DENMARK

Denmark: Crown Princess Mary on women’s rights: “We must continue to be ambitious”

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mary celebrated International Women’s Day with a series of virtual engagements, including a welcome message for KVINFO’s online event.

In her speech, shared to the Danish Royal House social media accounts, the Crown Princess said, “[International Women’s Day] is an opportunity to take stock of where women stand today, how far we have come, and where we look at challenges, opportunities and demands, but also wishes for the future.

“And it is a day when we remind each other that we must continue to be ambitious when it comes to the fight for girls’ and women’s rights, and remind us that the fight for women’s rights is not a women’s issue, it is a matter for everyone.”

KVINFO hosted an online event celebrating “the victories of the past year” and looking forward “to new matches for a more free and equal future” with performers, speeches and other virtual elements. KVINFO is one of Denmark’s leading gender, equality and diversity centres, where research is studied and shared.

Crown Princess Mary continued: “Gender equality has different meanings, depending on where in the world one is. Like respecting and enforcing the rights of women and girls. A year ago, we saw good progress in several areas of development around the world, even in the poorest countries.

“But then came the corona – and the shutdowns have unfortunately rolled back much of that progress, and it has created a very serious situation for many girls and women, who are often the most vulnerable in crises. This applies, for example, to education, access to health services, including reproductive health, an increase in child marriages and the risk of ending up in poverty. And the same goes for violence against women.”

Crown Princess Mary said that the past year has created a “bit of a cultural shift” that has allowed “a more open and nuanced debate, which is important for the culture we want to see. We want to see a culture where we embrace the differences…”

Crown Princess Mary also joined in a roundtable discussion with UN Women and the Boston Consulting Group about gender diversity in Denmark; as well as a meeting for the ICPD25, as part of the work from the Nairobi Summit for girls’ and women’s rights.

Denmark: Prince Felix of Denmark set to begin military education in August

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – His Highness Prince Felix of Denmark (18), Count of Monpezat and grandchild of Queen Margrethe, has been admitted to one of the country’s prestigious military education camps. According to Danish magazine Billed Bladet, Prince Felix will begin the Army’s two-year sergeant training in the military camp in Varde when the Prince has finished high school this summer and has received his exam results. The military sergeant training in Varde is a well-respected and tough education and there are strict admission requirements, both in terms of physical and mental strength.

The prince has decided that after his exams he will follow in the footsteps of his father, Prince Joachim, and begin his sergeant training. Prince Joachim has a very solid military education and is currently ranked as brigadier general. At the moment he works as the defence attaché for Denmark at their embassy in Paris. Prince Felix is currently a student at Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium until the summer. The Danish prince will turn 19 in July and is scheduled to begin his military education in August.

This is the same military training that his older brother, Prince Nikolai, dropped out of after only two months in the camp. It was officially confirmed by the Danish Royal House’s Head of Communications, in October 2018 that Prince Nikolai of Denmark has given up of his two-year military training at the Royal Danish Army’s Sergeant School. Prince Nikolai left the military at his own wishes and had the full support of his parents, Prince Joachim of Denmark and Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg.

According to a statement issued by Countess Alexandra’s Private Secretary, Prince Nikolai left his military education, not because of the people there or training itself, but because he felt that it was not right for him to have a career in the military. His mother’s Private Secretary also said that the Prince would continue to pursue his modelling career. The following year, in 2019, the prince also began studying for a bachelor’s degree at Copenhagen Business School. There he studies Business Administration and Service Management.

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Prince Felix of Denmark (Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian; born 22 July 2002) is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the younger son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. Prince Felix is currently eighth in the line of succession to the Danish throne.

Prince Felix was born at Rigshospitalet the Copenhagen University Hospital in Copenhagen on 22 July 2002. When his father met the press following the birth, he joked that the baby could be named anything from Ib to Nebuchadnezzar.

He was christened in Møgeltønder Church in Møgeltønder on 4 October 2002 by the royal vicar Christian Thodberg. His names were revealed to be Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian. His godparents are Martina Bent (maternal aunt); and friends of his parents: Count Christian Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, Oscar Davidsen Siesbye, Damian Sibley and Annick Boel. At the christening the musical work Dåbens Pagt composed by Frederik Magle, dedicated to Prince Felix, was given its first performance.

