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 was in Glasgow, Scotland to attend the Scottish Autism 50th Anniversary Conference as Patron of the Danish Association for Autism.
Scottish Autism was established in 1968 by a group of parents and they are now the largest provider of autism-specific services in Scotland and a leading authority and advocate for good autism practice. Scottish Autism aims to “help those diagnosed with autism to lead full and enriched lives and become valuable members of the community they live in. We also seek to share our knowledge and expertise with parents, carers and other professionals in order to support the development of skills and strategies needed to provide the best care and support for autistic people. Building partnerships locally, nationally and internally provides us with the exciting opportunity to learn and share our knowledge of good autism practice with other countries. “
Scottish Autism’s Deputy CEO Charlene Tait is a member of the Council of Administration for Autism-Europe which is an association gathering almost 90 national and regional organizations advocating for the rights of autistic people from 30 European countries. Autism affects an estimated 50,000 people in Scotland or 1 in 100 people. In Denmark there are approximatively 70,000 people diagnosed with autism, it is more than 1 in 100.
Scottish Autism offers a wide range of support services for people with autism in Scotland: “We provide a wide range of flexible and innovative support services for children and adults across Scotland, each with a focus on improving quality of life. Central to this is recognizing that each person has a unique set of needs. We create personalized support plans which are based on an individual’s own strengths and motivations and on achieving outcomes which are meaningful to them.”
These support services include children services such as outreach support, respite, and short breaks services and education service to “take the time to build up a deep understanding of each young person, taking into account their processing and thinking style in order to maximize their learning potential. Our dedicated team of practitioners receives regular autism specific training and they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to enable each child and young person to have positive life experiences.”
But the association also focuses on support for adults such as supported living services which aim to help developing independence but also transition support services that aim “to assess an individual’s needs and build the skills and strategies required to enable them to move on to the most appropriate, sustainable and longer-term setting.”
Another important part of Scottish Autism’s support services is dedicated to the families in order to help them understand autism better and to help them whenever they need it but also to the professionals. Indeed the association has an advice line as well as a toolbox and training service available.
In order to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Scottish Autism organized several events all year with the big focus being this international two-day conference “Innovation in Autism Practice: The Future is Calling”.
The program of the conference was influenced by “a contemporary view that embraces autism as a developmental difference and focuses on a capacity view of the individual”. Scottish Autism also sponsored The Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) to host an Autism Fringe which included workshops, discussions and information sharing.
Princess Marie, as Patron of the Danish Association for Autism, made the opening speech after the welcoming speech by Charlene Tait. Sadly, the Court hasn’t updated Princess Marie’s speech yet but I’ll update the post as soon as they do. We do know she talked about the value of sharing knowledge and experience as well as the importance of working together to improve the lives of autistic people.
A passionate advocate for greater support & rights for autistic people, HRH Princess Marie is patron of Autism Denmark.
We are honoured to have HRH Princess Marie opening our conference & later meeting with Iceberg Film Productions – a group of autistic SA film makers #SAconf18pic.twitter.com/Q7efKS9oAP
After Princess Marie’s speech, Charlene Tait made a keynote speech called ‘The Future is Calling’.
#SAConf18@CharleneTait_SA talking about the negative language/imagery/narratives used when talking about autism "the things we say about people come true"…"the narrative is often deficit led"
Great intro to #SAConf18 @CharleneTait_SA “extraordinarily simple – if we want to know what autistic people want, we ask them”. Also reminded us that @MMCHealthPsy saw people not as a collection of challenges, -don’t try to change them. pic.twitter.com/dJb83D3hqx
The second keynote speech was held by Professor Roy Richard Grinker from the George Washington University called ‘Autism and the Disappearing Stigma of Mental Illness.’
Stigma is not a product of ignorance but of cultural social constructs of what is ‘the ideal person’. Well said Prof Rob Roy Grinker @scottishautism#SAConf18 What matters is not the word but the social/cultural implications of the word – autism.
Here’s a very important quote from Ruth Moyse’s seminar:
#SAConf18@mum2aspergirl : girls are capable of telling their stories but people don't think the girls' stories are as valuable or as valid as the stories of those around them
About Princess Marie attending the conference, Charlene Tait said: “We had the pleasure of meeting with Princess Marie at last year’s ‘Meeting of Minds’ autism event in Copenhagen to discuss a number of areas where Scotland and Denmark are working together in close collaboration. She is a real champion of the autism community and has been a great supporter of the joint working going on between ourselves and Autism Denmark. We look forward to welcoming her to Scotland and to hearing her speak at this year’s conference.”
Princess Marie indeed attended the Meeting of Minds conference last year in Copenhagen and I believe she will attend this year’s Meeting of Minds conference on November 29th although this wasn’t confirmed by the Court yet. This year’s theme is ‘Autism in Doubt’. According to the Danish Association for Autism’s website, some of the topics that will be discussed at the conference are :
“Co-occurring mental disorder”
“You don´t look autistic!”
“What is Autism?”
“Sex differences in boys and girls with ASD: Diagnostic criteria, stress, anxiety, and depression”
“Aging and being autistic: Lessons (not) learned.”
