Commemorating WWI: Prince Joachim and Princess Marie in Braine, France

This weekend, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie were in Braine, France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

During the First World War, Denmark was neutral but 35000 Danish soldiers at the border between Denmark and Germany fought for the German army. Indeed, Southern Jutland was part of the German Empire at the time. Southern Jutland was reunited with Denmark in 1920.

One of the Southern Jutland cities, Haderslev, is twinned with the French city of Braine where the only Danish Cemetery in France is located. It was officially reopened by Prince Joachim back in June 2013 and 79 fallen soldiers are buried there. Considering Prince Joachim and Princess Marie both lived in Southern Jutland for years and that Marie is French, it made sense that they were the ones representing the Danish royal family at these ceremonies.

On Saturday evening, they were welcomed by Braine’s mayor François Rampelberg before attending a friendship dinner. They also attended a concert of the Slesvigske Musikkorps at Saint-Yved Church. This concert was a gift from Haderslev to Braine.

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Rundt omkring i Europa markeres det i dag, at det er 100 år siden, at Første Verdenskrig sluttede. I den anledning besøger D.K.H. Prins Joachim og Prinsesse Marie den nordfranske by Braine, hvor faldne sønderjyder ligger begravet. Her deltog Deres Kongelige Højheder i aftes i en venskabsmiddag og overværede en koncert med Slesvigske Musikkorps. Prins Joachim og Prinsesse Marie vil i dag deltage i en mindehøjtidelighed. 📸 Kongehuset ©

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Prince Joachim said: “I am pleased that so many participants from Sønderjylland have found their way to Braine to mark this important day. It’s been five years since I was here to reopen the Danish cemetery with fallen Danish soldiers from South Jutland, and now I’m happy to return and mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “

You can see a video here and more photos here.

On Sunday morning, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie attended a church service and a ceremony at the Danish Cemetery where Joachim made a speech in French. You can listen to his speech here.

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I går deltog D.K.H. Prins Joachim og Prinsesse Marie i en række mindehøjtideligheder for faldne sønderjyder under Første Verdenskrig. Højtidlighederne fandt sted i Braine, der ligger i Nordfrankrig tæt på byen Reims. Her besøgte Deres Kongelige Højheder blandt andet en mindelund, hvor 79 faldne sønderjyder ligger begravet. Under Første Verdenskrig blev mere end 30.000 dansksindede sønderjyder sendt i kamp for det tyske rige, idet Sønderjylland indtil 1920 var underlagt det tyske rige. Omkring 5.000 vendte aldrig hjem. 📸 Kongehuset ©

A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS 🇩🇰 (@detdanskekongehus) on Nov 12, 2018 at 12:34am PST

You can see a very short video here.

For this weekend of commemoration, Marie wore two fully recycled outfit. On Saturday, she wore her Azzato coat, paired with her Jimmy Choo pumps and her Bottega Veneta clutch.