After their divorce, Prince Joachim and Alexandra had joint custody of Prince Felix and his older brother Prince Nikolai.

Felix attended pre-school at the Garnison Church in Copenhagen, and at age six, followed in the footsteps of his father, brother and uncle at Krebs School in Østerbro.

Felix is styled as “His Highness Prince Felix of Denmark, Count of Monpezat”. He has been Prince of Denmark since birth and Count of Monpezat since 29 April 2008, when Queen Margrethe granted the title to her male-line descendants.

Featured image: Steen Brogaard/Kongehuset

Finland, Germany, Denmark and Estonia call on EU to accelerate digital transformation

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the leaders of three EU Member States have sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The joint letter calls on the EU to speed up its digital transformation. The other signatories of the letter are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the leaders of three EU Member States have sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The joint letter calls on the EU to speed up its digital transformation. The other signatories of the letter are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

“Ambitious digitalisation policy in line with the values of the EU lays the foundation for the Union’s growth and competitiveness. It is also the cornerstone of Finland’s growth policy. Finnish operators have a great deal to contribute to this work,” says Prime Minister Marin.  Promoting the digital transformation in Europe is one of the EU’s key objectives over the next few years. In their joint letter, the EU leaders express support to the Commission and offer ideas on how it should move forward in its work on initiatives related to digital policy, such as its Communication on the EU’s digital targets for 2030. The letter highlights the need for the European Union to get ahead of the curve in the digital transformation, as outlined by the European Council in October of last year. Europe needs to recharge and complement its current efforts with a self-determined and open digital policy that guarantees sufficient sovereignty and advances the EU’s digital leadership. This kind of digital policy encompasses the interests of society, the economy and government and supports the Union in its green transition.

 

Denmark: Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, to move into an apartment

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, the former wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark, is to move out of her villa and into an apartment in the capital of Copenhagen.

The Danish Magazine “Se og Hør” reported the moving plans, and the news has also been confirmed by Countess Alexandra’s press adviser. The Countess is moving to Copenhagen this summer, where she has bought an apartment in the city centre, only a short walk from Amalienborg Palace. The new apartment is located in the street of “Klerkegade” and is 168 square meters large. The Countess has not yet sold her villa in Charlottenlund.

The Countess will move into the apartment on 1 July, and by that time, her youngest son, Prince Felix, has become a student at Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium, and he will have to move away from home. This is why Countess Alexandra has decided to say goodbye to her home north of Copenhagen. The Countess still has her dog, Baily, who from the summer will be her only roommate since she is also divorced from her second husband, Martin Jørgensen.

The Countess and her two sons lived in the villa for the last three years. Countess Alexandra moved to the villa so that Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix could be close to their father, Prince Joachim, who has a house close by. However, after Prince Joachim and his second wife, Princess Marie, moved to Paris and Prince Nikolai’s purchase of his own apartment in Copenhagen, Alexandra no longer needs a big house.

Since Prince Felix turned 18 last summer, Countess Alexandra has not received an allowance from the Danish government. The Countess was supposed to receive an allowance all her life, but she has chosen not to receive any more money from the state after her youngest son turned 18 years old. The Countess is working and active in the Danish business community.

Denmark: The world’s most downloaded mobile wine app Vivino raises 155 million USD in fresh capital from investors

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Vivino, the world’s most downloaded mobile wine app and largest online wine marketplace — headed by founder and CEO Heini Zachariassen from Hoyvík, Faroe Islands — has closed a 155-million USD funding round, the company announced in a statement dated February 3rd.

With Swedish investment firm Kinnevik in the lead accompanied by Sprints Capital as a new investor and with further participants including GP Bullhound and existing early-stage investor Creandum, the round brings Vivino’s total funds raised to date to 221 million USD and includes a mix of primary and secondary investment.

The Vivino app and marketplace allows users to look up reviews and the general price range of any wine by scanning the wine bottle. Users are also able to order their wine through the app.

