Photo full of hidden details: Danish court unveils first gala portrait of Queen Mary and King Frederik | Royalty

In the photos, Frederik and Mary are wearing, among other things, the necklace of the Order of the Elephant. That is the highest Danish order of knighthood. Frederik is also wearing the dress uniform of the navy. The Danish court writes on the website that Mary is wearing the crown jewels for the first time. This is an emerald set with a tiara, necklace, earrings and a large brooch that can be divided into three.

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Although Frederik and Mary are standing next to each other, they are not holding hands. And according to the Danish historian and royal family expert Sebastian Olden-Jørgensen, this is not a coincidence. “They stand close to each other without holding hands, taking advantage of their equal height so that their hands are almost at the same height,” he told the Danish newspaper ‘BT’. “An effort has been made to make them look alike. She is wearing a dark dress, just like his uniform, and they are standing very close to each other. This emphasizes that they form a unity.”

Sebastian Olden-Jørgensen believes that the photo symbolizes that Denmark has a royal couple who run the country together as equals. “It shows that it is a joint project, that they are on equal footing,” he explains. “It shows that it is a partnership. It’s the king and queen side by side.”

In contrast to this gala portrait, previous official photos of the couple show more physical contact. Such as the portrait that was made on the occasion of Mary’s 50th birthday. It shows how Mary (then crown princess) held her husband Frederik by the arm, just like in photos of former Queen Margrethe with Prince Henrik.

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But according to Sebastian Olden-Jørgensen, it was a conscious choice to show less physical contact in this photo. “This photo is about the royal couple, about the king and queen, not about Frederik and Mary,” he says. “It’s a beautiful, solid photo against a neutral, palatial background that isn’t distracting.

The portraits were shot by photographer Steen Evald in Christiansborg Palace. In the future, the joint portrait of the royal couple will be displayed in state institutions, including Danish embassies.

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