New year's address by the Danish Queen

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The New Year's address the Danish Queen ( Danish Dronningens nytårstale ) is regarded as an integral part of the New Year's Eve in Denmark . The speech at the turn of the year, which has been given by Margrethe II since 1972 , is followed annually by around 1.5 million viewers on television, around a quarter of the population. As a nationwide television event, it strengthens a feeling of togetherness and formulaically celebrates the unity of Denmark and the North Atlantic components of the monarchy. It is the only occasion during the year that the Queen addresses all Danes publicly and live .

history

First royal New Year speeches were given by Christian IX in the 1880s . justified, who raised a toast to the fatherland with toasts. These sayings were first reproduced in Danish newspapers in the time of Frederik VIII (reign 1906–1912).

In 1941, during the German occupation , Christian X. was the first Danish monarch whose New Year's address was broadcast on the radio. 1959 was the royal New Year address by his son Frederik IX. broadcast live for the first time on Danish television from the study in the Residenzpalais ( Palais Christian IX. ) on Amalienborg . Frederik IX's skepticism Compared to the new medium, it showed that he avoided eye contact with the camera and stubbornly read the manuscript. A year earlier he was speaking about the New Year's banquet in Christian VII's palace on Amalienborg. At that time, the cameramen could only record the arrival of the invited guests, as they were denied access to the banquet.

In 1972 Margrethe II took over the tradition. In contrast to the previous speakers, she was aware of the effect of the television medium and put her personal stamp on the New Year's address. They did not shy away from reprimanding their own people. This is what happened in the historic 1984 address when she criticized the behavior of Danes towards immigrants:

“Så kommer vi med vores danske humor and små dumsmarte bemærkninger. Så møder vi the med kølighed, and så he ikke langt til chikane og bigger metoder - which can vi ikke være announced. "

“Then we come with our Danish humor and little stupid clever remarks. Then we treat them with cold-heartedness, and then it's not far to chicane and coarser methods - that's not nice of us. "

- Margrethe II .: Original sound

The expression she used dumsmart ( Eng . "Dummdreist") flowed into the Danish colloquial language .

procedure

Was mentioned in the early years nor the firm wrote the Prime Minister and read out by the monarch without changes, this changed with Margrethes reign. In mid-October, an official from the ministry sends a list of desired topics, consisting only of keywords, to the Queen, who will use it to formulate a speech from November. She is not only concerned with the wording, but also revises the content of the list according to her own criteria. She is advised by the closest employees, including the cabinet secretary. Shortly before New Year's Eve, the ministry receives the final draft for review. The extent to which changes were made to the Queen's design remains a closely guarded secret. So far nothing has become known of any conflicts of opinion because of the royal speech. Conflicts would also come as a surprise, since the crown is expected to be restrained in terms of content. On the morning of December 31st, Margrethe II went through the speech again with employees of Danmarks Radio in order to adapt the shortened version of the subtitles for the hearing impaired without having to make any compromises in terms of content. At 6 p.m. she finally addresses the Danish people in front of several cameras and gives her 6–7 minute long speech.

content

The Danish Queen's New Year's Addresses follow an annually recurring pattern. At the beginning, she philosophizes about the turn of the year in general, then she reviews the most important events in a personal review of the year. Possibly upcoming events or anniversaries of a. announced to the royal family.

Even if the monarch is not allowed to interfere in politics and therefore stays out of party-political issues, the content does not remain apolitical. A speech with a more political character is reserved for the Danish head of government (state minister ) , who has also broadcast a New Year’s address one day later on New Year’s Day since 1946 . But from the moral ideas of Margrethe II, which are consistently influenced by a Christian worldview, her political standpoints can be read. Topics from world politics are discussed and their importance for Denmark is highlighted. In her first speech in 1972, she thanked you not only for the sympathy in the death of her father and for the congratulations on taking office, but also did not ignore international conflicts. She expressed her hope for peace in the Vietnam War and raised further political issues with Denmark's entry into the European Community and the German-German Basic Treaty. In order to convey her values, she turned to the people with increasing directness. In the 1970s, she still used the seemingly anonymous word man (Danish also man ), in the 1980s it was called we (vi) and us (os) and since the 1990s only me / me (mig) and you / you (dig) .

At the end of the speech, special greetings and thanks to selected groups follow. This includes greetings to the autonomous regions of Greenland and Faroe Islands as well as to the Danish minority in southern Schleswig . Acknowledgments are also given to Danes who serve abroad or at sea, or who work in the police and the military. The New Year's address traditionally ends with Gud bevare Danmark (God forbid Denmark), a saying first added in 1909 by Frederik VIII .

literature

  • Henning Dehn-Nielsen: Dronning Margrethes nytårstaler . 1st edition. Holenfeldt, Kongens Lyngby 2002, ISBN 87-91014-57-3 (Danish).
  • Erik Ettrup: Dronningens nytårstaler 1972-2008 . 1st edition. Wacker Marketing, 2009, ISBN 978-87-993235-0-0 (Danish).
  • Anne Møller, Karsten Lindhardt: Tredive år med Dronningens nytårstaler . 1st edition. Egmont Lademann A / S, Copenhagen-Valby 2002, ISBN 87-15-10573-3 (Danish).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ettrup: Dronningens nytårstaler 1972–2008, 2009, p. 3
  2. ↑ a b c d e Regentens Nytårstaler. Danmarkshistorien.dk, accessed December 20, 2012 (Danish).
  3. ↑ nytårstale. The Danske store , accessed December 23, 2012 (Danish).
  4. ↑ a b Møller, Lindhardt; Tredive år med Dronningens nytårstaler , 2002, p. 6
  5. ↑ Dehn-Nielsen, Dronning Margrethes nytårstaler, 2002, p. 12
  6. ↑ Dronningens nytårstale 1984 , speech at Wikisource , given on December 31, 1984 (Danish)
  7. ↑ stupid. The Danske Ordbog , accessed December 23, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Dehn-Nielsen, Dronning Margrethes nytårstaler, 2002, pp. 9-15
  9. ↑ Møller, Lindhardt, Tredive år med Dronningens nytårstaler , 2002, p. 7
  10. ↑ Nytårstaler. Statsministeriet, accessed December 23, 2012 (Danish).
  11. ↑ Dehn-Nielsen, Dronning Margrethes nytårstaler, 2002, pp. 17-21
  12. ↑ Dronningens nytårstale 1972 . Speech at Wikisource , given December 31, 1972 (Danish)
  13. ↑ a b Møller, Lindhardt, Tredive år med Dronningens nytårstaler , 2002, p. 8