In connection with the succession of the throne on 14 January 2024, the Royal Court has released the first official gala portraits of King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark. The portrait can henceforth be seen hung in, among other places, state institutions, including at Danish embassies and consulates around the world and on Danish vessels. The gala portrait was taken by photographer Steen Evald in the Green Room in The Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace.
The King wears the Navy’s full-dress uniform in the gala portrait. In connection with the succession of the throne, the King was appointed to the rank of admiral, and the full-dress uniform is therefore fitted with four stars on the shoulder insignia. Around the neck, The King wears the Grand Commander Cross, which is the Order of Dannebrog’s highest rank.
The reigning monarch in Denmark at any time is the Sovereign of the Orders for the two royal orders of chivalry, the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog. Therefore, in the portrait, The King wears for the first time a number of historical items which kings – and most recently Queen Margrethe – have worn during their reigns. In the portrait, The King also wears the Order of the Elephant’s breast star from around 1770.
Queen Mary wears the crown jewels for the first time in the portrait. It is the emerald set with tiara, necklace, earrings and a large brooch that can be divided in three parts. The emerald set is one of the four jewellery sets, or garnitures, which are at the disposal of The Queen of Denmark and are ordinarily on display at Rosenborg Castle.
The set was designed by the jeweller C.M. Weisshaupt and was a gift from Christian VIII to Queen Caroline Amalie, probably for their silver wedding anniversary on 22 May 1840. The set’s emeralds and diamonds are partly reused items from the jewellery collection of Christian VI’s Queen Sophie Magdalene, partly reused items from older bracelets, combined with newly purchased stones.
This is a wonderful jewellery collection, but the dress whith lace ruins it! To much of everything! Where is the stylist!
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteTotally agree. It's like a basic rule of fashion - not to have two (or more) busy items in competition with another busy item. The end result is a mess and confusion for the eye. In my opinion, the dress shouldn't have the lace, or if the concern is modesty, why not a plain sheer material for the top of the dress? Geeze. It's not that hard.
DeleteBirgit Hallstein is the designer and I love that Mary has used her to create the emerald gala portrait dress - considering she was the designer of the ruby velvet dress that paired so iconically with her parure jewellery. At first, I also thought the lace hid the necklace. However, now I feel it helps to balance all the jewellery.
DeleteThese photos are absolutely wonderful. What a beauty Mary is! Born for this role.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree; stunning! MR
DeleteVery beautiful Queen Mary, lovely dress
ReplyDeleteBut too much photoshop; flawless face and hands, the photo with her husband even the posture is different.
If by "photoshop" you mean digital retouching of the portrait, look at the picture at full resolution and you can see ever the finer wrinkles on her face. The same goes for her hands. So, there is very very little of "photoshopping", if at all -- in the sense of retouching, that is.
DeletePaula
I agree about the photoshop comment, it is like the photo of the Queen, both her sons and wives, where the queen is seated, the two brothers/wives are standing at odd angles. This photo is the same, it is like the manipulated 2 photos of the present queen/king, into the same photo. In the other photo of QM and two sons, you can definitely see that the two couples have been 'edited into' the photo with the queen seated. This photo appears the same, QM is put into the photo of Fred, as his appearance/stance/hand position is identical in the one with him alone, and with Mary in the 2nd photo. Too bad the powers that be, feel the need to do this sort of photo manipulation. It is a slap in the face to the public at large. janice
Deleteonly British Royals are criticized for retouching photos all other Royals can get away with it
DeleteThat sounds like a real conspiracy theory, janice… 🙂 If you look closely, Fredrik’s hands are not in the same position in those pictures and Mary’s shoulder is touching the tassels in Fred’s epoulet, pressing them down slightly. As for the group portrait you were referring to, to my eyes there is nothing that implies that the younger couples were ”edited into” the photo. 🙂 Quite on the contrary. I think people have become a bit paranoid after the picture of Kate and her kids.
DeletePaula
Conspiracy theories, how american 😂
Delete200 or so years ago, a similar Royal portrait would most probably have been done (painted) by an artist.
DeleteThe artist would have been at liberty to do whatever changes and interpretation of the image of the person as he/she wished.
But today we seem to get excited about any changes or improvements (photo shopped) to the image of a person or people in a photographed portrait.
When I looked at the overall image in this case and not searched for what had been done or not done by "photo shopping", my reaction was WOW.
