In this week’s Keeping Up with Prince Joachim feature, we cover Prince Joachim’s two official events, his interview for his 50th birthday as well as three events that were not announced or covered by the Court.
First of all, I managed to find a little bit more information about Prince Joachim’s event on 26 April. As Colonel of the Reserve and Patron of the Association, he presented the Heroic Sign medals of the Reserve Officers Association and attended the following lunch. The event was held in honor of the association’s 97th birthday on 27 April. An official photo was released recently.
On 27 April, Prince Joachim as Colonel of the Reserve and Patron of the Reserve Officers Association took part in the ceremony celebrating the association 97th birthday. During the event, he also awarded more Heroic Sign medals of the association.
On 15 May, Prince Joachim had another event with the association as he met with the Head of the Arctic Command, Major General Kim J. Jørgensen who was awarded the Reserve Officers’ Association in Denmark’s Heroic Sign. Under the leadership of Kim J. Jørgensen, the Joint Arctic Command has grown from 15 to over 100 reservists from all staff groups and Kim J. Jørgensen was praised for his effective leadership.
On 24 May, Prince Joachim attended the Copenhagen Capacity’s International Talent Conference 2019. The conference aimed to bring the approximately 250 participating international students together with Danish companies such as Novo Nordisk, Leo Pharma, Coloplast and Danfoss.
There, Prince Joachim was interviewed by TV host Natasja Crone about the pros and cons of living in Denmark for foreign students. International education is something both Prince Joachim and Princess Marie are interested in and a number of their patronages and collaborations are linked to this cause. Prince Joachim is Patron of the Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassador Corps since 2008, designed to promote Copenhagen International and attract foreign investors, companies and tourists.
On 29 May, Prince Joachim – as Patron of the Danish Diabetes Association – attended the European Diabetes Patient Advocacy Summit. Prince Joachim has been Patron of the Association for 27 years now. Prince Joachim got the opportunity to meet researchers from Denmark and abroad and talk with them.
Prince Joachim also gave an interview for his 50th birthday to ALT Magazine. Here are the quotes that were made available.
Nikolai was the Queen’s first grandchild, and perhaps there was more focus on him at the beginning. But he should be allowed to become as normal a Danish citizen as possible. And I could see that no, it wasn’t the right thing for him. I think it was a very adult and mature decision to make. Daring to deal with his expectations, the Danes’ expectations and not least the family – including perhaps especially his father’s – expectations, was very courageous.
Since I moved to Australia as a 17-year-old, I have not lived at home, so it was inherently many years when I did not see my father so much. But you grow up. And I have to say that my father was of great support for me after my divorce. It was there that really got into the account in my adulthood. I experienced him as an incredibly strong person. Warm. And embracing. And at the same time, I also began to take an interest in what HE really did and went with. I knew he was a sculptor and wrote poetry, and he was very interested in the spiritual. But we got closer and closer to each other in those years and got an incredibly close relationship.
No matter how grown-up you think you are, you take a HUGE step further into the adult rows when you carry your father to the grave. After all, I was fortunate that I was well on my age when I lost my father, so I had had him for many years. For some, it is a shadow that disappears when one’s father dies, for others it is the safe base that disappears. I had an incredibly close relationship with my father when he died. He represented respect, discipline, and security. He could be funny. The legend.
We could see that it started to go downhill with my father. The last two weeks it went relatively fast, and thank goodness for it. He did not suffer. He managed to live. And that is what one should wish for their loved ones. That they do not suffer.
To end this week’s Keeping Up with Prince Joachim’s feature, let’s take a look at the official celebrations for Prince Joachim’s 50th birthday next week. On Monday, Crown Prince Frederik will join Prince Joachim and Princess Marie at a concert hosted by musicians for Prince Joachim at Klampenborg. On June 7, Queen Margrethe will host a gala dinner for Prince Joachim’s birthday. The entire royal family will attend the gala including Prince Joachim and Princess Marie’s children and the Crown Prince Couple’s children.
Princess Marie's Closet 