Suzanne's Mom's Blog

I didn’t know anything about Denmark’s artist-queen before seeing an article in the Guardian. The report made me want to learn more.

Andrew Pulver wrote, “Queen Margrethe II, reigning monarch of Denmark, is to design the sets for a forthcoming Netflix film adapted from a novel by Karen Blixen. …

“A romantic fantasy set in the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, Ehrengard will be directed by Bille August, the veteran Danish director of Pelle the Conqueror (which won both the Palme d’Or and Oscar for best foreign language film in 1988) and The Best Intentions (which won August a second Palme d’Or).

“Margrethe, who ascended to the Danish throne in 1972 and is commander-in-chief of the country’s defence forces, has also had a long career as an artist, including drawing the illustrations for Danish editions of Lord of the Rings, and exhibitions at galleries including the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Ishoj near Copenhagen. She also has screen credits as a production designer on the 2009 [fairy] tale The Wild Swans, and a short film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen in 2000.

“In a statement, Margrethe said: ‘Karen Blixen’s stories have always fascinated me, with their aesthetic tales, their imagination and their, to me, image-creating worlds – and I’m very happy to be part of this project.’ …

“August added: ‘The Queen has created the most fantastic decoupages for the occasion, and they will be the dominant feature of the film’s overall scenographic expression.’ ” More at the Guardian, here.

In a WordPress blog post from the Danish Home of Chicago, Mia wrote more about the queen: “Bewitching memories came tumbling out when I read about ‘The Fairy-Tale Queen‘ at Amalienborg Museum in Copenhagen. The special exhibit … is the work of Queen Margrethe II, whose artwork is on display. The exhibit shows the queen’s costume designs and scenography for productions of fairy tales, including Thumbelina, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Cinderella and The Nutcracker, that were presented at The Royal Theatre and The Pantomime Theatre. …

“I couldn’t wait to ask our friend Farfar, who lives at the Danish Home, whether he knew about the multi-talented queen of Denmark.[He] always thought of Margrethe as a pretty young thing. Her father, Frederik IX, was the Danish sovereign Farfar grew up revering. He had moved to the U.S. by the time Margrethe became queen in 1972. ‘I remember that she wore a daisy pin on her wedding gown,’ Farfar said, surprising me. ‘Daisy is her nickname, you know.’

“As a resident of The Danish Home, Farfar celebrates Queen Margrethe’s April 16 birthday every year … but he had never heard of her prodigious artistic talent. …

“While still the crown princess, Margrethe had sent J.R.R. Tolkien her own illustrations for his Lord of the Rings book. She used a pseudonym, so Tolkien had no idea the artwork that so charmed him had a royal provenance. The queen’s illustrations were published in a 1977 Danish edition of the Tolkien classic.

“Over the years, Margrethe has not only dreamed up costume designs, scenography and illustrations, but has also designed some of her own clothes and created paintings that have been displayed in some of Denmark’s most popular museums. Some of her watercolors appeared last year on postage stamps of Greenland, which is a constituent country of Denmark.

“She [is] serious enough about her art to clear her schedule every Thursday afternoon in devotion to it.” More.

At the Culture Trip, Aliki Seferou has more on the queen’s illustrations for the Danish version of The Lord of the Rings. “In 1977, five years after Margrethe’s father had died, leaving her the throne of Denmark, the Queen’s illustrations were printed and published in the Danish edition of The Lord of The Rings as well as on a British edition published by the Folio Society. If you’ve seen these editions and wonder how her name slipped your attention, it’s because Queen Margrethe used the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. …

“Even though the Queen of Denmark has an impressive academic background with studies in Political Science at Aarhus University, … Archaeology at the University of Cambridge and some years at the London School of Economics, it seems that she’s always been attracted to more creative activities. She’s known for designing her own dresses, ceremonial garments for the Danish bishops as well as costumes for theatrical plays. Among her most popular works are her designs for the movie Wild Swans, which is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s renowned fairy tale, and her costumes for the Royal Danish Ballet’s production of A Folk Tale.” More.

I have to say that my favorite part may be that, by tradition, this woman artist is the commander in chief of her nation’s defense department.