Queens often present awards, but not to each other. However, Queen Sonja of Norway has presented the Nordic Association’s language prize to this year’s winner, Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
It all happened in a small ceremony on September 26th 2022 in the House of the Nordic Nations in Oslo, Norway’s capital.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark was awarded the Nordic Association’s language prize for her effort to strengthen the Scandinavian language community. The Danish queen has been an important voice for Nordic cooperation, community and language. One of Queen Margrethe’s messages has long been that younger people in the Nordic countries should use Scandinavian languages when meeting each other.
It was announced that the Danish queen had Covid-19 last week. So this was Queen Margrethe’s first public appearance after recovering. The two queens were greeted by local children who gave the royals flowers while Oslo’s mayor also welcomed the royals. The entertainment was traditional Nordic music, including accordion and violin.
As Queen Margrethe left the closed ceremony, she said to the press: “We, the Nordic nations, belong together. And then we must be able to speak to each other in our own language and not use a foreign language like English, which I think is sad.”
Queen Margrethe herself speaks fluent Danish and Swedish. She has previously said: “It is maddeningly unfortunate when you resort to a non-Nordic languages to be able to understand each other. It is important that we are aware of this in the future as well.”
Every year, the Nordic Association awards its language prize to a person who has done something exceptional for the Nordic language community. Queen Margrethe speaks with pride about the Nordic languages, and has been given the award for her passionate commitment to preserving language understanding in the Nordic countries.
