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See Denmark’s queen take her annual gold carriage ride through Copenhagen

Queen Margrethe II took to the streets in style on Wednesday, riding in a gold-plated horse-drawn carriage through Copenhagen.

Published: 4 January 2017 15:33 CET

See Denmark’s queen take her annual gold carriage ride through Copenhagen

The queen rode in the 177-year-old carriage from Amalienborg Palace to Christiansborg, where she hosted the last of this year's series of New Year's receptions.

Her route to Christiansborg was lined with more police officers than usual because of the recent terror attacks in Berlin and Istanbul.

The queen was escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

The queen was escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

“We’ve put more police officers on the streets and they will be armed,” Copenhagen Police spokesman Hernik Møller Jakobsen told Ritzau.

A cyclist is passed by the queen's gold carriage. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

A cyclist is passed by the queen's gold carriage. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

The gold carriage that brought Queen Margrethe to her reception was built in 1840 for King Christian VIII. Six white horses pulled the queen’s carriage through the capital.

It's good to be queen. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

It's good to be queen. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

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How a German castle has sparked civil war in Monaco's royal family

Marienburg Castle in Lower Saxony pictured during the recent snow. Photo: DPA

Ernst August, 66, gave his son the fairytale-like Marienburg castle and several other properties between 2004 and 2007, but now wants them back citing “gross ingratitude”, the district court of Hanover said in a statement on Tuesday.

It is the latest public spat to hit the aristocratic family, whosepatriarch has over the years been nicknamed “the party prince” and even “the brawling prince” over his jetset lifestyle and drunken escapades.

According to the court statement, Ernst August filed a lawsuit at the end of last year seeking to revoke the gifts of Marienburg Castle, the Calenburg manor house and a royal property in Herrenhausen.

He accuses his son, Ernst August junior, of acting against his wishes and going behind his back by offering Marienburg Castle to the state of Lower Saxony as public property – partly because of the huge costs of maintaining the mid-19th century Gothic-style building.

READ ALSO: Just one sixth of Germans want own monarchy back

The plaintiff, who lives in Austria, also accuses his son of improperly appropriating artworks and antiques owned by the family.

Ernst August senior estimates the total value of the disputed properties and items at some five million euros, the court said.

Ernst August junior, 37, told German news agency DPA that the case had no merit, saying all the arguments raised “have already been invalidated out-of-court in the past”.

He said the deal struck to transfer ownership of Marienburg Castle to the regional authorities of Lower Saxony was “legally secure”.

“There's nothing that stands in the way of the long-term preservation of Marienburg as a central cultural monument of Lower Saxony, open to all,” he said.

The court has not yet set a date for a hearing.

Ernst August senior has been feuding for years with his son over the family's royal properties.

So severe was the spat that he declined his official consent to his son's 2017 marriage to Russian-born fashion designer Ekaterina Malysheva and stayed away from the wedding.

Princess Caroline, who has been separated from her husband since 2009, did attend the nuptials.

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