Queen Mary of Denmark has spoken about the importance of one big
event for her children as her royal family made an unexpected
Easter move.
Along with King Frederik, Mary walked with their four children
to Easter Sunday service, enjoying the spring sunshine on the
short journey from their home at Frederik VIII’s Palace to
church.
The royals looked like any other family as they made their way
to the service. Photographers got a good chance to snap them as the
traffic kept moving and King Frederik, Queen
Mary and their brood had to wait at a pedestrian crossing for
the lights to change.
The family were met at the door of the church by the minister
and then took part in High Mass. However, it was after the service
that a real personal glimpse of royal life was given.
In a statement on social media and on their website later, King
Frederik and Queen Mary spoke of the importance they place on going
to church for their children and, right now, their two youngest in
particular.
Twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 15, are about to
make their confirmations. As they joined their parents and older
siblings, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, at church,
their future was on the family’s minds.
King Frederik and Queen Mary said ”Participation in church
services is a regular part of the confirmation preparation for the
thousands of young people who are confirmed in the Danish national
church every year. This also applies to Prince Vincent and Princess
Josephine, who will be confirmed on 18 April 2026 in Fredensborg
Palace Chapel.”
It was a striking statement from the royal couple, who have
already seen their two eldest children confirmed into the church.
Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine have been preparing for some
time for their confirmation and their grandmother, Queen Margrethe,
has been helping them as they get ready.
A few weeks ago, the teenage prince and princess were seen
attending church service with Queen Margrethe at Fredensborg, ahead
of their confirmation. Margrethe took a leading role in the
preparation of Crown Prince Christian, now 20, and Princess
Isabella, now 18, as they got ready to be confirmed.
The choice of Fredernsborg for the confirmation is also
symbolic. The church there has been the site of royal confirmations
for over a century. Queen Margrethe was confirmed there in 1955
while King Frederik X’s confirmation was held in the chapel in
1981.
The Danish royals have already placed significance on the
confirmation of Vincent and Josephine who, just before Easter, were
seen meeting the royal confessor, Bishop Henrik Wigh-Poulsen, who
will conduct the ceremony. At the time, their family explained they
had met to discuss Christianity and faith ahead of the
confirmation.
Princess Josephine, who has been at boarding school for several
months now, seemed especially close to her mother, Queen Mary, as
the family enjoyed Easter together. The two held hands as they
walked through Copenhagen. Prince Vincent, meanwhile, stuck close
to his brother, Crown Prince Christian, and it was soon clear that
he is about to overtake his older sibling in height.
The family went to the Easter service held at Frederik’s Church,
also known as the Marble Church, in the centre of Copenhagen. It
was started by King Frederik V, who laid the foundation stone in
1749, as part of Frederiksstaden, a district designed to mark the
300th anniversary of the coronation of the first member of the
House of Oldenburg in Denmark. However, as money ran low, the
project was abandoned and the church wasn’t completed until
1894.
Frederik’s Church is now a place of worship for the Evangelical
Lutheran faith and it’s used for concerts as well as being a
popular tourist site. Its most famous feature is the marble dome
and that has helped contribute to its popular name, the Marble
Church.
The decision of Denmark’s royals to mark Easter here ahead of
such an important event as the confirmation of Prince Vincent and
Princess Josephine underlines the significance they place on their
faith. Queen Mary and King Frederik’s statement on their children’s
religious education put that in focus once more.
