COPENHAGEN, May 6: Denmark’s King Frederik X arrived in Stockholm on Monday with his Australian-born wife Queen Mary, as they begin their first official visit abroad as new Danish monarchs.
The 55-year-old Frederik was proclaimed king on Jan. 14 after his 83-year-old mother, Queen Margrethe II, who was Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, abdicated.
In the Swedish capital, Frederik and Mary were first greeted by Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel, who boarded the Danish royal yacht Dannebrog.
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They then took the gilded Swedish Royal Barge to shore and were welcomed there by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden’s longest-reigning monarch, and German-Brazilian-born Queen Silvia.
The welcome also included a cannon salute and music by Sweden’s Royal Guards, lined up on the quay at the foot of the Swedish royal palace.
Relations between the two royal houses are close. Frederik’s grandmother, Queen Ingrid who died in 2000, was a Swedish princess.
The May 6-7 visit includes meetings with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kirstersson and the speaker of the Swedish Parliament. A visit to a military facility is also scheduled.
Danish government members also accompanied the royals, among them Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Danish monarchs, whose roles are ceremonial, traditionally travel to other Scandinavian countries first. Although Frederik had a solo visit to Poland in January, it was planned before his mother’s surprise New Year’s Eve abdication.
Later this month, Frederik and Mary will travel to Oslo, where they will be greeted by King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Frederik’s mother was t he first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years, causing the Nordic nation to experience its first royal succession in more than a half century.
Denmark’s monarchy traces its origins to 10th century Viking king Gorm the Old, making it the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world. (AP)