Vivino was founded in Copenhagen in 2010 by Zachariassen together with Theis Søndergaard. Zachariassen subsequently moved to San Francisco, California. In early 2018, he stepped down as CEO to be replaced by former StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis, who left the company already in 2019, with Zachariassen resuming his position as CEO.

In 2020, Zachariassen was named ’Entrepreneur of the Year’ at GP Bullhound’s Investor Allstar Awards.

Vivino has offices in the US, Europe and Asia, and almost 50 million users as of February 2021; its databases contain more than 13 million wines, 68 million reviews and 93 million ratings.

According to Vivino, the newly injected capital will enable the company to “improve its core technology and artificial intelligence platform to create better and more personalized recommendations for Vivino users. The company will also deepen its focus on select markets with the greatest potential for growth, including the US, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, and Portugal.”

“This is a testament to the remarkable work that our teams around the globe have done to build an extraordinary business,” Zachariassen stated. “This round has raised important capital for our rapidly growing company and drawn some exceptional new leaders to our board. The funding will enable us to continue to build on our core strengths, expand industry partnerships drawing more merchants and wineries to our marketplace, and support our continued global growth.”

Zachariassen credits Vivino’s success to the continued shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping. “Our user retention rates are high, and we’re seeing a steady conversion of app users to wine buyers,” he said. “That’s a good move in the right direction. By creating more value for our users, we also create more value for the company and industry at large.”

Meanwhile, Zachariassen told Danish business daily Børsen: “It feels surreal that what started in a basement on Amager, Copenhagen could grow into something so big.”

His sense of humor came to expression earlier this month on Bloomberg Quicktake when the possibility of an “Amazon acquisition” was suggested by the host. Zachariassen swiftly flipped the suggestion by responding: “We wouldn’t buy Amazon, no.”

Denmark: Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine have fun in the snow to support the Royal Run

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – The Crown Prince of Denmark had some help announcing the Royal Run’s new date, sharing the spotlight with his two youngest children, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

In a video shared on the Danish Royal House website and social media channels, Crown Prince Frederik and his twin children announced the new fall date for the Royal Run, which has been twice-postponed due to the coronavirus.

In the video, Crown Prince Frederik stated: “For almost a year, it has been a condition for all of us that we have had to change our plans and our dreams. This has also been the case for the Royal Run. Twice before we have postponed the race and we must once again admit that it is not is realistic to complete the planned exercise party with over 70,000 people in the month of May, so it has been decided to postpone the Royal Run once again until Sunday 12 September, where we hope that it is again possible to gather so many people for a running party.”

Interspersed with Crown Prince Frederik’s announcement is footage of the trio running around the snow-covered grounds of Fredensborg Palace, where they’re currently residing, training for this fall’s race.

In a statement posted on the Danish Royal House’s website, Crown Prince Frederick elaborated, “In the meantime, we need to make sure to keep body and soul going. Especially right now in the dark period – it provides profit and well-being.

“So I hope that many of you will spend the time until September 12th to maintain the joy of exercise and running that Royal Run has already brought with it.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKyEbRCAMDT/

Featured picture: Kongehuset

Denmark: Crown Princess Mary shares personal message about coronavirus vaccine

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mary shared a poignant message about hope for an end to the coronavirus pandemic on the Danish Royal House’s Instagram account.

The post, shared Wednesday afternoon, comes after the Crown Princess attended a meeting of the World Health Organisation’s Regional Office for Europe earlier in the day, where the ambassadors for the region received an update on the coronavirus and a status on vaccinations.

“What I took with me from the briefing was that even though there is still a long way to go, there is reason to be optimistic – infection rates are falling in several places, we are constantly building up new important knowledge… and then we now have the vaccine. I can feel in myself and others around me that it feels heavy right now and that our patience is being put to the test. Therefore, it is good to hear that we can be hopeful – it can give us energy to persevere and hold on.”

The Crown Princess has long been associated with the World Health Organisation and has championed vaccinations, both in Denmark and in developing countries as a way to promote health.

Crown Princess Mary posted a photo of the sunrise from her home to accompany the status, writing that, “Instead of a screenshot, I have chosen one of my own images, which should signal that with each passing day, we are moving towards brighter times.”

