#danish monarchy

[fairskyangel]

Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has chosen to abdicate from the Danish throne the 14th of January, after 52 years on the throne.

She told the whole kingdom of Denmark, and the rest of the world, live on television during her new year speech to the people.

There has not been a voluntary abdication in Denmark since the early medieval times (1100-1200)

The Queen has always said that she will sit on the throne until her last breath, which is why her abdication comes as a surprise to everyone.

Her son Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Crown Princess Mary will take over as King Frederik X and Queen Mary.

Thank you, your majesty, for all you have done for us and how you have always shown your love and respect to the Danish people. We look forward to seeing you hopefully enjoy your abdication and hopefully we will still see more of your incredible creative mind . We have trust in our new King and Queen as we already know that you have prepared them well for their new job.

Thank you ❤️

[royalty-nobility]

Christian VIII (1786-1848) and Queen Caroline Amalie (1796-1881) in Coronation Robes

Artist: Joseph-Désiré Court (French, 1797–1865)

Date: 1841

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

Depicted People:

Christian VIII of Denmark 

Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg

[thebaroquehuman]

1526 The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark Dorothea, John and Christina - Jan Gossaert

[royaltyposts]

[tiny-librarian]

Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark and Norway.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"When King Rides, It's a Parade," Winnipeg Tribune. December 8, 1933. Page 1. --- Copenhagen is the only city in the world which can boast of a daily parade led by a king. When King Christian, of Denmark, goes forth for his everyday horseback ride, it is the signal for scores of bicyclists to line up behind him, at a respectful distance, as shown above. The monarch, most democratic of sovereigns, never objects or attempts to draw away from his admiring followers.

[borntoraisekittys]

I feel like the Danish monarchy got jealous of all the attention the British monarchy was getting with all the deaths, cheating and allegations etc. So they decided to have a cheating scandal and abdication in one month.

[royal-confessions]

“I like the fact the Danish royals let their kids be kids and do normal teenage stuff, however if your dad is the king of a country you probably shouldn’t be vaping and doing snuff underage, no matter how normal it is.” - Submitted by Anonymous

“What is with the rise of royals posting about their misdeeds on social media? Whether its engaging in less than favourable activities for a royal or spending their countries money on lavish trips and dos when they should really be working, no wonder they general populace all over are turning on royals left and right if they're willing to rubs peoples noses in it, maybe the time of monarchs has truly passed.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[vox-anglosphere]

Queen Maud of Norway

[victorysp]

1972/ 2024

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

Are any of the current royal families related to the otma?

Hello anon! In fact, almost all of the royal families are distantly related to them! I don’t know if you would rather see it in a family tree style or if I just say it straight up and list the royals so I’m going to do both! Also I am only going to be listing the main ways that they are related, but if you want a real in depth version of each individual family (if you want to here all of the obscure and in depth ways,) message me and I will make a family tree or describe it like this for you!

British: King Charles III and OTMA are 2nd Cousins Twice Removed from each other through Queen Victoria.

Danish: King Fredrick X and OTMA are 2nd Cousins Twice Removed through King Christian IX of Denmark

Norwegian: King Harald V is 2nd Cousins Once Removed with OTMA twice, through Queen Victoria and King Christian IX

Dutch: King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands is 4th Cousins Once Removed with OTMA through Tsar Paul I of Russia

Belgian: King Phillipe of Belgium is 2nd Cousins Twice Removed with OTMA through King Christian IX of Denmark

Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg is 2nd Cousins Twice Removed with OTMA through King Christian IX of Denmark. This also makes King Phillipe of Belgium first cousins with Grand Duke Henri

Spanish: King Felipe VI of Spain is 2nd Cousins Twice Removed with OTMA, twice. Once through Queen Victoria and once through King Christian XI of Denmark

There is no direct line that I know of that relates the houses of Monaco and Lichtenstein to OTMA (if anyone knows one please dm or comment!)

I hope this helps and thank you so much for asking!

[fairskyangel]

Highlights of todays abdication and accession to the throne.

Queen Margrethe II leaving the Kingdom in the hands of her son after signing her abdication and giving the seat at the end of the table to his majesty King Frederik X.

"Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II has abdicated. Long live his majesty King Frederik X" - Mette Frederiksen, prime minister of Denmark. There are no coronation in Denmark. Instead, the prime minister will make a proclamation on the balcony of the Danish Parliament, Christiansborg. She will say the words three times before the entire kingdom will shout "Hurra" (Hurray) nine times.

The police of Copenhagen had estimated that about 150.000 people would make their way to Copenhagen where most of them would be at Christiansborg Castle to witness the proclamation

The Royal family from left to right:

Princess Isabella, Crown Prince Christian, King Frederik X, Queen Mary, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent.

The King receiving applause and thanking the Danes by putting his hands on his heart.

The King and Queen receiving the love from those many thousands of people who celebrated and congratulated them on this historical day.

The King and Queen leaving Christiansborg castle and making their way to their home at Amalienborg Castle in the carriage Queen Margrethe II arrived in.

Truly an amazing day with an indescribable love from the entire kingdom of Denmark 🇩🇰 Greenland 🇬🇱 and the Faroe Islands 🇫🇴.

As the incredible Queen Margrethe said before leaving the room.

God Bless the King 👑

[thepastisalreadywritten]

What’s that elephant the Danes are wearing?

Tatler’s guide to the emblems and quirks of Denmark’s highest honour, the Order of the Elephant.

A curious little diamond-encrusted elephant, a blue sash, a gold collar – and sometimes a big flaming cape…Tatler looks into the history and tradition of Denmark's most privileged Order.

