Yesterday, Princess Marie visited Voergaard Slot in Dronninlung to attend the Christmas party and visit the “Greve Oberbech-Clausen’s adventurous journey from Bordeaux and Paris to Voergaard Castle” exhibition.
This year, the castle hosts an exhibition of French art inspired by the last owner Greve Overbech-Clausen’s adventurous life from France to Voergaard Slot. In 1955, he moved his collection of French cultural and art treasures from France to Voergaard Slot.
Princess Marie was welcomed at the castle by children who were attending the Christmas party and by the Chairman of the Board of Voergaard Slot and French Consul, Anker Laden-Larsen, and the Mayor of Brønderslev, Mikael Klitgaard. Marie then visited the castle and was able to see the Christmas decorations as well as the exhibition.
Anker Laden-Larsen said: “It is a great honor that Princess Marie visits Voergaard Slot. We are looking forward to telling her about Voergaard Slot’s French history and showing the Princess how Voergaard’s living rooms have been transformed into a beautiful Christmas universe”
Princess Marie said: “I am very proud to visit the castle. It’s very different and creative and very cozy. I am very impressed. I think it’s a fantastic collection of French art and culture. It’s very very nice.”
Princess Marie wore her reversible gray/purple coat that she first wore last year. She paired it with her black Giorgio Armani blazer. Her boots are the Jimmy Choo ‘Glynn’ boots that she first wore in 2015.
Today, Princess Marie attended Folkekirkens Nødhjælp’s Christmas reception in Copenhagen. Folkekirkens Nødhjælp organizes each year a reception to thank every partner of the Fondation. Princess Marie is Patron of DanChurchAid since 2011 and has attended the reception every year except in 2015.
Secretary-General Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen made the welcome speech and gave an insight into the Folkekirkens Nødhjælp’s work. Afterward, the audience had the opportunity to hear Annette Heick’s recalling of her humanitarian trip to Malawi as Ambassador with her husband, the famous television cook Jesper Vollmer, and their two sons Eliot and Storm. There they visited families who have received help via Give a goat project.
The Give A Goat project is a very touching project where Danes can buy gifts such a school bench, a goat or a solar lamp. After they bought it, they receive a voucher or a gift card and the physical gift is sent to a poor family who needs the gift. In the case of the goat, once the goat has babies, the first baby is given to another poor family so the initial gift actually helps more than one family. You learn more about the project here.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, the Papaya choir performed South African songs. The choir was introduced by former Folkekirkens Nødhjælp Secretary-General, Christian Balslev-Olesen, with words about the legacy of Mandela.
She also wore her Elise Gug black jacket. (You can see a photo of Marie’s departing the event with the jacket on here) Marie wore this jacket only once in public, it was in 2012 for Christmas at Mogeltonder.
Each year, candles are lit in honor of those who lost their lives because of HIV. This event was created in 1994 by the Positive Group. The Positive Group offers support for people infected by HIV.
As Patron, Marie also received a very special donation from MAC. MAC’s campaign Viva Glam Lipstick raised 802000DKK (=$121,627) The campaign was created by the MAC Aids Fund in 1994: “Created in 1994, the passionate red VIVA GLAM Lipstick raised money and awareness for HIV/AIDS at a time when the pandemic was dramatically affecting fashion communities in particular as well as the wider world. Then and today, an unprecedented 100% of the purchase price of any VIVA GLAM product goes toward the M·A·C AIDS Fund “
Princess Marie is Patron of AIDS-Fondet since December 1st, 2012. She attends a number of events with AIDS-Fondet each year, including the annual AIDS-Fondet’s Christmas concert. However, she didn’t attend this year’s concert as she spent last weekend at Schackenborg Castle with Prince Joachim and their four children and family friends including Britt and Oskar Siesbye.
You can read the interview Princess Marie gave to Out & About on World Aids Day last year here.
Princess Marie wore a new Baum und Pferdgarten coat (with thanks to Cecile). The ‘Damara’ coat “features a double-breasted silhouette with notched lapels and front flap pockets.”
Princess Marie debuted new trousers and after looking for them for several hours, I believe they are from Peserico, Marie’s new favorite Italian brand! They are the Tailored Cropped trousers with silk inserts and they are sold out.
Princess Marie paired the outfit with a black turtleneck and the ufo boots she debuted at the DEMA event in October. She also wore them on November 11th in France. So far, I haven’t manage to find them.
We’ll next see Marie on Tuesday when she’ll attend DanChuchAid’s Christmas festivities as Patron.
Today, Princess Marie visited the European School’s new building in Copenhagen.
