Denmark: Program for the succession of the throne

The Danish Royal Court has today, 8 january 2024, published a more detailed program* for the Accession Day on 14 January 2024, when Crown Prince Frederik succeeds to the throne following the abdication of Queen Margrethe II, and the following days:

Programme for the succession of the throne

On 14 January 2024, Her Majesty The Queen steps down as Queen of Denmark and entrusts the throne to His Royal Highness The Crown Prince. The following official events mark the succession of the throne.

Sunday 14 January 

13:35 The Crown Prince Couple leave from Amalienborg

The Crown Prince Couple and HRH Prince Christian ride in a motor car from Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg to Christiansborg Palace. 

Route: Frederiksgade, Bredgade, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Canal, Prince Jørgen’s Courtyard (link to map of the route)

13:37 HM The Queen rides in a carriage from Amalienborg

HM The Queen rides in a carriage from Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg to Christiansborg Palace, escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment.

Route: Frederiksgade, Bredgade, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Canal, Prince Jørgen’s Courtyard (link to map of the route)

14:00 Council of State at Christiansborg Palace

HM The Queen, HRH The Crown Prince and HRH Prince Christian participate together with the Government and the Council of State secretary in the Council of State.

The succession of the throne takes place during the Council of State meeting at the moment when HM The Queen has signed a declaration of her abdication.

14:15 HM Queen Margrethe’s departure from Christiansborg Palace

HM Queen Margrethe rides in a motor car to Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg.

Route: Prince Jørgen’s Courtyard, Holmens Bridge, Holmens Canal, Kongens Nytorv, Bredgade, St. Annæ Square, Amaliegade, Amalienborg (link to map of the route)

14:30 TM The King and Queen hold a levee for specially invited persons 

15:00 Proclamation from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace

His Majesty King Frederik X steps out on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, after which the Prime Minister proclaims His Majesty’s accession to the throne. 

The King speaks and concludes with the motto.

15:10 Honorary cannon salute from the Sixtus Battery 

After the proclamation, 3 x 27 shots are fired from the Sixtus Battery on Holmen, Copenhagen, in salute.

15:10 The royal standard is lowered and reraised at Amalienborg

After the proclamation, the royal standard is lowered at Christian IX’s Palace and reraised at Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg.

15:30 The King and Queen ride in a carriage from Christiansborg Palace

After the proclamation, The King and Queen ride in a carriage, escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment’s mounted squadron, from Christiansborg Palace to Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg. 

Route: Prince Jørgen’s Courtyard, Holmens Bridge, Holmens Canal, Kongens Nytorv, Bredgade, St. Annæ Square, Amaliegade, Amalienborg (link to map of the route)

17:00 Transfer of the royal colours 

Transfer of the royal colours from Christian IX’s Palace to Frederik VIII’s Palace, Amalienborg.

Monday, 15 January

10:00 Reception in the Danish Parliament

The Royal Family participates in the Danish Parliament’s celebration of the succession of the throne. During a meeting in the Chamber, the Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister will deliver a speech, and in that connection, the Prime Minister offers a verbal announcement from The King to the Danish Parliament. Afterwards, The Royal Family takes part in a reception in the former Upper Chamber.

Sunday, 21 January

14:00 Celebratory church service at Aarhus Cathedral

The Royal Family participates in a celebratory church service at Aarhus Cathedral. In connection with the succession of the throne, a celebratory service is held at Aarhus Cathedral with representatives of official Denmark and representatives from the City of Aarhus. The service is led by Royal Chaplain-in-Ordinary and Bishop of the Diocese of Aarhus Henrik Wigh-Poulsen.

*The court has chosen to write "programme", while I prefer "program" ...  I keep the spelling "programme" when quoting, of course!

Denmark: Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine!

The christening of the Danish Crown Prince couple's twins, who were born on 8 January 2011, took place at Holmens Kirke (Church) in Copenhagen today, 14 April 2011. In connection with the baptismal ceremony lead by the Chaplain Royal, Bishop Erik Normann Svendsen, the names of the prince and the princess were finally revealed:

• Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander
• Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda

The name Josephine was perhaps not so surprising, but I don't think anyone had expected the prince to get the name Vincent. The names Mindik and Ivalo stem from Greenland.

Prince Vincent's sponsors: Mr. John Stuart Donaldson (brother of Crown Princess Mary), HRH The Prince of Asturias (Felipe of Spain, who was not present), HSH Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (son of Princess Benedikte and thus a first cousin to Crown Prince Frederik), Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, Baroness Helle Reedtz-Thott and Lady-in-waiting Caroline Heering.

Princess Josephine's sponsors: HRH Princess Marie (wife of Prince Joachim), HRH Prince Charles of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, Mrs. Patricia Bailey (sister of Crown Princess Mary), Count Bendt Wedell, Birgitte Handwerk and Josephine Rechner.

