NordenBladet – Prince Christian of Denmark, the heir to the Danish throne, will be undertaking volunteer work next month alongside his fellow students at his boarding school, Herlufsholm School.

According to the Næstved Municipality’s press release, 125 high school students will be sent out as volunteers in Næstved during the Volunteer Week from 14 to 16 March, with the goal of inspiring young people to become motivated adults who take responsibility for the future. Students are being sent to locations like the municipality’s Park and Road Service, the Centre for Health and the Elderly, and the local Red Cross shop.

The school said: “Half of Herlufsholm’s 600 students come from the local area, and also for that reason the school prioritises that the students do volunteer work here in Næstved to support a volunteer culture in the city.”

The Principal of the Herlufsholm School, Mikkel Kjellberg, said: “Since 2020, it has been a goal for Herlufsholm that all students participate in voluntary work, and therefore it will be exciting when the students now go out into the local area and make a difference. The goal is, in addition to the social formation, that the students should experience the joy of doing something good for others. I hope that with the broad collaboration with, among others, Næstved Municipality, they can challenge the students so that everyone finds their place and can continue as volunteers when the Volunteer Week is over.”

In August last year, it was announced that Prince Christian, the second in line to the throne, would start at a new school, a prestigious boarding college situated a good distance from Copenhagen. Prince Christian completed his school education in Gentofte that summer, and it was confirmed that the future Danish king would start at Herlufsholm School in Næstved in the autumn.

NordenBladet – Queen Margrethe will get an extension of her Golden Jubilee celebrations when, on the 21st of May, the city of Tivoli will organise a ballet gala.

The event will be hosted in the city’s Concert Hall, and will feature performances by dancers from the most famous ballet companies around the world: the Royal Ballet in London, the Paris Opera, the New York City Ballet and more.

The evening will be introduced by American choreographer John Neumeier, who has also created the structure of the ballet, which will be in three acts, each featuring extracts from each ballet company’s most iconic repertoire.

The event will also include an exhibition of ballet costumes that Queen Margarethe has designed during the 20 years of her collaboration with the Tivoli Ballet.

Queen Margrethe has long been passionate about classical music and ballet, especially for the more artistic point of view. She has designed costumes and sets for many of the institution’s productions, and was a guest of honour for many of the premieres.

The Danish Royal Court has announced that the event will see the participation of the Queen, as well as other members of the Royal Family.

It may be possible that Queen Anne-Marie of Greece will manage to make the trip to Denmark this time, after having to pull out last minute from taking part in the January events for her sister’s Golden Jubilee due to her husband, King Constantine, contracting CoViD-19 and being hospitalised.

Guests in Tivoli on the 21st of May will be able to watch the ballet gala from a giant screen located in the gardens, as well as being treated to special events in the amusement park, the other big attraction of the city besides the Concert Hall.

NordenBladet – The celebrations for Crown Princess Mary’s 50th birthday came to a spectacular end on Sunday, when TV2 broadcast “Mary 50 years – we celebrate Denmark’s Crown Princess,” a special evening featuring music, dancing and a documentary about the Princess’s work featuring a surprise appearance from all four of her children.

Before that, two exhibitions were opened, two interviews were published, a book was released, a newly painted portrait was unveiled, and eight new pictures graced the Royal Household’s social media profiles.

So it’s safe to say that Denmark celebrated its beloved Crown Princess with the showering of love, joy and well wishes they could muster.

And, in return, the Crown Princess released one last thank you message through the official profiles of the Royal Court.

Accompanying a picture of many hot pink peonies with a sitting room in the background, the Crown Princess personally penned a message to thank the public for the “warm greetings” she received.

The message says: “Becoming 50 years old is something very special. But that I received so many warm greetings from all over Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland…. and Australia – I was deeply moved. It’s not so crazy to be 50 ? Thank you very much for that – I was very pleased. The Crown Princess.”

The Crown Princess was born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson in Hobart, Australia, on the 5th of February 1972. She met the future King of Denmark during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and the couple married in 2004.

