King Frederik
That is why his reign is gaining momentum right now
King Frederik
© Dana Press
It has been almost half a year since King Frederik was proclaimed Denmark’s monarch. In the first few months, he was mostly absent, but that is now set to end. In May, Frederik stepped up his game – and the timing is anything but random.
The first impression counts – and if Scandinavian media have their way, King Frederik, 56, could have made a better start as a monarch. Especially in the first few months after his proclamation, he treated himself to time off and holidays: Less than four weeks after the abdication of Queen Margrethe, 84, Frederik and Queen Mary, 52, went on a winter holiday, followed by the obligatory break during the Easter holidays in March. During this time, the metaphorical sceptre was taken over by the old queen, who had actually abdicated so that she would no longer have to do so.
King Frederik: Change of pace in May! He finally takes on more appointments
It now seems as if King Frederik no longer wants to put up with public criticism. In January and February, he had 14 appointments in his calendar, in March only ten, and in April just four. This is according to the public calendar, which can be viewed on the royal family’s website. With this record, King Frederik was even overtaken by King Harald, 87: Although the Norwegian monarch had to recover from several heart operations and then announced that he wanted to slow down, he still managed nine appointments – and that was just in the period from April 22 to 30.
That’s all over now: The 56-year-old used the lovely month of May to get his calendar in order. Suddenly Frederik was able to book 38 appointments, Mary managed 34 public engagements. The state visits to Sweden and Norway did their part to keep this number up, but experts do not expect royal fans to have to expect a decrease in the number of appointments from June onwards. Quite the opposite: a busy month should no longer be an exception from now on, but become the norm.
In February, King Frederik visited Poland and completed eleven of the 14 appointments he had scheduled for the entire month.
© WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP / Getty Images
Anything but accidental: Frederik and Mary proceeded according to plan
But why did Denmark’s new royal couple need several months to find their usual work rhythm? Historian Trond Norén Isaksen, 42, explains this seemingly unusual strategy to “Dagbladet”: “It’s because after a change of throne, there are a lot of internal things that a new royal couple has to take care of, including the reorganization of the court. […]. Normally this happens during a period of national mourning, when the royal family has no official duties.” In the case of Frederik and Mary, there was no mourning because Margrethe had decided to abdicate. “The new royal couple still had just as many internal matters to attend to and thus less time for official duties,” concludes Isaksen.
There is no reason to believe that the Danes will see less of King Frederik and Queen Mary than of Queen Margrethe
The fact that the royal family withdraws from public life after the death of a monarch is not only normal in Denmark; even after the death of Queen Elizabeth, †96, did not attend any appointments with the British Royal Family for several weeks. There were similar situations in Denmark’s Scandinavian neighbouring countries, which Isaksen recalls: “For comparison: King Harald and Queen Sonja had a total of one official assignment in the first four months after the change of throne, from January 17 to May 16, 1991.”
Although the historian cannot estimate exactly how many future engagements Frederik will have, he is nevertheless optimistic: “I cannot say what will be ‘typical’ – there are times when there is more going on than others – but there is no reason to believe that the Danes will see less of King Frederik and Queen Mary than of Queen Margrethe.” And so Margrethe’s wish, which she expressed in her New Year’s Eve speech on December 31, 2023, could still come true: “I hope that the new royal couple will be shown the same trust and affection that was shown to me.”
Sources used: dagbladet.no, kongehuset.dk