In attendance for the ceremony and the reception were among others HM Queen Margrethe II, HRH The Prince Consort (Prince Henrik), HRH Crown Prince Frederik, HRH Crown Princess Mary, HRH Prince Christian, HRH Princess Isabella, HRH Prince Joachim, HRH Princess Marie, HH Prince Nikolai, HH Prince Felix, HH Prince Henrik, HRH Princess Benedikte, HSH Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, HSH Hereditary Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, his partner Carina Axelson, (former) HM Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, TRH Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark as well as TRH The Duke and Duchess of Calabria (HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. See the Royal Court's website for the complete guest list.

The updated line of succession to the Danish throne:

1. HRH Crown Prince Frederik (b. 1968)
2. HRH Prince Christian (b. 2005)
3. HRH Princess Isabella (b. 2007)
4. HRH Prince Vincent (b. 2011)
5. HRH Princess Josephine (b. 2011)
   
6. HRH Prince Joachim (b. 1969)
7. HH Prince Nikolai (b. 1999)
8. HH Prince Felix (b. 2002)
9. HH Prince Henrik (b. 2009)
10. HRH Princess Benedikte (b. 1944)
11. HH Princess Elisabeth (b. 1935)

See Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard's article Conditional Consent, Dynastic Rights and the Danish Law of Succession for a discussion on the rights of Princess Benedikte's children.

Denmark: Christening of royal twins 14 April 2011

The christening of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary's twins, who were born on 8 January 2011, will take place at Holmens kirke (church) in Copenhagen on Thursday 14 April 2011 at 15.30.

In accordance with tradition the names of the twins will be revealed at the same time. It is almost impossible to guess what the Crown Prince couple has decided. I have made a few comments on this earlier, and don't have much to add, other than that I still hope for traditional Danish royal names!

What we do know is that Princess Marie, the wife of Prince Joachim, will be one of the sponsors, and that about 300 guests have been invited to the ceremony and the reception at Amalienborg. The former bishop of Copenhagen, Erik Normann Svendsen, will conduct the baptismal ceremony.

The cermony will of course be broadcasted on Danish TV and the Norwegian TV channel NRK1.

Royal twins born in Denmark

In the morning of Saturday 8 January 2011 I followed the media updates from Denmark closely, and when the official announcement came from the Royal Court, I posted the news at among others the newsgroup alt.talk.royalty. Unfortunately I got no time to update my blog until now, which underlines my point about how difficult I sometime find it to write about news items.

Anyway, as I posted the news of the pregnancy in August, it would feel strange not to comment on the birth as well, even if it is a bit late. As I wrote in my two postings at alt.talk.royalty, Crown Princess Mary, née Donaldson, wife of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, gave birth to twins at Rigshospitalet in Denmark on Saturday 8 January 2011.

The first child, a boy, was born at 10.30, weighed 2674 grams and was 47 cm long. The second child, a girl, was born at 10.54, weighed 2554 grams and was 46 cm long.

In accordance with tradition, the names of the prince and princess will only be made public at the time of the christening.

The Crown Prince couple has two children from before - Prince Christian, born 15 October 2005, and Princess Isabella, born 21 April 2007. The royal twins have entered the line of succession to the Danish throne as no. 4 and 5 respectively.

Naturally the speculations over what names the Crown Prince couple will choose for their twins have started and will go on until the christening later in 2011!

It is difficult to say what we can expect. Personally I would love if the couple found traditional Danish royal names - go to An Online Gotha for examples - or at least names with Danish/Norse roots. It would be nice to see a Prince Flemming and a Princess Caroline-Mathilde, but as the newborn prince and princess are only 4th and 5th in the line of succession, their parents might feel less bound to follow the name traditions within the Danish royal house. I think it is safe to assume, however, that the boy will have Frederik as one of his given names, but not as his call name, while the name Margrethe might be reserved for a possible firstborn daughter of Prince Christian. All the Danish descendants of King Frederik IX have got four given names, so I think we can be quite certain that the Crown Prince couple will follow the same path. I will focus on the name in daily use, though.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary might be influenced by the most popular names in Denmark right now (even if they are not necessarily conscious about it). The Danish statistics agency, Danmarks Statistik, has made a survey of the most popular names as of 1 January 2010 (I am sure the list will be updated soon), and it contains some interesting names. Wouldn't it be fitting for a twin to be named Thomas? Then Charlotte would be an good choice for the princess. The signature Zwartendyk has made some interesting - and some more entertaining - suggestions at the newsgroup alt.talk.royalty. I doubt we will see a Prince Søren of Denmark, though. But of course Prince Erik and Princess Hedvig would work. Both names have Danish royal traditions, even.

Most people were surprised when the Crown Prince couple decided on Isabella for their second-born, and they might surprise us again with names that no-one has been thinking of. Crown Prince Fredrik joked at the press meeting after the twins' birth that the boy could get the name Elvis, as the twins share their birthday with the late rockstar Elvis Presley. I guess that is one of the few names which we can safely rule out...