May 12, 2004
Right Royal Frenzy
England's well known for it's obsession with royalty. Just visit any tourist shop in London and you'll be staggered by the range of royal memorabilia you can take home and treasure. But why on earth anyone would want a tea-towel with a grim-faced Queen Elizabeth II printed on it is a bit beyond me. Ditto for a postcard of the long-dead Diana, Princess of Wales (I mean, who would you send that to?) or a coffee mug with Prince Charles' jug-eared face adorned on it.
So it came as somewhat of a surprise to find that the Danes are almost as obsessive about their royal family . . .
I arrived in Copenhagen on Saturday to discover the city in the throes of royal frenzy. The streets and squares were adorned with giant floral sculptures, mainly in the form of entertwined lovehearts, and shop windows were filled with pictures of the happy couple - Crown Prince Frederick and Miss Mary Donaldson - who will wed this coming weekend.
It seemed like everywhere I turned there were more decorations, more symbols, more reminders that there was a BIG wedding in the offing. The media were already in town, setting up in a big glass-fronted media box opposite the church (freshly renovated for the occasion) where live television coverage will be based.
And, just like the Brits, the royal souvenirs were out in full force. Every manner of wedding memorabilia was on offer from commemorative chocolates to specially brewed beers, thimbles to china plates.
But the weirdest souvenir for me, an expat Australian, was the Australian flags readily available in just about every shop I came across. Yes, the bride-to-be just so happens to be an Aussie, a fact you'd probably have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to notice if you visit Denmark right now, because there are probably more Australian flags flying in Copenhagen than ever get raised on Australia's most patriotic day of the year - ANZAC Day.
As a consequence I spent most of my three-day visit keeping my mouth shut. Why? Because I didn't want anyone to think I was in town specifically for the wedding. I am a republican after all . . .
Posted by kimbofo at May 12, 2004 08:16 PMwiping dishes with the queen's face! and a jug-eared mug on a mug! i can't think of anything i want more!
except i bet the british don't mean any kind of irony by it, do they? it's sincere, their love of these weird faces. eek.
it sounds like you had fun in denmark, though. and it's always good to be in town for a wedding for which you didn't have to buy a gift.
Posted by: anne at May 13, 2004 10:15 AMI rather suspect it isnt the British who actually buy these tea towels etc though - I imagine it is actually the tourists (you'll not find a Londoner going into one of those dreadful shops unless they are blindfolded and screaming!). You'll be amazed at what some of the tourists in London take pictures of and are prepared to waste their money on.....
Posted by: helen at May 13, 2004 03:47 PMAnne: a mug on a mug! I like it!
Helen: you are so right. I think the only people who buy those tacky royal souvenirs are visitors to London - mainly the Americans I suspect. The Aussies buy them too, but only for the joke factor!
Posted by: kimbofo at May 13, 2004 08:44 PMThere are some photos up at the BBC website of the radiant bride and the proud husband, but I have to say the parties at the BAR where they met in Sydney look like a bit more fun than the red-carpet affair in Copenhagen. But I could be wrong. As our correspondent on the ground: How was it??
Posted by: anne at May 14, 2004 08:51 PMAnne, I wish I was a correspondent on the ground, but I was there for just three days, and I really only caught the preparation side of things. Mind you, I did visit the church and went inside; it was simply gorgeous in a kind of minimalist way.
There's some nice piccies on The Age website as well - http://theage.com.au/photogallery/2004/05/13/1084289795515.html.