the queen was in town today. she goes around denmark every summer on her yacht and today, it was our little town's turn. the town is celebrating its 200th anniversary and the queen came to honor that. it was a beautiful sunny, perfect autumn day for her visit (thank you google weather gods).
the entire school gathered in the schoolyard this morning. i went along to take pictures and to be together with sabin on this momentous occasion. tho' the queen is no kennedy (they're the closest we have to royalty, right? tho' maybe the obamas are in that category now), she's still the queen.
3B had to fall in line for the walk across town to where the queen's carriage would pass by. that's sabin's fabulous former business class stewardess teacher (look, isn't her hair perfect?) capably herding the third graders into line.
everyone got a flag to wave as the queen passed by. there wasn't much left of some of the flags by the time the queen actually came, so it might have been a bit better to hand them out once we got there.
it took quite awhile for the queen to come once we were in position. i think they managed to ask how long it would be approximately 438 times before she finally came.
doing a little practice flag-waving
finally the hussars mounted on horseback came.
it was all very grand with the horns heralding the arrival of the queen
i love the shell-covered bridles. they were very festive.
even if these two look like they wish they were somewhere else.
and there she is - queen margarethe II of denmark
and prince henrik, her french husband
don't you love her earrings? kind of viking-y.
the queen's flag
and bringing up the procession, a big truck to clean up the "heste homhom" as sabin calls it.
that's horse poo to you and me.
i know
jelica will love this. it's a well-functioning society, what can we say?
i'm really glad i was able to go with sabin and take pictures.
this is the stuff you remember when you grow up.
22 comments:
Hi Julie
that was a lovely post. It brought back the times I waited for what seemed an interminable time to see QEII come past in Christchurch NZ as a child. One time the King and Queen of Thailand came to our city and my younger sister gave a morning talk at school the following day to say she went to wave at the King and Queen of Toyland.
I especially loved to see the streets of your town with the brick and tiled houses, the faces of the very young horsemen, and the blond hair of all the kids...
We have many young blonde haired children too but it is sun bleached...
Happy days
Too bad there weren't any handsome horsemen to be photographed.
Love the purple poncho Sabine is wearing. Did you make it? If yes, could you tell me how?
I love reading your blog!!!! Things are so different in so many ways and then other days I totally connect with exactly what you are writing. The pictures are always so cool because I haven't ever been to another country so it is all new to me.
Too fantastic that I now know what the Queen looks like and she is wearing a hue of the same peach that I use on my blog! LOL Maybe there's a connect there...LOL
Have a great day and THANK YOU!
it looks very impressive, with the hussars preceeding her - the way a queen should arrive :-) you got some excellent shots of the occasion!
and you're right - those are the things you remember!
The street sweeper is the perfect conclusion. Great sequence.
WOW, what great photos!!
Very nice. the Queen's smile looks genuine, and she's not in some armored limo with so many secret service folks around that you can't tell who's who. i love a small town parade!
Oh, I do love it! Just as I thought you got a bit too lyrical about the queen, there you go with the horse poo--I just knew there was a catch waiting somewhere :)
Great photos and the queen looks very likable, despite strange choice of jewelry.
Totally fun. Thanks.
What a lovely post. I think it's wonderful that there is so much pride in the country. The Queen does look very genuinely happy to be there as someone suggested above. All I ever got to see in London was the changing of the guard, but I'd love to stand by and wave to the queen -- or the queen of denmark. How cool.
How exciting! Sabin will remember this for a long time!
This was a wonderful post. for starters, I didn't know Denmark had royalty, and now I know. :)
I liked the pick where three men of three gray horses were going past blowing their horns. Whenever, I see three vehicles (or anything for that matter) of the same color and make, I just get amused! So, when I saw those three horses (of the same color and make), I just couldn't help going, "Ohhhh!".
Definitely a day to remember...
Ravi
http://musingsof.raviwarrier.com
Fun! So glad the weather cooperated and you got some great pictures. Thanks for sharing this little moment in history with us. Much more civilised than what we're used to in the States (i.e. last night during the President's speech).
That IS a well functioning society if you have an automated pooper scooper. We just have a guy with a shovel during parades :)
i think it would be exciting to see the queen...and, i don't know if we really have royalty here - no one I can think of qualifies...well, except Bono. And he's not American.
how exciting...
that's a mighty fashionable queen you got there and nice looking too;) you got a great shot of her.
How beautiful! I love that kind of ceremony and formality, and it must make the people of Denmark feel so proud.
You're lucky to live in a place that puts such high value on both tradition and individual freedom.
this is too cool! she is beautiful!
Awesome pictures, you definitely are a must read.that was indeed a day to remember and thanks to the internet and ur beautiful photography skill we get to share in it too..
lovely
i remember several occasions of standing in line on the street when i was in primary school, waiting for heads of foreign states who were visiting. one time in particular, we had to wait in line for over three hours before the guy turned up!
Heste homhom - I love that.
When I was on Holkham Beach watching the horses ride by I kept worrying about horse poop.
These pics are beautifully vivid. You got SUCH a good close-up of the Queen. (You don't often see peach colored suits.)
I remember doing the same thing when i was about her age with union jacks and seeing the Queen and Prince Philip!! I miss that kind of Pomp!! Thanks for sharing and awesome pic of Her Majesty btw!!!
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