With Frederik X set to become sovereign of the Order as he becomes King on Sunday, you might see a few of these elephants around Copenhagen's royal palaces

By Isaac Zamet

12 January 2024

When Crown Prince Frederik becomes Frederik X of Denmark on Sunday, he will also replace his mother, Queen Margrethe II, as the sovereign of Denmark’s most ancient and distinguished order of chivalry, the Order of the Elephant.

Though it was officially refounded in 1693, the order dates all the way back to the 1400s, when it was established as a religious confraternity by a group of about fifty Danish knights.

In the 1400s, prior to the Reformation which gripped Europe and divided the church, such religious ‘clubs’ as the Order of the Elephant were common features of aristocratic life.

At the time of the Order of the Elephant's birth, Christian I was King of Denmark – and in fact, Norway and Sweden too, creating a personal union known as the Kalmar Union.

During this period, the emblem of the club was an image of the Virgin Mary holding her Son within a crescent moon.

This was hung from a collar formed of links in the shape of elephants.

The confraternity mutated over the centuries but endured a stifled period after the Reformation in which such clubs became suspect.

In 1580, Frederik II – eight Frederiks prior to our current Frederik – revived the order and replaced the medallion of the mother and child with an elephant (a Reformation-safe, Protestant approach – if a quirky one!).

But it was Christian V, in 1693, who gave the club its official statues and founding order.

At this time, it was scheduled as comprising 30 noble knights and one Grand Master (the King) along with his sons.

It was only in 1958 that the statutes were amended by Royal Ordinance to allow the ennoblement of women as members of the order.

Between 1580 and today, around 890 persons have been bestowed with the Order of the Elephant; with Queen Margrethe adding 68 people during her 40 year reign.

The recipients are almost always royal persons and foreign heads of state – though in a rare exception, the order was given to a commoner in 2000.

This was the deceased shipping magnate, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, who was recognised for exceptional contribution to Danish economic strength and Danish society.

Those unfamiliar with the man himself will surely recognise his name from the famous shipping containers.

The A.P. Møller – Mærsk group was actually founded in 1904 by his father. It is now worth $81bn dollars.

At the time of Møller’s membership of the order, he was the only non-royal and non-head of state to hold the honour; though it had previously been held by the pioneering nuclear physicist, Niels Bohr.

Membership of the order comes with possession of its rather eye-catching elephantine emblem.

The elephant is made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings and is about 5cm high.

On its back, the elephant bears a tower of pink enamelled masonry (a design originally intended to reflect the howdah compartments of the Indian subcontinent).

A number of large cut diamonds adorn the elephant, along with a crowned monogram of the monarch reigning when it was made.

One wonders, then, when the first Frederikian elephants will be carved.

At the top of the tower on the elephant’s back sits a gold ring, from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to a sash.

On the elephant's back sits a turbaned ‘moor mahout.’

It should be noted that some would regard such a depiction as an exoticising caricature.

Others would regard its appearance merely as an expression of an historical perspective.

One striking detail about the circulation of the elephants is that each Order of the Elephant is – in principle – on loan and must be returned to the Chapter of the Royal Orders of Chivalry when a member of the Order has passed away.

This rather quaint custom means that elephants are inherited and used several times by different members of the order, with some dating back hundreds of years.

Interestingly, the done thing is not to disclose to whom an Elephant has previously been given – though there are some traditional lines of inheritance.

For example, the elephant recently bestowed on Prince Christian belonged previously to his grandfather, Prince Henrik.

This handing over was always to be, on the basis of a traditional line of inheritance.

There are two exceptional elephants which have eluded the rule of the ‘loan’ – one remains in the Chancellery Museum at Paris and a second remains on display at the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library in the US.

Another beautiful quirk of membership of the Order is that a member’s coat of arms is always painted and subsequently hung in the Knight’s Chapel at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.

As to when the elephants come out to play, there are some rather interesting traditions concerning how and when to wear them.

The Order of the Elephant has three festival days: new year’s day, the monarch’s birthday, and the birthday of Valdemar the Victorious, which, if you didn’t know is on June 28.

On these festival days, the Order of the Elephant is worn on the chest on a gold chain link collar, with links shaped as towers and elephants.

The collar sits on each shoulder. On other important occasions, the order is worn on a bright blue sash with a breast star.

The star of the order is an eight-pointed silver star with smooth rays; at its centre sits an enameled red disc with a white cross, surrounded by a laurel wreath in silver.

[royaltyposts]

[andiatas]

I dont particulary know any more about the danes but my assumption was that Isabella really wanted a big celebration like what Christian got, but since shes not the heir they couldnt justify doing the same thing so this is the compromise.

In response to this post I made

I don't have a good read on Bella's personality, so idk, maybe? I mean, it's definitely not as big as Fred, Mary or Christian's birthday celebrations. I probably would have just brushed it off as "oh well, the Danes love to party" had it been taking place at any other point in time, but now when we're seeing similar celebrations happen in both Denmark & the Netherlands, it made me raise my eyebrow. Especially since - if I have understood things correctly - all three Dutch princesses are expected to work & represent the monarchy, while the case in Denmark is that only Christian is expected to do that while the other three siblings need to get "a real job"...

Maybe I've misunderstood things, neither the Danish nor Dutch royals are my "speciality" & after all, it's up to the Danish taxpayers to decide if this is okay or not. But yeah, to me it feels weird & idk, maybe that tax money could have gone to idk Greenland who is currently screaming for attention

[behindthecrowns]

Queen Alexandra (1844-1925)