I would love to see a painted portrait of King Frederik and Queen Mary. I'm sure in time we’ll see one.
The emerald tiara and earrings look wonderful on Mary—they really suit her. Unfortunately, the necklace is mostly lost in the neckline fabric of the gown. But I think we will see this parure again, which will be good.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful first portraits of them both, and Mary's parure is exquisite. It is a little difficult to see and be appreciated clearly with all the lace work on her dress, but I read about the pieces separately on another site, as well as the other historical royal items and they have very interesting backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI'd say this is a lovey beginning to a new reigning monarchy.
- Anon 9:13
Gorgeous portraits and gorgeous jewels. I just think that the lace top of the dress is not the best background for the necklace and broach. I would have liked to see another dress design where we could actually see these magnificent jewels.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Whoever advised Q. Mary on this choice really did her a disservice. Against a plain fabric these jewels would have been spectacular. (V.M.)
DeleteAgreed, the lace is not the best choice to showcase this gorgeous necklace. Otherwise, Mary looks beautiful and immaculate.
Delete-Royal Watcher
Yes indeed, too much going on with the jewelry.
DeleteLovely photos. Both look great The jewellery----wow! Just superb
ReplyDeleteWow!!!! Their Majesties look spectacular in their new gala portraits. Marking a new era for Denmark we have a lot of firsts in these photographs.
ReplyDeleteStarting with King Frederik, now as monarch he is sovereign over Denmark's two order: the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Danneborg. One can see the order's stars in his uniform and honestly it is a bittersweet moment. It was Queen Margrethe who used to wear these and now the King's turn. A handsome man indeed.
Queen Mary looks amazing here. I think her choice to wear the Danish Emerald Parure for her first portrait as Queen is so fitting. These crown jewels cannot be taken outside of Denmark so we wouldn't be able to see them in the upcoming state visits. As Queen she is the only one who can wear these pieces and I'm excited to see how she will wear them in the future. My only criticism is the necklace. I love the color and style of the dress, but with a high neckline one can barely the gorgeous jewel that is her necklace.
Lastly, I believe this is also the first time we have seen the royal family order with King Frederik's portrait on it. I wonder if Princess Maire and Princess Benedikte will be given these as well?
The Queen looks magnificent. Love the gown, her diamond and emerald jewels are stunning.
ReplyDeleteYes, totally agreed, Ava.
DeleteAn absolutely magnificent couple!
P. the original. Thank you. Hope you are well and all is fine with you in your neck of the woods.
DeleteHugs
Lots of photoshop but the jewels are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the entire emerald tiara not covered in hair! The lace top is a very odd choice for wearing both the emerald necklace and the collar of the elephant order. Nice, but way too much photoshopped. May
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos that will stand the test of time. These emerald jewels may be my royal favorite, they are spectacular! I cannot wait to see the necklace with a bare neck…hopefully the Queen will repeat again very soon.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Pictures for the history books. They look wonderful, very regal yet friendly.
DeleteDamsel Dragonfly
Exactly this.
DeleteFor all those who are complaining in other comments that F&M are festooned with too many decorations, remember that the badges, honours and sashes they are wearing are very likely mandatory for historical record purposes. I think that F&M look wonderful and the portraits are excellent.
- Anon 9:13
I love the way Q M wears her emerald necklace on a green lace dress: together with the tiara worn on a bare skin it would be too much glitter.
ReplyDeleteThe dress is lovely.
I am afraid I will never be a fan of a man in uniform with a kind of beard, clean shaven he would look so much better!
A pity. You will be missing out on a lot in the years to come. Gentlemen also have styles that change over time. Wearing facial hair is one of them.
DeleteSo, Queen Mary did forego the huge stomacher which must have been difficult to place with all the rest of the regalia. As noted by so many others here, the magnificent necklace gets a bit lost here in the neckline details of the lacey upper part of an otherwise perfect dress. The emeralds need more exposure, not hiding. The Danish Emerald Parure cannot travel out of Denmark, so it will be very interesting to see what else Queen Mary will bust out for the upcoming state visits to Sweden and Norway. And will she wear the Naasut Tiara when coming to Greenland? KF X also looks very fetching in his Naval Dress Uniform.
ReplyDeleteThis jewelry collection needs a completely different dress to make the jewelry stand out.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
I think this is also the first time we're seeing the portrait/ribbon of King Fred. I believe Mary is the first to receive one.
ReplyDeleteThat tiara looks so good against The Queens dark hair, I'm in awe of how regal she looks.
