King Frederik X and Mary visit the Danish minority in Flensburg

Visitors from Denmark are not uncommon in Flensburg. They come from the north to eat cheaply, to shop or to buy cheap liquor and canned beer in the border shops.

Two Danes are also coming to Flensburg on Tuesday. But it’s not just simple day-trippers who stop by. It is none other than the Danish royal couple: King Frederik X and his wife, Queen Mary.

A mandatory visit to the subjects across the border, so to speak. Around 50,000 people who also identify as Danes live in Flensburg and northern Schleswig-Holstein. Their head of state is actually the Federal President – but their king is still Frederik the X. At least in the heart.

Eagerly waiting for King Frederik X and Queen Mary

At Flensborghus, the house of the Danish minority, the Dannebrog blows red and white over the entrance and roof. There’s already a hustle and bustle here before noon. A red carpet waits to be deployed, the police close the street. The employees of a café opposite are watching the events with interest from the windows.

At around 2:30 p.m., around two hours before the royal couple’s arrival, more and more spectators gather behind the barrier rope. Danish television teams interview onlookers and collect original sounds. The closer the royal visit gets, the more tense the mood becomes. Children wave Danish paper flags.

Shortly before Mary and Frederik arrive, it’s almost impossible to get through the barriers. Adults, toddlers, students and seniors crowd to get a good look in a sea of ​​red and white.

Then, shortly after 4 p.m., the time has come. The royal couple drives up. Cheers. Mary and Frederik wave and smile at the crowd. Both walk towards those waiting and shake hands. Mary accepts flowers – and a plate of grapes. Apparently someone was concerned about the queen’s physical well-being. Then we go into Flensborghus.

“I didn’t expect that I could get so close to both of them!”

Heike Petersen is very close to the two royals. Together with her two grandchildren Lene and Joris, she stands on the street for an hour and a half to greet Frederik and Mary. Heike Petersen’s family belongs to the Danish minority.

“That’s so beautiful,” enthuses Petersen. “You feel like you’re a minority.” She thinks the couple is likeable. “I didn’t expect that I could get so close to both of them!”

And what do Lene and Joris say? Lene thinks Mary is great, even without a crown. “I didn’t miss it.” And Joris says: “They’re a really good couple.”

Frederik and Mary’s inaugural visit to Germany as a royal couple was a marathon of appointments. On Monday reception with military honors in Berlin. Visit to the Bundestag with a tour of the dome, meeting with Federal President Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender, then to the anniversary celebration of the Nordic Embassies. “Thank you very much for the warm welcome,” it said on the royal family’s Instagram account.

King Frederik makes the Germans laugh

In the evening there was a gala dinner at Bellevue Palace, which was also graced by Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel as well as Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit. A class reunion of the northern European royals in Berlin, which gave the Federal President’s official residence a royal flair.

King Frederik exuded Danish charm with his speech in German. He talked about the fall of the Berlin Wall, his childhood memories of Germany and Nena’s “99 Balloons.” He always made the room laugh. While her husband won sympathy with his knowledge of German, Queen Mary had her shining moment in a simple red dress.

There was no respite on the second day of the trip to Germany either. From Berlin they continued to Schleswig-Holstein, where they welcomed Prime Minister Daniel Günther before opening an energy conference at the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research. The tour continued to the Viking site of Haithabu and the former Danewerk border wall, where the groundbreaking ceremony for a new construction project took place. And then, as the crowning glory, the visit to the Danish minority.

The often praised minority policy at the border – there is also a German minority in Denmark – and cross-border cooperation are on the agenda at the meeting in Flensborghus. But it is precisely on this topic that the German-Danish people are upset. It has been known there for a few years that the border is controlled on the Danish side. The minority is annoyed that German authorities are now also checking passports. A topic that would certainly have come up during the royal visit.

Visit to Germany is intended to deepen close relationships

Frederik’s last major visit to Germany was in November 2021, back then as Crown Prince, accompanied by his mother, Queen Margrethe II. Now Frederik X had to travel to Germany without his “mor”. The 83-year-old surprisingly announced in her New Year’s speech that she would abdicate for health reasons after 52 years on the throne. An unusual step. A good two weeks later, her son took over the official duties.

It is not surprising that one of the new ruling couple’s first state visits takes them to Germany. You could almost call it a duty.

Both countries are not only neighbors, but also closely connected. Politically as members of the EU and NATO. Historically, culturally and economically. Germany is a very important trading partner for the Danes and their companies; Denmark is a pioneer for Germany in renewable energies and climate protection. Maintaining close ties is therefore also an important task for the Danish royal family.

Mary: “It’s been a great few days”

As we say goodbye, clouds move in front of the Flensburg evening sun. But that doesn’t matter. Mary and Frederik are beaming on the way to the limousine. You see the same picture as at the reception: hundreds of people stand in the courtyard of the Flensborghus with Danish flags to give the royals a proper farewell. Mary and Frederik routinely shake hands, wave and smile. The queen is given a few flowers to say goodbye.

“It was a great few days that helped strengthen the close relations between Denmark and Germany,” Queen Mary told journalists. “It is only natural that we visit the Danish minority who live here and it is a great pleasure to experience this today.”

A reporter asks King Frederik whether the Danish minority will also experience a royal run. The Royal Run is a running event initiated by King Frederik, in which both the Danes and the royals like to take part.

“You’re not the first to ask that,” he replies, laughing. “We’ve already talked about it up here. But yes, next year you have to go to Ribe,” he replies.

A few more hands are shaken, a few farewell words are spoken. Then Frederik and Mary get into the car. Home across the border. Queen Mother Margrethe is certainly waiting eagerly in Copenhagen for the details of her trip to Germany.