King Frederik celebrates his first birthday as monarch
King Frederik will make his first public appearance on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace on Sunday to celebrate his 56th birthday as a monarch. If you show up at Amalienborg Square on Sunday afternoon, you can sing “Today is the King’s Birthday” to the music of The Royal Life Guards. The Life Guards will lead a sing-along as King Frederik is celebrated. Music conductor for the Life Guards, Michael Thomsen, says: “Everyone will have the opportunity to sing along.” This year’s celebration is slightly different as it marks the first time the king celebrates his birthday as a monarch after taking over from Queen Margrethe in January.
The king has embraced his mother’s tradition of balcony waving. On his birthday, he and his family will step out onto the balcony of Frederik VIII’s Palace to receive the people’s tribute. The Royal Life Guards will, as tradition dictates, wear their red ceremonial uniforms for special occasions. Michael Thomsen explains that the music played by the Life Guards through the streets of Copenhagen leading up to the palace, where the changing of the guard ceremony takes place at 11:50, also follows tradition. “The Royal Family has chosen for us to play the royal marches on our way through the city,” he says.
The concert concludes with “Crown Prince Frederik’s Honorary March” as a new march for the king has not yet been composed. The rest of the day will be celebrated privately, according to the Royal Court. King Frederik kicked off his birthday celebration on Monday with the annual Royal Run. The run, which debuted in 2018 for the king’s 50th birthday, has been held every year since, except for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, over 95,000 participants set a new record. The king himself took part in three of the runs in three different host cities on the day.
Even though this birthday is King Frederik’s first as a monarch, participating in the run felt familiar to him. “It’s like running as a Crown Prince. I have a new body, but the engine is the same,” the king jokingly said with a twinkle in his eye as he crossed the finish line on his last route.