Golden Jubilee of Margrethe II | |
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Date(s) | 14 January 2022 |
Country | Kingdom of Denmark |
Previous event | Ruby Jubilee of Margrethe II |
The Golden Jubilee of Margrethe II was celebrated in 2022 in the Kingdom of Denmark, being the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Margrethe II on 14 January 1972. [1]
A number of events were planned to mark the Jubilee in several places across Denmark throughout the year. [1]
The Royal House of Denmark officially announced on 17 December 2021, that the majority of the planned arrangements relating to the Queen's Jubilee would be postponed to the late summer of 2022. A few events took place on the day of the anniversary, such as a meeting in The Council of State, and a reception at the Danish Parliament. [1] [2] [3]
In the morning of 14 January, the Queen and Crown Prince Frederik participated in a special, formal Council of State meeting on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. This was the 560th Council of State meeting of the Queen's reign. Due to COVID-19, there were only five ministers, including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and, in honor of the occasion, no customary proceedings were held. [4] [5]
Later that morning, the Danish Parliament's official celebration of the Queen's Jubilee took place in the Landsting Chamber at Christiansborg Palace. Upon arrival, the members of the royal family signed the visitor's book. The celebration began with a speech by the Speaker of the Parliament, Henrik Dam Kristensen. Then, prime minister Mette Frederiksen presented the gift from the Danish Parliament and the government to the Queen. The gift is decorative pavement artwork, which will be installed at the North Atlantic House cultural center in Copenhagen, symbolizing the ties between the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Denmark. It is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2023. [6]
Later the same day, there was a wreath laying ceremony, around noon, at King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid's tomb at Roskilde Cathedral to mark 50 years since the King's passing. The Queen, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, and Princess Benedikte laid wreaths at the gravesite at Roskilde Cathedral. [7] The Queen gave a deep curtsey before departing the site. [8] The former Queen Anne-Marie of Greece didn't participate as planned in the wreath-laying ceremony as her husband, the former King Constantine II of Greece, was infected with coronavirus, and therefore Queen Anne-Marie couldn't travel to Denmark. [8] [9]
In the evening, the Queen was surprised by her family with a secretly-arranged dinner in Christian VII's Palace at Amalienborg. The dinner table was set with the Flora Danica service, the most valued Danish dinner service. The last time the service was used by the royal family was for Queen Ingrid's 80th birthday in 1990. [10]
People could send digital congratulations to the Queen via the Royal website. Due to the pandemic, it wasn't possible to send written congratulations in person at the Yellow Palace. [11]
On 21 January 2022, the Queen, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, and Princess Benedikte attended the opening of the special exhibition "A Queen's Jewelry Box – 50 years on the throne told through jewelry" at the Amalienborg Museum in Christian VIII's Palace. [12]
The exhibition was part of the celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and the opening was scheduled to take place on 13 January 2022, but was postponed due to COVID-19. [12]
The exhibition displayed more than 200 well-known and lesser-known pieces of jewellery from the Queen's jewellery collection, which the Queen had worn to one or more private or official events during her 50-year reign. [12]
The Queen voiced an audio guide, which was provided to visitors. In the guide, she tells about selected pieces of jewellery and events. [12]
The exhibition was open to the public from 22 January until 23 October 2022. [12]
The Queen's Golden Jubilee was celebrated on 21 May 2022 in Tivoli with events in the amusement park and a ballet gala in Tivoli's Concert Hall. The gala was attended by the Queen and members of the royal family. Among others, the ballet gala featured dancers from the Hamburg Ballet, the Royal Ballet in London, the Paris Opera, the New York City Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet. The amusement park broadcast the ballet gala on a large screen. The ballet gala will be presented both on 21 and 22 May 2022. [13] [14] [15] [16]
An exhibition featuring selected ballet costumes designed by the Queen throughout her 20 years of artistic work opened at Tivoli. [13]
The day in Tivoli concluded with fireworks. [13]
From 3 to 4 June, the Queen visited Aarhus Municipality, where celebrations of her Golden Jubilee took place. [17] [18] [19]
During summer, the French city Cahors held two exhibitions, both titled "Margrethe II of Denmark: Artist-Queen" as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. At Musée Henri-Martin, a total of 70 works, including paintings, watercolors and decoupage made by the Queen, are being shown from 15 July 2022 – 5 March 2023. The city's library, Médiathèque du Grand Cahors, displayed the Queen's vignettes for Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 15 July – 13 October 2022. [20]
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, Margrethe II ordered many jubilee events to be cancelled or greatly scaled back. [21] The ceremonial celebration with the Guard Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron and horse-drawn carriage transport by the Royal Mews were both cancelled in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth's death. [21]
On 10 September, the Queen and the royal family were expected to appear on the balcony at Christian IX's Palace at Amalienborg, following the changing of the guard at noon, where large crowds of well-wishers could gather to cheer her. This event was cancelled by Queen Margrethe following Queen Elizabeth's death. [21] Margrethe was also expected to take part in a carriage procession to Copenhagen City Hall for an official lunch and another balcony appearance. This event was postponed to a later date. [21] The Queen attended a gala performance in her honour at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, where the performance went on in a modified form. [22] [23] [20] The musical performance at Krinsen on Kongens Nytorv, which was planned for the evening, was cancelled. [21]
On 11 September, Queen Margrethe attended a special thanksgiving service at Church of Our Lady – Copenhagen Cathedral, which was modified at Margrethe's request following Elizabeth II's death. [21] At midday, a luncheon was held on the Royal Yacht Dannebrog. In the evening, the Queen hosted a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace, which was attended by the royal family, foreign guests and Danish dignitaries. This event too took place in a modified form. [22] [23] [20] [21]