After the keynote speeches at the Scottish Autism Conference, seminars started while Princess Marie left the Grand Central Hotel where the conference was held to go to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum along with Deputy CEO Charlene Tait. The museum is part of an initiative along with the other eight Glasgow museums to become more autism aware. This year they launched a new programme of early openings, autism-friendly workshops, and resources. In 2017, three of those museums already made improvements and now have trained Autism Champions to raise staff awareness, visual storyboards and pre-visit information to help plan the visit and sensory kits that can be borrowed.
At the Museum, Princess Marie met with students from the Iceberg Productions including Jason Donaldson, Daniel Page, Lee Roibrown, Emma Stanley and John Sapseed. According to Scottish Autism’s press release: “Iceberg Productions is a group of young autistic film-makers which is based at Blue Central, one of Scottish Autism’s Day Services. This project is led by John Innes and Ian Noble of the Untold Motion Picture Company. Ian and John have considerable experience in film-making, photography and sound recording and work closely with Scottish Autism, running a number of film-making taster courses for the individuals supported by the charity. The aspiration is to enable autistic individuals who are interested in film-making to be part of an in-house production company.”
One of the students, Jason, was able to interview Princess Marie and he then took a selfie with her which was shared on his school’s twitter account. Jason is a student at the New Struan School which is a day and residential school for students between 5 and 19 years old. Their vision is “to enable our pupils to become included, confident learners in the community. We know that young people with autism can be successful learners and we strive to provide the structured and supportive environment which enables them to reach their full potential. ”
When asked by Jason what was the best thing about being a Princess, Marie said : “The best thing is to be out for a day like this and meet people like those I’ve met here today in Scotland.”
The school even has a rabbit named Freddie and he has his own twitter account! He even congratulated Jason for his meeting with Princess Marie and said that the class had been checking Twitter all day to see if there was any photo of Jason! Jason said Marie was lovely and it looks like it was an amazing moment for everyone involved!
Princess Marie and the students posed for a photo in front of their taxis at the end of the event and Glasgow Taxis tweeted that they were honored to be transporting Marie today.
Honoured to be transporting HRH Princess Marie of Denmark today, who is visiting Glasgow to speak at Scottish Autism’s international 50th Anniversary conference. A passionate advocate for greater support and rights for autistic people, HRH is patron of Autism Denmark. #SAconf18pic.twitter.com/3YFLWX3hTJ
You can see a video of Marie’s day in Glasgow here.
In the evening, Princess Marie attended the evening dinner at the Grand Central Hotel which is the Hotel where she stayed. Sadly, there is only one photo so far. I believe Marie wore a new dress but I’m not sure.
In their report about the day, the Danish Association for Autism said: “The Autism National Association expresses its sincere thanks to HKH Princess Marie for the great involvement in the autism area, both nationally and internationally – and for the amazing work of the protector and in the meeting with autistic people and their families. “
For this day in Scotland, Princess Marie wore a fully recycled outfit. She chose to wear a Giorgio Armani double-breasted that she first wore in 2014 and black trousers.
She paired the outfit with her Etui Bags grey clutch and ufo pumps from 2010. In one of the photos, we can see Marie carrying a new purple tote bag but I don’t have any ID for it yet.
She wore the same outfit except for the trousers when she debuted the jacket in 2014 at an event to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Epilepsy Children Hospital of Dianalund.
We’ll next see Princess Marie with Prince Joachim this weekend in Braine, France where they’ll commemorate the end of the First World War.
On Friday, Princess Marie was in Kolding to attend a special conference with President Barack Obama at the University of South Denmark.
Former President Barack Obama took part in a moderated Q & A conversation for an audience of business leaders, university students, and local dignitaries during the ‘ A conversation with President Barack Obama’ event. The event was by invitation only, and Princess Marie works closely with the University of South Denmark to develop new programs for international students, so it is natural that she was invited.
Princess Marie had the opportunity to meet with Barack Obama backstage and they took a photo. Afterward, Marie left SDU and went to Koldinghus where she had lunch with the director Thomas C. Thulstrup and the director of the French jewelry house Mauboussin, Olivier Galtié.
Several items from the Danish Royal Family were loaned to the exhibition such as Queen Margrethe’s Greenlandic Diadem, Queen Anne-Marie’s Cartier Wedding Tiara, Princess Benedikte’s Floral Tiara, Crown Princess Mary’s Midnight Tiara, and Princess Marie’s Légion d’Honneur medal.
More about the exhibition from their press release: “The exhibition showcases a selection of magnificent and unique Danish and European pieces to illustrate the ability of jewelry to capture our fascination and act as statements of shifting power structures over the past 750 years.”
Princess Marie debuted her new tiara created by Mauboussin on 28th August at the gala dinner hosted in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron during the French state visit to Denmark. The tiara is owned by Mauboussin, but they accepted to loan the tiara to ‘The Splendour of Power’ exhibition. They officially added the tiara to the exhibition on Friday hence why Marie and Mauboussin’s director visited.
After the exhibition, Princess Marie said to Billed-Bladet that it was a lovely exhibition. You can see a short video here.
