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DENMARK AND THE UK

‘An anchor in rough seas’: Denmark pays homage to Queen Elizabeth II

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have expressed their condolences after the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II, who was Europe's longest reigning monarch, has died.

Published: 8 September 2022 22:34 CEST
Updated: 8 September 2022 23:41 CEST
'An anchor in rough seas': Denmark pays homage to Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II in a file photo taken in 2016. - Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on September 8th, 2022. Photo: Leon Neal/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix

“I am saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty the Queen was a unifying figure for her nation and the world. She provided a sense of stability during changing times,” Frederiksen said in a statement posted by the Prime Minister’s Office on Twitter.

“Our thoughts are with The Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. I send the heartfelt condolences of my Government and the people of Denmark to PM Liz Truss,” she added.

In a letter addressed to King Charles III published on the Danish palace website, Queen Margrethe said she was “deeply moved by the sad news of your beloved mother’s death.”

“You mother was very important to me and my family. She was a towering figure among the European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all. We shall miss her terribly,” Queen Margrethe wrote.

“Denmark and I are grateful for her continuous efforts to further strengthening the close and warm relations between our two nations.

“God bless you both and give you strength and hope in your future life and duties,” she wrote, also addressing Camilla, the Queen Consort.

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the Danish Queen is now Europe’s longest-serving reigning monarch. A series of events are planned in Copenhagen this weekend to celebrate her 50th jubilee, a landmark she reached earlier this year.

Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral, her beloved country house in Scotland, aged 96, after 70 years on the throne.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

In a statement, her son King Charles III said: “The death of my beloved mother Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.

“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

Elizabeth’s reign spanned the Victorian to the modern era. Her first prime minister, Winston Churchill, was born in 1874, while her last Liz Truss, was born 101 years later in 1975.

Two former Prime Ministers of Denmark were among the country’s high-profile representatives to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II earlier on Thursday evening.

“Throughout her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was a symbol of dignity, strength, and duty. My thoughts are with the British people in this sad moment,” wrote Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was prime minister from 2001-2009 and later General Secretary of Nato, on Twitter.

“Not until you have lost something do you realise what it really means. Queen Elizabeth has died aged 96 years. 70 years’ work. Suddenly it becomes clear: She knitted an entire people together for several generations. An anchor in rough seas. How she will be missed. In honour of her memory,” wrote Lars Løkke Rasmussen, prime minister from 2009-2011 and 2015-2019.

 

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DENMARK AND THE UK

‘You only eat beige food’: What do Danes really think about the English?

Ahead of another high-profile clash between the Danish and English national football teams, The Local Denmark’s Michael Barrett reflects on the Nordic nation’s attitudes to the British.

Published: 20 June 2024 13:27 CEST
'You only eat beige food': What do Danes really think about the English?

There’ll probably be a bit of tension in our house tonight when the Danish and English men’s national football teams renew their rivalries in the Euros.

Being sensitive to this, I asked my daughter this morning if she wanted to wear her red England jersey to kindergarten, where a lot of the other kids will be decked out in Denmark gear.

Demonstrating more maturity and diplomacy at the age of 4 than I seem to possess, she declined.

She does want to wear it for the match though, a decision sure to go down well with my Danish in-laws if they drop by.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Sometimes I wish my Danish in-laws would shut the f*ck up

Three years ago, the two countries played each other in the semi-final of the last edition of the tournament. It was probably the lowest point in English-Danish relations since the British Navy decided to aim its cannons at Copenhagen in 1807.

England won, assisted by a disputed extra-time penalty and without getting into any sporting intricacies, the Danes were not happy.

Newspapers printed articles about the injustice Denmark had suffered for weeks, even after the bitter and angry snipes about the English had died down on Danish social media.

English fans – in England, not in Denmark – did themselves no favours meanwhile with disgraceful antisocial behaviour at the stadium and on social media as England subsequently lost against Italy on penalties in the final.

The way Denmark felt about England at that point was encapsulated by broadcaster DR’s headline after the final: “Wembley goes silent as football chooses a better home”.

DR‘s headline after England lost to Italy in the final of Euro 2020.

I’m not trying to poke at an old wound but to suggest it was an anomaly: in 17 years of living in Denmark as an Englishman, I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.

In fact, the only real jibes I’ve ever suffered from Danes for being English have come from one specific Dane: my wife.

“Why is it all English people are so bad at arranging their living rooms?”, she’ll casually remark while watching an indoor scene in anything from a crime drama to a reality show set in the UK.

“Can English people only digest beige food?”, she’ll observe when I do something as innocuous as eating a cheese sandwich (on white, not rye bread).

She has zero form for sporting ‘banter’, yet during the match in 2021 when Denmark went 1-0 up in the first half, she took the below photo and sent it to my parents and siblings on WhatsApp.

The author of the article during the early stages of the Euro 2020 semi final. Photo: private

The point is that if the only anti-English sentiment I ever experience is my wife’s low-grade mocking, I take that as anecdotal evidence there actually isn’t any anti-English sentiment in Denmark at all.

Even the introduction of the word Anglophobia to the Danish dictionary a couple of years ago was not accompanied by any ill feeling between the nations.

“You mustn’t take it personally,” the senior editor with the Society for Danish Language and Literature, Henrik Lorentzen told me at the time.

“It’s not included because there’s a particular hostility towards English people, or towards American or Anglo-Saxon culture,” he said.

Even the Danish footballers themselves don’t harbour any grudges.

“I think England were a world class side when we met them (at Euro 2020), they got to the final of a major tournament,” goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said yesterday.

Schmeichel also said he is not seeking revenge.

“I’m not the kind of person to look back three years for motivation. The biggest motivation for myself is we are playing another Euros with Denmark. The biggest motivation is imagining celebrating a win for our fans after they have travelled all that way,” he said.

Should England win the match and I send my child to kindergarten in the team kit tomorrow (I’m not actually going to do this), then the only nationality-related remark I’m likely to get will be the same one as usual.

This goes along the lines of “Wow, the British accent really sounds nice, good on you for passing it on to your children, that’s a real gift”.

That is sometimes followed by anecdotes about trips to London or holidays in Cornwall or the Scottish Highlands and how beautiful it was, and how polite people were there.

The stuff of rivalry, it really isn’t.

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