They are not family, but almost. Margarita of Denmark threw her palaces out of the window to receive, yesterday, Felipe and Letizia on a state trip whose only precedent is the one that kings Juan Carlos and Sofia made in 1980. The Kings were officially received in Amalienborg; They dined at Christianborg and stayed at Fredensborg, the three palaces that the Danish queen regularly uses.
State visits are the highest diplomatic visits between two countries and if, as is the case, they are two monarchies, the usual protocol is accompanied by the display of symbols of the respective crowns, such as jewels and decorations, with the that royalty dresses in all its splendor.
Queen Letizia has returned to Felipe Varela by choosing the midnight blue embroidered tulle dress that she wore on state trips to Peru and Japan. As expected given the magnificence of Danish jewels, the Queen, with a ponytail, wore the Fleur de Lys tiara, the most emblematic of the Spanish crown. She also wore sapphire and diamond earrings from Queen Sofia's jewelry box. The King wore the Army's dress uniform, the same one from his wedding and his proclamation, and, in addition to the Golden Fleece, the band of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark's highest distinction, which he also wore on his dress. , the Queen. Margaret II wore a green dress and Princess Mary's was aqua green with rhinestones.
During the traditional hand-kissing prior to the gala dinner, the Danish sovereign was sitting. Margarita II, 83 years old, who has been on the throne for 51 years, underwent back surgery last February, which forced the postponement of the State hearing of the Kings scheduled, initially for April.
The first day of the Kings in Copenhagen began with their carriage ride through the center of the city, from the citadel to Amalienborg Palace, where they had the official reception. On this occasion, previously, Queen Margarita, out of deference and due to the kinship ties they share, went to the airport to receive the Kings at the foot of the steps.
The Danish sovereign, dressed in a strawberry-colored suit and who walks with the help of a cane, was accompanied at the airport by the crown princes, Frederick and Mary (dressed in a bottle green coat and dress), who are the ones who normally receive first instance to state visits, and also by her sister Princess Benedicta in a purple coat.
The third sister, Ana María, widow of King Constantine of Greece and aunt of Felipe de Borbón, was missing. Margarita's Greek nephews are also the Greek nephews of Kings Juan Carlos and Sofia. During his youth, with the connection of his common cousins Paul and Nicholas of Greece, King Philip maintained a close relationship with the crown prince of Denmark. King Felipe is also the baptismal godfather of Prince Vicente, Josephine's twin, the youngest children of Frederick and Mary.
The closeness and complicity between the two families became evident yesterday at the reception at the airport, where in addition to the honors of welcoming a head of state, a warm meeting between relatives could also be seen. There were kisses between the Kings and Queen Margaret, and the rest of the members of the Danish royal family and in addition, both Princess Mary and Princess Benedicta made the mandatory bow to both the King and the Queen. Letizia wore a light coat with a belt from the Mango brand, which she took off inside Amalienborg, when she revealed a ruby red dress from the Carolina Herrera brand.
The day closed with the gala dinner at Christianborg Palace, a group of buildings that has a particularity that makes it unique in the world, since, in addition to the rooms that are reserved for official events of the royal family, It is the headquarters of the three powers, the legislative, the executive and the judicial. In Christianborg are the office of the prime minister, currently the social democrat Mette Frederiksen; the headquarters of the Danish Parliament and the Supreme Court. The group of buildings, popularly known as Borgen (the castle), gave its name to a Danish television series (now on TV3) in which the leader of a minority party becomes prime minister after the agreements of the majority parties fail. . A highly topical fiction in Spain.
