Denmark: Queen Margrethe II's 75th birthday celebrations

The official birthday logo. Photo: Torben Eskerod. The logo has been created by the designer Poul Bjørn in co-operation with Wonderful Copenhagen.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark celebrated her 75h birthday today, 16 April 2015. The celebrations began yesterday with a state banquet at Christiansborg Palace, attended by, among others:

The Danish Royal Family

• HM Queen Margrethe II
• HRH Crown Prince Frederik
• HRH Crown Princess Mary
• HRH Prince Joachim
• HRH Princess Marie
• HRH Princess Benedikte
• HM Queen Anne Marie of the Hellenes
• HM King Constantine of the Hellenes
• HH Princess Elizabeth

Foreign heads of states and royals

• HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• HM Queen Silvia of Sweden
• HM King Harald V of Norway
• HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
• HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
• HM King Philippe of the Belgians
• HM Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
• HM King Felipe VI of Spain
• HM Queen Letizia of Spain
• HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
• HE Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland
• Ms. Dorrit Moussaieff (wife of the president)

Other family

• HE Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
• Countess Sussie of Rosenborg

Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, other members of the government and other representatives of the official Denmark were also in attendance. Prince Henrik, the Prince Regent, was absent due to illness (flu), while HM Queen Sonja of Norway was on an official engagement in New York, USA. The full guest list can be viewed here.

At 8.30 this morning the traditional birthday morning wake-up for Margrethe II took place at Fredensborg Palace. At noon the Queen, other members of the Danish royal family and even the Norwegian King and Crown Prince couple greeted the people from the balconies of Amalienborg.  Later Queen Margrethe and the Crown Prince couple made a coach ride from Amalienborg to the City Hall, where there was an official greeting and luncheon reception at Copenhagen’s City Hall with participation by representatives from official Denmark, visiting royal guests and the royal family.

At 8 p.m. the birthday was marked by a dinner at Fredensborg Palace, attended by among others:

The Royal Family

• HM Queen Margrethe
• HRH Crown Prince Frederik
• HRH Crown Princess Mary
• HRH Prince Joachim
• HRH Princess Marie
• HRH Princess Benedikte
• HM Queen Anne Marie of the Hellenes
• HM King Constantine of the Hellenes
• HH Princess Elizabeth

Foreign royals

• HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• HM Queen Silvia of Sweden
• HM King Harald V of Norway
• HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
• HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden
• HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
• HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Besides Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and the Pesident of the Parliament, Mogens Lykketoft, the guest list included many relatives, members of the nobility and members of the court, for instance several Castenskiolds, Crown Princess Mary's father John Donaldson, Dimitri and Dorrit Romanoff, Count Ingolf and Countess Sussie of Rosenborg, Countess Karin of Rosenborg,
HSH Prince Wilhelm and HSH Princess Ilona of Schamburg-Lippe, Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg, Countess Jill Bernadotte af Wisborg and Count Michael Bernadotte af Wisborg. Prince Henrik, the Prince Regent was also today absent due to the flu he had caught.

Go to the official website to read more about the celebrations.

As a genealogist I thought Rigsarkivet, the Danish National Archives, made a nice gesture by publishing a photo of the entry of the then Princess Margrethe in the church book of Holmens at its Facebook page.