King Frederik + Queen Mary
No more expensive gifts? Big change after heavy criticism
King Frederik and Queen Mary
© Dana Press
Whether designer clothing, jewelry, cars or boats – the royal families can often look forward to generous gifts. For this, King Frederik and Queen Mary had to endure severe criticism in the first weeks after their coronation.
It’s been around two weeks since the change of throne in Denmark, and King Frederik, 55, and Queen Mary, 51, are already receiving criticism. The trigger for this is a bracelet that was seen on the new regent’s wrist during his proclamation on the balcony of Christiansborg. This could have been a generous gift from the “Shamballa” company. Nobility experts are calling – not for the first time – for more transparency when it comes to gifts of this kind. The newly appointed royal couple reacts.
European royals show more transparency than Denmark’s royal family
In other countries there are already strict regulations regarding gifts from outside. In Norway, members of the royal family must even refuse gifts from commercial organizations and publish all gifts worth over 1,000 Norwegian kroner (around 90 euros) that do not come from family or friends on a list on the royal family’s website. The royal families in Spain and Great Britain also keep such a list. However, there are no such regulations for the Danish royal family.
King Frederik wore a bracelet during his proclamation on January 14, 2024 that caused controversy.
© Dana Press
“The royal family has power. And in all sorts of other contexts in which you hold public office, you are not allowed to accept gifts,” said Jesper Olsen, chairman of Transparency International Danmark, to the Danish news network DR Nyheder.
He believes it is a worrying signal when companies and private actors can secretly give expensive gifts to the royal family. “The royal family must stop accepting such gifts because that can be questioned. I’m not saying that this is the case, but it can be questioned whether you can actually gain an advantage through a gift,” explains he.
King Frederik and Queen Mary are given cars, boats and designer clothes
Michael Bregnsbo, professor of history at the University of Southern Denmark, agrees. He believes the change of throne is a good time to make the many secret gifts public. “It could be a really good idea for the relationship with the public that the royal family, even if they are not forced to, choose to be open about gifts,” he says. This would provide clarity and prevent rumors.
According to media reports, Mary received a number of designer dresses and bags in the past. In 2002, Queen Margrethe, 83, was delighted to receive a mink coat and a mink jacket from the company “Kopenhagen Fur”. It is said that the then Crown Prince also received a speedboat worth 2.7 million Danish crowns (around 360,000 euros) in 2007. For their wedding in 2004, the couple received, among other things, five cars. Since 2018, however, the royal family has no longer accepted vehicles as gifts.
Mary and Frederik react to criticism
Now that the debate about the royal gifts has flared up again thanks to Frederik’s new bracelet, the court seems to be forced to respond to the ongoing criticism. Whether the piece of jewelry is a gift from the “Shamballa” company or whether Mary wanted to make her loved one happy with it remains uncommented, but the royal family’s communications department is now announcing a big change. In connection with the change of throne, the royal couple decided to revise the guidelines for receiving gifts from the royal family, according to a request from “DR Nyheder”. The new guidelines would later be published on the royal family’s website.
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With this official act, Frederik and Mary probably gained some sympathy points from the people and critics just a few weeks after their enthronement. A clever move by the new royal couple.
Sources used: dr.dk, seoghoer.dk