Crown Princess Mary’s son, Prince Christian, was revealed to have tested positive for the coronavirus last fall. In line with health protocols, he was quarantined away from family members for a period of two weeks, and no other member of the Crown Prince Family were revealed to have tested positive.

On 1 January this year, Queen Margrethe became the first European royal to publicly reveal that they’d received the coronavirus vaccine and reported that she would receive the second shot three weeks later.

Denmark: Crown Prince Frederik visits Copenhagen’s emergency services

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – On Thursday, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark visited the emergency services in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. The employees here have been on the front lines since the outbreak of the pandemic last year and they have taken care of the citizens of the region.

Crown Prince Frederik’s rather informal visit was divided into two parts. First, His Royal Highness had a look at the vehicles that the ambulance service uses when they pick up COVID-patients. He talked for a long time with the ambulance workers who are working to fight the virus every day. The Crown Prince then went to the switchboard, which receives calls from all over the Copenhagen area, but which in recent months has been used a lot by people calling in when they suspect an infection of COVID-19. The Crown Prince learned more about how the work here is done to determine whether it is COVID-19 and what further action is taken.

The Crown Prince also learned about the mobile test centres that are sent to areas with a high concentrations of infected people. His Royal Highness came with the following statement after his visit: “In addition to driving out into residential areas to establish pop-up test centres, it is also the Emergency Management Agency that drives out to nursing homes and the socially disadvantaged to test citizens for COVID-19. In total, emergency response, test centres and mobile devices can test more than 50,000 a day. I would like to thank the Emergency Management Agency for their efforts.”

In addition to the established Danish corona hotline, the Emergency Management Agency has also developed a chatbot that helps citizens assess whether or not to call if they need COVID-related medical help, to call their own doctor or to just stay home when symptoms occur.

Denmark’s Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine are celebrating their tenth birthday today

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Denmark’s Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine are celebrating their tenth birthday today. The Danish Royal House has released new images to mark the occasion.

There are seven PHOTOS, which were taken by Franne Voigt. They feature Vincent and Josephine together and separately.

Their Royal Highnesses are believed to have celebrated their birthday at home with their parents and siblings privately due to COVID restrictions.

The royal twins attend Tranegårdsskolen in Gentofte with their older siblings, Prince Christian (15) and Princess Isabella (13). They began their schooling in August of 2017.

The family lives in Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander is fourth in line to the Danish throne while Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda is fifth. Vincent was born 26 minutes before his sister in Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet on 8 January 2011. As per Danish royal tradition, the twins’ names were not revealed until their christening on 14 April 2011.

Vincent’s godparents are John Donaldson, his maternal uncle; King Felipe of Spain; Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille; Baroness Helle Reedtz-Thott; Caroline Heering; and Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, his father’s first cousin.

Josephine’s godparents are Patricia Bailey, her maternal aunt; Princess Marie, her paternal aunt by marriage; Count Bendt Wedell; Birgitte Handwerk; Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro; and Josephine Rechner, a close friend of her mother’s.

Denmark: Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent granted royal monograms

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent of Denmark, who celebrate their tenth birthday today, have been granted royal monograms. Earlier today, the Danish Royal House also released seven new photos of the twins.

Prince Vincent’s monogram consists of the Prince’s first initial ‘V’ with a fixed classic left wing combined with a doubled lined right wing. King Christian II’s crown has been placed above the initial. Princess Josephine’s monogram consists of the Princess’s first initial ‘J’ and it is drawn as a calligraphic. She also has King Christian II’s crown placed above the initial.

The monograms were designed by graphic designer Charlotte Søeborg Ohlsen, with professional assistance from graphic designer Mads Quistgaard and graphic designer Cecilie Kirkeskov Knudsen.

Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander is fourth in line to the Danish throne while Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda is fifth. Vincent was born 26 minutes before his sister in Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet on 8 January 2011. They are the children of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. They have two elder siblings, Prince Christian (born 5 October 2005) and Princess Isabella (born 21 April 2007). As per Danish royal tradition, the twins’ names were not revealed until their christening on 14 April 2011.

Photo: Charlotte Søeborg Ohlsen, Kongehuset ©

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