ReplyDeleteCinci
Wow, just wow!!! Queen Mary looks fabulous--one quibble though. The lace obscures the gorgeous emerald necklace--maybe a rookie mistake. Her gown is gorgeous too. But I have faith that Mary will get it right. She really looks beautiful and regal here. King Frederik looks majestic and so handsome! I would love to see the Fred's new order up close--and find out who else has been given one--my guess is Christian. I'm getting more excited to see what Mary wears in terms of clothes and jewels on her upcoming state visits.
ReplyDeleteJanet
I am afraid this was a missed occasion for Queen Mary's first unveiling to showcase this beautiful emerald parure and for a momentous Official Gala Portrait of she and King Frederick. Luckily we will see this set again!
ReplyDeleteLike most comments said : the beauty of the necklace on a lace underground cannot be seen. The first impression I had when looking at these pictures was that the king and queen were overloaded with jewelry and orders. If you know you are going to wear all these decorations choose a plain dress in velvet or silk, not partly lace and partly velvet. I think the dress is too dark. A lighter green corresponding more with the emeralds would have been lovely.
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely, but I would change the neckline. To high and doesn't fit to the necklace. So dumbfounded since this dress is specially made for the occasion.
ReplyDeleteQuel magnifique portrait officiel ; le collier d'émeraudes serait beaucoup plus visible sur un tissu autre que la dentelle !
ReplyDeleteI think Queen Mary might wear this look for the New Year gala next January. I hope if she does,she has the top of the dress altered to showcase the necklace.
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to seeing if she takes the Pearl parure with her to Sweden next month.
Lowri
Strange for some royals we can say what ever we want even nasty comments, but for Mary we can't talk about the truth like why they don't need to retouch the photos...why? Isn't like she is the only one using b...
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of the recent state portrait of Mette Marit in her gorgeous red silk gown with hardly any jewelry. This is really so messy. Too much of everything and that goes for Frederick as well.
ReplyDeleteThese are official first portraits of a new King and Queen. The regalia they are wearing - all of it - is mandatory for historical record purposes. This is standard protocol in such cases. This is not a situation where the individuals can pick and choose what honours and badges they want to wear according to their liking, such as they do for state visits and other events. Big difference.
DeleteMette Marit and Haakon are not yet Queen and King. They do not have to wear all these orders for official portraits as CPs. When they become the reigning monarchs and have official photos taken in that role, you watch and see all the decorations they will have to wear.
- Anon 9:13
Mette isn't a queen yet. She might accidently go overboard as well when her time comes for her first official portrait as queen.
DeleteI'm beginning to wonder if there wasn't some sort of miscommunication regarding dress and jewels and on the day and it wasn't possible to make changes for whatever reason. But, that still doesn't explain why she couldn't have just left the necklace off.
True old school royal dramatic outfits on both. A little too old school for me. But anyway, Mary looks beautiful and regal. What a great lady she is!
ReplyDeleteCH
@21:21 I agree. A straight or square neckline without the fussy lace would have allowed the necklace to shine. There also appears to be a lot of airbrushing, as lovely as QM may be she certainly does not have such a flawless complexion as the photos show.
ReplyDeleteBe careful…the Mary fanatics will come after you if you hint even in the slightest she isn’t perfect.
DeleteThe tiara is beautiful and beautifully worn in this photo. I rather like that there is lace behind the necklace. It seems that royal jewels from the nineteenth century were often designed first and foremost to impress. They use the largest stones available and as many stones as possible. The result is often an incredibly impressive display of wealth but not really beautiful, at least not to modern eyes. This necklace, and others like it, can look a bit clunky and heavy with its massive array of emeralds. But the lace softens it and transforms it into a wreath of jewels that melt into and become part of the dress. Ed.
ReplyDelete@Ed.
DeleteInteresting point.
I think Queen Mary did not want the necklace to overpower the Order of the Elephant ,the Order of Dannebrog or the Ordensportrættet (brooch).
ReplyDeleteWow, this Jewel set is fantastic. Sadly one can't see the necklace very much. .
ReplyDeleteBut Q Mary looks stunning and so Fredrik. css
Of course Mary's face is lovely, but there is something about the photo that is jarring. I don't understand the black dress. Everything seems heavy and overdone. There is no joy. No life. They seem somber, tired. Other posters have said what else I could say, so I won't repeat. But the photo is a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteMary has such a hard look to her.
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