Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia began their two-day state visit to Denmark on November 6, 2023, on the invitation of Queen Margrethe II. The visit aims to highlight and strengthen diplomatic ties and bilateral relations between Spain and Denmark.
It's amazing to know that despite their close family relations, this is the very first time that King Felipe VI will make a state visit to Denmark since ascending to the Spanish throne in 2014.
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| The King and Queen of Spain arrived in Denmark. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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| The King and Queen of Spain welcomed by Queen Margrethe II Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
The last state visit of a Spanish monarch to Denmark was in 1980 during the reign of Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos of Spain, a third cousin of Queen Margrethe II through Queen Victoria of Britain. King Felipe's mother, Queen Sofia, is a double third cousin of Queen Margrethe II through Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark.
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| Crown Princess Mary's deep curtsey to King Felipe VI. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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Queen Letizia and Crown Princess Mary Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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| Queen Letizia, Queen Margrethe II, and King Felipe VI. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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| Queen Margrethe II and King Felipe VI. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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| Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
The family connection did not end there. Queen Margrethe II's youngest sister, Queen Anne-Marie, is the wife of the late King Constantine II of Greece, the younger brother of Queen Sofia.
King Felipe VI is also the godfather of Prince Vincent, the youngest son of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary. Prince Vincent has a twin sister, Princess Josephine.
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| King Felipe meets his godson, Prince Vincent of Denmark. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
Their Majesties are accompanied by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Méndez.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia's state visit aims to strengthen the bilateral economic relations between Spain and Denmark, intensify the promotion of the Spanish language and culture, and also to promote Spanish tourism among the Danes.
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| Crown Princess Mary, King Felipe VI, Queen Margrethe II, Queen Letizia, and Crown Prince Frederik. Photo credit: Danish Royal House On Monday, November 6, the Spanish King and Queen touched down at the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal of Copenhagen Airport. They were welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Margaret and Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, and the Queen's sister, Princess Benedikte. |
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| Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
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| Arrival in Amalienborg Palace. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
They then traveled to Amalienborg Palace via a horse-drawn carriage and held a meeting with the Danish royals. King Felipe VI then proceeded to the Christiansborg Palace to meet Ms. Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark.
Also in attendance during the bilateral meeting at Christiansborg Palace were the Spanish ambassador to Denmark, the Secretary of State for Commerce, and the general director of Western, Central, and Southeastern Europe. As well as the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the secretaries of State of the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy; and the Danish ambassador to Spain.
State Banquet
On the evening of their first visit, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and the Spanish delegation attended the state banquet at Christiansborg Palace hosted by Queen Margrethe II.
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| King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Queen Margrethe II. Photo credit: Danish Royal House In attendance were Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Benedikte, government officials, business leaders, representatives from culture, sports, civic groups, and individuals who have close links to Spain and Denmark. |
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| Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Frederik, Queen Letizia, and King Felipe VI. Photo credit: Danish Royal House It was a rare moment to see Queen Margrethe II wear her magnificent Emerald Parure (meaning to be worn in a set) pieces of jewelry, maybe because she was wearing an emerald green gown. Crown Princess Mary wore her Edwardian Diamond Tiara with her silver blue gown from Lasse Spangemberg, and Princess Benedikte wore her husband's family heirloom, the Berleburg Diamond Fringe Tiara.  Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary  Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wettgenstein-Berleburg. Photo credit: Danish Royal House Queen Letizia brought along with her the biggest tiara in the Spanish jewelry collection, the diamond Fleur-de-Lys. This tiara was a wedding gift of King Alfonso XIII of Spain to his bride, Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Britain, known as Queen Ena.  Only four women in the Spanish House of Bourbon wore this tiara - Queen Ena, her daughter-in-law, Princess Maria Mercedes, the mother of King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, and Queen Letizia. Queen Ena stipulated in her "will" that the Fleur-de-Lys diamond tiara must only be worn by a Spanish Queen. The only exemption she made was when she loaned this tiara to her daughter-in-law, Princess Maria Mercedes, who could have been the Spanish Queen consort had her husband, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, not given way to their son, King Juan Carlos. |
Part of King Felipe VI's speech during the state banquet, “I also want to express our gratitude for your kind invitation to visit the Kingdom of Denmark. We are happy to be able to carry out our State Visit to this beloved country with which we are united by close ties of friendship and belonging to a common European project. We both hope that this visit bears witness to the excellent moment of our bilateral relations, which are based on solid ties, both personal, cultural, economic, and social.”
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| Banquet toss. King Felipe VI and Queen Margrethe II. Photo credit: Danish Royal House |
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's state visit schedules:
November 7, 2023 (Tuesday):
- The King will participate in the Spain-Denmark Business Forum.
- Throughout the morning, His Majesty will pay tribute to the fallen soldiers in the Citadel, and will visit the Town Hall and the University of Copenhagen.
- At noon, His Majesty will visit the Parliament of Denmark.
- Queen Letizia will tour the children's module of the Rigshospitalet and visit the pilot module of the Mary Elisabeth Hospital.
- In the afternoon, the King will inaugurate, together with Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary, an exhibition about Sorolla and contemporary Spanish artists on the centenary of her death.
- They will attend a round table at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) and will give a reception to the Spanish community in Denmark.
- Queen Margrethe II will host a farewell meeting for the visiting Spanish royals at Fredensborg Palace.
- The King and Queen will return to Spain in the afternoon
Queen Letizia, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary  |
| Queen Letizia, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary |
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