A certain Shakespeare made his name with a play about a Danish royal and the country’s ruling dynasty was at it again this weekend with one monarch walking into the shadows as another took her place followed by a balcony kiss between a king and queen that captured imaginations around the world. It was always going to be hard to top the celebrations in Denmark as the reign of Margrethe II ended and that of Frederik X began.
So could anyone really blame other royal families for seeming relatively quiet in these chilly January days? With all eyes on Copenhagen, no one else has really had a look in. However, the year began pretty much as it always did with diaries ramping up as festive breaks come to an end. It’s just everyone seemed quiet in comparison to a dynasty that gave us two reigns in one afternoon with added history and emotion.
However, other royal events have been happening so just in case you missed them, here goes.
No surprises that the Princess Royal was keeping busy. After all, that tally of engagements isn’t going to rack itself up and Anne doesn’t do sitting down. No surprises either that as her very important three day visit to Sri Lanka got under way, she marched off the plane carrying her own bags.
This visit marked 75 years of bilateral relations between the UK and Sri Lanka as well as special milestones for Save the Children, the charity which has been such a large part of Princess Anne’s work throughout her royal life. The Princess became the first member of the Royal Family to visit Jaffna and laid a wreath during her time at Jaawatte Cemetery, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. She headed home just before Denmark really got its regal groove on.
King Felipe of Spain, on the other hand, headed out of his realm as the celebrations began in Copenhagen. As his friend became King Frederik X, the Spanish monarch was in Guatemala for the inauguration of the country’s new president. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, meanwhile, had been in Washington for further work on financial inclusion, a mainstay of her agenda. She met the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, before heading in the hours before her friend became Queen Mary of Denmark.
Belgium’s royals, meanwhile, had some important visits to organisations supporting people with visual impairments in the days before the Danish accession. There was a special anniversary in Monaco as the royal family there marked the fiftieth year of the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival which has been a big event for the principality over its half century.
Unsurprisingly, it was the other Scandinavian monarchies who were the quietest in the run up to the change of reign in Denmark. Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit continued her literacy work the week before the abdication and accession while Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was out and about a few days ahead of the event with Prince Daniel to see the work of those managing the country’s emergency telephone service.
Luxembourg’s royals had their hands full celebrating a brand new prince who arrived on January 7th 2024. Not only were there photos to be taken and nappies to be changed, there was the small matter of working out how to spell his name. Balthasar (or Baltasar or Balthazar, depending on the announcement) himself slept through the whole thing.
There was also a royal wedding with Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei’s marriage to Anisha Rosnah binti Adam.
Royal diaries will ramp up again as January continues its chilly grip. But there aren’t many times you have the biggest moment of the year before it’s really even got started.