On 23 September, the Queen held a soirée for the Government, the Danish Parliament and Danish members of the European Parliament in the Great Hall at Christiansborg Palace. [20]
While the commemorations in January were only attended by the Queen's closest family, the celebrations in September were attended by her family as well as the Nordic heads of state. [24] [25]
In November, the official Jubilee portrait was released. It was taken by the photographer Per Morten Abrahamsen. [26]
On 3 January 2022, PostNord issued a new sheet of three stamps to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. [27]
New postage stamps in Greenland and the Faroe Islands were also issued. The Greenlandic stamp depicts the Queen near a fjord surrounded by icebergs, and the Faroese stamp shows the Queen near the ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral in the village Kirkjubøur on the island of Streymoy. [28] [1] The stamps issued are the work of illustrator Martin Mörck, who turned the photographs of the Queen in her Greenlandic and Faroese national costumes by photographer Steen Brogaard, into hybrid photographic and illustrated stamps. [1]
The Royal Danish Mint issued a commemorative coin to mark the Queen's Jubilee. The obverse features the Queen's effigy crafted by the sculptor Kathrine S. Moseholm. On the reverse, there is a pattern created by the number 50, symbolising the Jubilee. The pattern is a nod to Amalienborg's four palaces and the palace square. [29]
To mark the Jubilee, a commemorative medal was released. The medal, which is made of gilded silver and topped with a crown, features a full-length portrait of the Queen surrounded by three silver lions, on the obverse. The reverse features the Queen's crowned monogram surrounded by the collars of the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant and with the inscription "14 JANUARY 1972 – 14 JANUARY 2022". [30]
The Hermitage Pavilions and the Royal Bridge in Fredensborg Palace Garden will be restored to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The restoration is made possible by a donation of 24 million DKK from the A. P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes. The work on the pavilions and the Royal Bridge started in the spring of 2022, and finished at the end of 2022, but the pavilions will be finished at the beginning of 2024. [31]
Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she was the second-longest reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV. She is also the world's most recent female reigning monarch.
Prince Henrik of Denmark was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 until his death in 2018.
Frederik IX was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972.
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. She is the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and therefore the aunt of Margrethe's son, the current King of Denmark, Frederik X. She is also an older sister of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Ingrid of Sweden was Queen of Denmark from 20 April 1947 to 14 January 1972 as the wife of King Frederik IX.
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. The younger son of Queen Margrethe II, he is fifth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following the four children of his elder brother King Frederik X.
Frederik X is King of Denmark. He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication on 14 January 2024.
Mary is Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Frederik X.
Count Nikolai of Monpezat is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the eldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, the eldest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the eldest nephew of King Frederik X. He is currently sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne. At the time of his birth, he was third, after his uncle and father.
Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the eldest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe II. He became Crown Prince of Denmark following his grandmother's abdication and his father's subsequent ascension to the Danish throne on 14 January 2024.
Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark.
Princess Isabella of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second child and elder daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
Count Christian of Rosenborg was a member of the Danish royal family. Born Prince Christian of Denmark, from 1947 he was third in the line of line of succession until the constitution was changed in 1953 to allow females to inherit the crown, placing his branch of the dynasty behind that of his cousin Margrethe and her two younger sisters. He later gave up his princely rank and his rights to the throne in order to marry a commoner.
The royal descendants of Queen Victoriaand of King Christian IX, monarchs of the United Kingdom and Denmark, respectively, have become members of multiple European royal families. This was partially achieved by the marriage of Victoria's progeny with Christian's. By the time of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897, Victoria was known as the "grandmother of Europe". Also, Christian IX was nicknamed the "father-in-law of Europe".
Prince Vincent of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the third child and younger son of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, the sixth grandchild and youngest grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the older twin brother of Princess Josephine.
Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the fourth and youngest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, and the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. She is the twin sister of Prince Vincent. Josephine is fourth in line to the Danish throne, after her older siblings, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, and her elder twin brother, Prince Vincent.
The Golden Jubilee of Carl XVI Gustaf was celebrated in 2023 in the Kingdom of Sweden, to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession of King Carl XVI Gustaf on 15 September 1973. He is the first Swedish monarch to celebrate a Golden Jubilee. The 500th anniversary of Sweden's regained independence, through the election of King Gustav I, was also marked during the Jubilee year.
Margrethe II announced her abdication as Queen of Denmark during her New Year's Eve address to the nation on 31 December 2023. She was succeeded by her elder son, King Frederik X, on 14 January 2024. Margrethe's abdication was the first voluntary abdication of a Danish monarch since that of King Eric III in 1146.