For this day in Kolding, Princess Marie wore a fully recycled outfit. She chose one of my favorite jacket of her, a Giorgio Armani red pleated jacket that she owns since 2012 at least.
Today, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie were in Fredericia to attend ceremonies commemorating Flag Day. Flag Day takes place on September 5th each year and honors those who have served for Denmark and every year between 2011 and 2016, either the Crown Prince Couple or Prince Joachim and Princess Marie attended the ceremonies in Copenhagen. However, since last year, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attend the ceremonies in Copenhagen while Prince Joachim and Princess Marie attend the ceremonies in another city.
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie first visited Ryes Kaserne were they were received by Colonel Soren Andersen. There, they took part in a wreath-laying ceremony.
Afterward, they attended a service at St Michaelis Church before attending a military parade.
In the afternoon, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie were received at Meldahls Town Hall where they met representatives from a shelter for veterans.
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie then walked from the Town Hall to Klojhuset. This walk gave them the opportunity to meet with the crowd waiting for them.
In Klojhuset, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie took part in a lunch with veterans where one local veteran held a speech.
For the first time, Prince Nikolai also took part in the Flag Day ceremonies. Indeed, Prince Nikolai is now a student at Haerens Sergentskole in Varde and the school also had its own ceremony to commemorate the day.
For these somber ceremonies, Princess Marie wore her Giorgio Armani Fall 2009 jacket with a new white printed dress from Peserico, an Italian brand (with thanks to an anonymous reader). This jacket is her “funeral” jacket as she only wears it to attend somber events or funerals. The last time she wore it was for Prince Henrik’s funeral.
She paired the outfit with her new favorite combo: her Jimmy Choo ‘Romy’ black suede pumps and her Carlend Copenhagen ‘Aicha’ clutch. She wore the same accessories in Odense yesterday. Her earrings and her fascinator are old but sadly I don’t have any IDs for them.
This is the third edition of the two-day Summit and the second with Princess Marie as Patron. The summit is hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark. The ‘Better Food for More People’ movement was combined with the World Food Summit.
More about the summit from the Ministry of Environment and Food: “The purpose of the global movement “Better Food for More People” and the annual World Food Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark is to unleash the full potential of gastronomy in order to create worldwide solid solutions that ensure better food for more people. The urban population of the world has grown rapidly from 746 million in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass 6 billion by 2045. The amount of information about food is huge and difficult to get right, 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food, more than 244 million people lived outside their country of origin and more than 40 % of food waste in industrialized countries occurs at retail and consumer levels. “
“The need for strong solutions across the world is calling for action among the world’s politicians, decision makers, experts, professionals, chefs, scientist and CEO’s. Better Food for More People and the annual World Food Summit in Copenhagen is framing that action to evolve and take place. Together with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which involves all nations, the aim is to push forward the agenda of sustainable development within the production and consumption of food and essentially healthy lives in the global society. “
Here is Princess Marie’s speech: ” Good morning ministers, CEO’s, chefs, journalists, food enthusiasts, ladies, and gentlemen.
Welcome to the 3rd edition of The World Food Summit – Better Food for More People.
It is a pleasure to be here, and it is a pleasure for me to see people from all around the world gathered here today.
It is a joyful occasion with the focus on a subject that is very dear to me: Food. But it is also a serious occasion. Because when it comes to both food consumption and production, we are facing enormous global challenges that call for global solutions.
Today, more than 800 million people live in hunger, while more than 2 billion people are overweight or obese.
This truly is the paradox of our time.
But our food is not only unequally distributed…
Every year, almost one-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted, and we have to stop that as well. Especially, since we live on a globe with limited resources.
As patron of this summit, I urge that we use this Summit to work together to address the global food challenges.
But first and foremost, every one of us must start by looking at our everyday lives and surroundings. We all have to be role models for our younger generation.
In my house, every now and then my children have to empty the fridge before buying new food. It means that I sometimes have to be a strict and unpopular parent – and I believe the best parents are!
We have to educate all our children to eat and consume food with modesty because science shows that it is during childhood that every person’s health and food habits are formed for the rest of their life.
We can all do a difference if we have the right tools, the knowledge, and the skills.
Therefore, we must work to ensure that all children are given the possibility to live a life with a healthy diet, with the ability to cook for themselves and the knowledge of the globes limitations.
I know that from where we stand today, this dream sounds less realistic than Denmark winning the World Cup in soccer. But nevertheless, it should be our aim.
I would like to end by thanking you all for coming here today.
By working together, we can create a joint movement and hopefully a sustainable world for the sake of our children.
A lot has to change if we are to ensure better food for more people.
After the opening ceremony, Princess Marie and the Minister of Food and Environment Jacob Ellemann-Jensen met students from the European School in Copenhagen and they ate the food homemade by the students. Afterward, Princess Marie and Jacob Ellemann-Jensen went back to the main room to take part in the next events of the summit.
Princess Marie wore a fully recycled outfit today. She wore her Giorgio Armani black blazer from 2015 (no stock photo but it has the name of the brand on the button) with her DKNY white wrap printed dress.
