The Royal Danish family may trace its history back to 936

The prehistory is a bit muddled. The German chronicler Widukind wrote that the German king Heinrich beat the Danish king Gnupa in 936 and forced him to be baptised. Some pages later we learn that the name of the king was Hardegon Wurm, who just might be identical to king Gorm the Old, father of Harold Bluetooth, and said to be buried at Jellinge in 958. The puzzle may never be solved. The source material is simply too discrepant. What we do know, however, is that since then there has been kings or queens in Denmark stemming from the same family. Thus the present queen who is no. 53 on the list can claim herself a direct descendant of Gorm the Old! Last week Denmark celebrated the 40-year jubilee of her reign. But also the long history of the realm infused by traditions going back to the Viking age.

In connection with the jubilee it may be worth while to visit a number of exhibitions. At Frederiksborg a new painting of the queen is at the center of an exhibition focusing on the peculiar but important role, which the queen still plays in the democratic government in Denmark. As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is limited to non-partisan, ceremonial functions. However, the ultimate executive authority over the government of Denmark is still by and through the monarch’s royal reserve powers.

At Amalienborg another exhibition shows some of the dresses and robes of the queen. The exhibition is very interesting in so far as the queen is co-designer of her image. Thus the wardrobe illustrates the colours and themes which may be found in the rest of her oeuvre – paintings, textiles, decoupage etc.

Finally at Rosenborg another exhibition opens in February – Pearls. Royal splendour and Modern design. This exhibition showcases treasure from the official as well as private royal collections of pearls as well as the work of new designers. The queen wore some of these jewels at the formal dinner party, which rounded the festivities off; notable was the pearl necklace, which is supposed to be at least 300 years old. Some even claim that they used to belong to Leonora Christine, the daughter of Christian the IV, who was imprisoned for 22 years. At her imprisonment her jewels and fabled pearls were confiscated and presented to her sister-in-law, the queen Sophie Amalie. Especially the pearls were very valuable. Whatever their history, the pearls were until about 40 years ago  kept in a dusty showcase at Rosenborg, until the mother of the present queen accidentally found them. She carried them continuously for a long period – even slept with them in order to give them back their lustre. Today they are a fascinating piece of jewellery – and still used.