Celebrations in Denmark – second day – lunch at the royal yacht and gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace

  Photo: © Wonderful Copenhagen.

The celebrations of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's 50th anniversary as regent continued today with a service in the Church of our Lady, followed by lunch at the royal yacht Dannebrog. Photos from Dannebrog can be viwed here. The royal family was present, together with the Nordich heads of state and members of the royal court.

The celebrations continued with a gala dinner tonight at Christiansborg Palace. The number of royal guests was smaller than at the Royal Theatre yesterday and at the church service earlier today. All the grandchildren and the queen's nephews and nieces and their spouses were excluded. Extracts of the guest list:

The 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

Nordic Heads of State

• HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• HM Queen Silvia of Sweden
• HM King Harald V of Norway
• HM Queen Sonja of Norway
• HE The President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö
• Mrs. Jenni Haukio
• HE The President of the Republic Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
• Mrs. Eliza Jean Reid

Other family

• HE Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
• Countess Sussie of Rosenborg

Among the other guests were members of the government, the presidency of the Parliament, the Supreme Court, representatives from Greenland and the Faroe Islands and other representatives of the official Denmark. The full list can be viewed here.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark's 50th birthday celebrations

HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark celebrates his 50th birthday today, 26 May. The anniversary has been marked by several events and activities, including a «Royal Run», receptions, a gala banquet tonight and a birthday show tomorrow. The program in English can be found here.

Queen Margrethe hosts a gala banquet at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen tonight, with guests from both Denmark and abroad. The main guests are (I have mainly used the court's own list, with some changes):

The Royal Family

• HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark
• HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
• HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
• HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark
• HRH Princess Marie of Denmark
• HH Prince Nikolai of Denmark
• HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark [, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg] 
• HSH Prins Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg 
• HSH Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
• HM King Constantine of the Hellenes
• HM Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
• HRH Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
• HRH Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
• HRH Prince Philippos of Greece
• HRH Princess Theodora of Greece
• HRH Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece
• HRH Prince Constantine-Alexios of Greece

Foreign heads of state and royal dignitaries

• HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• HM Queen Silvia of Sweden
• HRH Crown Prince Victoria of Sweden
• HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden
• HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
• HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
• HM King Philippe of the Belgians
• HM Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
• HM King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands
• HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
• HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
• HRH Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
• HSH Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein
• HRH Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein
• H.E. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland
• Eliza Jean Reid

Other family members

• HE Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
• Countess Sussie of Rosenborg
• HE Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
• Guillaume Bardin
• Guillaume Bardin
• Patricia Bailey

**

Other royals

• HRH Prince Charles of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
• HRH Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Other guests include members of the Government, Folketinget (the Parliament), official representatives of Greenland and Faroe Islands, members of the court and staff and many others. For a full list go here.

Updated on Sunday 27 May 2018 at 20:00 (minor typo corrected).

Funeral service for Prince Henrik of Denmark

The funeral service for Prince Henrik of Denmark, who died at Fredensborg on Tuesday 13 February 2018, took place today, 20 February 2018, at Christiansborg Palace Church in Copenhagen. Following the wishes of the deceased, the funeral service was kept private with only the closest family members as well as representatives of the court and the official Denmark present.

The Danish Royal Court issued the following list of family members and other dignitaries, 60 persons in all:

The Queen's family

• Queen Margrethe II
• Crown Prince Frederik
• Crown Princess Mary
• Prince Christian
• Princess Isabella
• Prince Vincent
• Princess Josephine
• Prince Joachim
• Princess Marie
• Prince Nikolai
• Prince Felix
• Prince Henrik
• Princess Athena
• Princess Benedikte (of Denmark and of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg)
• Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, née Princess of Denmark
• King Constantine of the Hellenes
• Princess Elisabeth
• Count Ingolf of Rosenborg
• Countess Sussie of Rosenborg
• Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg (former wife of Prince Joachim)

Prince Henrik's family

• Francoise Bardin Monpezat
• Étienne de Monpezat
• Isabelle de Monpezat
• Jean Baptiste de Monpezat 
• Gill de Monpezat
• Catherine de Monpezat 
• Guillaume Bardin
• Laurence Bardin
• Charles Henri Keller 

Others

• Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
• Chairman of Folketinget (the Parliament) Pia Kjærsgaard
• President of the Supreme Court Thomas Rørdam
• The French Ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray 
• Several present and former court members.

Go here for the full list.The funeral service was conducted by bishop emeritus Erik Norman Svendsen. His speech can be read here (in Danish), while the program of the service can be read here (also in Danish).

As I have mentioned earlier, Prince Henrik declared last year that he didn't want to be interred together with Queen Margrethe at Roskilde Cathedral. Instead he will be cremated and his ashes partly scattered on sea and partly put in an urn which will be interred in the private garden at Fredensborg Palace. Hopefully the urn grave will be marked by a headstone. I am sure that more information on this will be available later. The private garden is open to the public in July and early August.