The School was created in 2014 and they moved into the new building at Carlsberg Byen in October. Princess Marie works closely with the school since 2014 and she was already the one who officially opened the school back then. But back in 2014, there were only four classes and the school was in a rented building. Now the school has its own building with more classes and it is the first public international school in Denmark. About the school’s admission system, Copenhagen Municipality stated that: “Everyone can apply for admission to the school, which is without parental payment. There are a primary school, middle school, schooling, and high school. There is no waiting list or payment for admission. The places are divided according to a number of criteria, where among other things EU workers’ children and foreigners residing in Denmark to work are prioritized, but the school is also for local children. “
The school aims to “build bridges between cultures – not least through the knowledge of foreign languages. Besides high academic standards, we attach great importance to developing our pupil’s social competencies. Curiosity, respect, collaboration and empathy are central values in the daily life of our multicultural school.” The school is a division of the internationally renowned Sankt Annæ Gymnasium (SAG), with a shared board and principal to ensure that it is solidly anchored in the Danish educational system. The school now has 15 classes divided into two languages sections, English and Danish. In August 2019, eight new classes are scheduled to open: two new kindergarten classes, two new “Secondary 5” classes, and four new classes in the new French language section.
The new school building has been constructed by BAM Denmark in cooperation with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, Nord Architects and the consulting engineers EKJ. It has “seven floors, including two underground levels, with a total area of 14,000 sqm. The building is divided into a primary and secondary education and will accommodate 1,100 students. It includes teaching and practice rooms, an auditorium, a sports hall, and other facilities. ” Here are photos of the stairs in the school:
Princess Marie collaborates with European School Copenhagen to help strengthen the knowledge of the school’s educational programs and other activities, as well as participate in special events and activities, both nationally and internationally. It made sense for Princess Marie to collaborate with the school as she had an international schooling herself. Indeed, she studied in Switzerland before studying for four years in the USA. Princess Marie is also working with the SDU (the University of South Denmark) on programs welcoming international students.
When Princess Marie arrived into the building, she was greeted by children waving flags and she posed with them for a few photos. Princess Marie also made a speech before cutting the ribbon in order to officially inaugurate the new school building.“I am delighted for the students, parents, and staff, that you now have your own school here in Carlsberg City,” she said During the ceremony, children sang ‘We Are The World’ by Michael Jackson.
After the ceremony, Princess Marie met two young students who showed her a scientific experiment which led to Marie asking if she should wear a helmet for protection during the experiment.
You can see a video here. It looks like this event was a lot of fun for everyone involved.
For this event, Princess Marie wore a black knit turtleneck with a new Baum und Pferdgarten skirt.
She paired the outfit with recycled accessories: her Zara navy suede booties , first worn in January, and the Tara Jarmon Flore bag she debuted last June in Bornholm.
I believe her gold hoop earrings are new but I haven’t seen any good enough photos to identify them. She also wore a black long coat but there aren’t any good photos of it either so far.
We’ll next see Princess Marie on Tuesday when she’ll attend DanChurchAid’s Christmas festivities as Patron.
On November 13th, Princess Marie attended the Stop Wasting Food Dinner in Copenhagen.
The international Stop Wasting Food Dinner was hosted by Selina Juul and the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Denmark Henk Swarttouw to support the fight against food waste. In addition to Princess Marie, guests included the Danish Minister for Environment and Food Jakob Ellemann-Jensen and high-level leaders from organizations and businesses. The hope is to make this dinner an annual tradition with a different embassy hosting each year.
About Princess Marie attending the dinner, Selina Juul said: “We are very thankful that H.R.H. Princess Marie will participate in our dinner against food waste – and we are very delighted for the Princess’ enthusiasm in the fight against food waste. Earlier this year in Stop Wasting Food, we had honor and pleasure to prepare a lunch with focusing on food waste at the Princess’ own home together with the Princess, the Princess’ children, and ten school children.”
The dinner consisted of a menu made out of surplus food and prepared by Dutch chef Lucas Jeffries – who works at the InStock restaurant which fights against food waste- and Danish chef Martin Jacobsen – who works at the Kadeau and the Nabo restaurants. The surplus food included imperfect fruits and vegetables and any food that would have been wasted because it did not fit the supermarkets’ expectations (sometimes just because of a misplaced tag). The guests were invited to take the leftovers home in biodegradable boxes. Princess Marie had the opportunity to see them cook after her arrival.
About the guests attending, Selina Juul said: “The people who come here for dinner, they are all very relevant to the agenda. They did not only came because they are famous and to eat some nice food. They came because they all have a relationship with the fight against food waste”
The idea of the dinner came from the Dutch Ambassador to Denmark Henk Swarttouw: “Too much food is wasted in the world. Over 33 percent of all food produced is wasted, so I would very much like to help raise awareness about this problem and support the fight. That is why I have chosen to become an ambassador of the Stop Wasting Food Movement” he said to TV2 Lorry.
For the event, Princess Marie wore a new Zara dress (with thanks to @JAusten). The dress features “a V-shaped opening and a matching tie detail at the neck and long sleeves with wide cuffs, a seam at the waist and a loose-fitting A-line skirt with a wide ruffle trim on the hem.”