They went on to have four children: Prince Christian (born in 2005), Princess Isabella (born in 2007) and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine (born in 2011).

Since becoming a member of the Royal Family, Crown Princess Mary has undertaken countless public engagements, with her primary focuses being female health and education, Danish promotion abroad, and, most recently, mental health.

NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mary founded the Mary Foundation with a 1.1 million kroner gift from a wedding fund in 2004, raised by the people of Denmark and Greenland. In that time, Mary has used her influence and profile to support and raise awareness for important causes in Denmark.

In 2006, Mary had the idea for the foundation and officially launched it in 2007 based on the overarching theme of social work running throughout her patronages. The Mary Foundation website states that the Mary Foundation was founded on the premise that “social isolation in particular often proves to be one of the key causes behind the problems. Inspiration has also been sourced from like-minded foundations around the world.”

The Mary Foundation’s mission statement is: “To improve the lives of children, adults and families who – as a result of their environment, heredity, illness or other circumstances – find themselves socially isolated or excluded from society. The foundation aims to fulfil its objective by creating opportunities for these individuals and giving them a sense of affiliation and of belonging to a community. Furthermore, the foundation undertakes to encourage tolerance and understanding of diversity and to create hope.”

To fulfil these aims, the Mary Foundation focuses on three key areas: bullying and well-being, domestic violence, and loneliness.

Key projects of the Mary Foundation include Free of Bullying, which is used in 40% of nurseries, 60% of preschools, and 45% of primary schools/after school clubs in the country. The Mary Foundation has also distributed more than 28,000 backpacks to children arriving at women’s shelters with their mothers; and has helped women receive financial and social advice with the Advice for Life project, a legacy project of the Mary Foundation that is now separately operational.

Other projects supported by the Mary Foundation include Antibulli Swimming, which works to prevent bullying in children’s swimming; LæseLeg, which strengthens children’s language and self-confidence by involving them in reading activities; Me & We, which teaches children how to be part of a community; Together Without Violence, which works to detect violence among pregnant women and couples and gives them the tools to leave that life behind; School Strength, which works with schools to prevent bullying and promote well-being; and Antibulli Football, which aims to prevent bullying in children’s football.

To date, the capital stock in the Mary Foundation is around 220 million kroner but is left untouched. The total annual return is used to support projects within the Mary Foundation’s purview.

NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mary paid tribute to her Australian roots at a sod-laying ceremony at the Copenhagen Zoo on Wednesday.

Accompanied by her twin children, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, Crown Princess Mary helped begin the construction of ‘Mary’s Australian Garden’ at the Copenhagen Zoo.

Announced as part of her 50th birthday celebrations, ‘Mary’s Australian Garden’ will be an exhibit at the zoo housing Australian animals—a nod to the Crown Princess’s early years spent in Tasmania.

The Danish Royal House notes that the eponymous garden was made possible by donations from the Augustinus Foundation and the Knud Højgaard Foundation and will be the third part of an already-planned facility dedicated to Australian animals, including the cockatoo, rock kangaroos and the laughing bird.

The Copenhagen Zoo’s chief executive officer, Jørgen Nielsen, said in a press release last month that “[C]ompletely in the spirit of the Crown Princess, the gift will thus be both a joy and a benefit for a collection of Australian animals, and for the many families with children who this summer can experience a small selection of the Crown Princess’ homeland up close.”

The Copenhagen Zoo notes that ‘Mary’s Australian Garden’ will set new standards for animal care and guest experiences and that they “want to draw [guests] even closer to the animals and the day care of the animal keepers, and the hope is that our commitment and efforts to take care of the world’s animals will spread to both children and adults.”

An aviary will be erected in the new space alongside pre-existing facilities for kangaroos and Tasmanian devils.

During their visit, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine helped feed penguins and enjoyed traditional birthday celebrations like singing and cake.

Crown Princess Mary is the patron of the Copenhagen Zoo. Celebrations for her 50th birthday continue throughout the weekend in Denmark.