, an increase of almost 3%.
