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Royal News

Spaghetti bolognese for the royals after a day of running around Denmark

Prince Vincent, Princess Isabella and Princess Josephine of Denmark, children of Queen Mary and King Frederik

After a day of running around Denmark—literally, on the annual Royal Run—the Danish Royal Family shared a snap of their surprising family tradition: spaghetti Bolognese.

The plate of spaghetti served to King Frederik of Denmark after he ran a race.
detdanskekongehus / Instagram / Fair Use

“Traditionally, dinner with us is spaghetti Bolognese after the Royal Run,” King Frederik and Queen Mary shared on their social media accounts. “Thank you for this year – see you next year.”

The Royal Run, created as a 50th birthday initiative for then-Crown Prince Frederik in 2018, is a registered run throughout the Danish kingdom. Each member of the Danish Royal Family heads to a different part of the country to run with the locals.

King Frederik of Denmark gets ready to take part in the 2025 royal run which ended with him eating spaghetti.
detdanskekongehus / Instagram / Fair Use

King Frederik began his day in Ribe, in the southwestern part of the country, sharing a selfie from a sailboat as he revealed that more than 97,500 runners had signed up for the Royal Run this year. “We’ve been looking forward to lacing up our running shoes again,” he wrote. “Soon the starting shot sounds…I’m looking forward to starting the day here in Ribe!”

The King of Denmark also joined in a run in Horsens later in the afternoon, but was first treated to an open-air choir singing The Beatles’ classic “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

detdanskekongehus / Instagram / Fair Use

Queen Mary, meanwhile, ran in Korsør, in the Slagelse municipality where her eldest son completed his military training mere weeks ago. She shared a snap of herself petting her dogs goodbye as she headed out, captioning it: “Had to leave two behind that were less pleased when they weren’t going to come. I’m looking forward to experiencing the Royal Run in Korsør.”

detdanskekongehus / Instagram / Fair Use

Crown Prince Christian, now on a summer leave before he returns to Slagelse for lieutenancy training, shared a picture of himself from the backseat of a car on his way to Viborg in the heart of the country. His personal message read: “So I’m almost in Viborg, and I’m looking forward to running 5km with all the other happy and healthy runners.”

Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine all ran in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, sharing a group photo after receiving their medals for the One Mile race, and thanking everyone for participating. Later in the day, Princess Josephine signed off on her first Instagram post after she decided to run a second time, writing: “I also just took a 5.”

All three of them looked ready for their spaghetti which was already waiting for them.

detdanskekongehus / Instagram / Fair Use

To end their race day, King Frederik, Crown Prince Christian, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine all took part in a 10km run in Copenhagen. After his younger sister crossed the finish line, Prince Vincent told reporters how proud he was.

“I think it’s really cool that she’s taking all three races, I’m proud,” Prince Vincent said of his twin.

And after that, it was time for the well deserved spaghetti supper.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS is now available.