Danish Prince

When you say, “Prince of Denmark,” you think Hamlet, maybe? Now there’s a new guy in town: Crown Prince Frederick and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, have had their first baby – a boy. I’m not a Royal-follower per se. But I do tend to notice when things happen in countries where I have friends and colleagues. According to an Aussie newspaper, Mary and Frederik will name their newborn son Christian. (No “Hamlet,” sorry: the names of Danish kings have alternated between Christian and Frederik since 1513.)

Naturligvis, I sent a congratulations note. To Tine Lysberg and John Grandahl in Hummlebaek, Denmark. They’re old friends and ad colleagues, visited back and forth, and so on. I’ve even run through the precincts of the Danish Royal Palace in Copenhagen – and I wasn’t even being chased.

What I found amusing, even thrilling, was the news from Oz that “bonfires blazed and the Viking wine flowed as Tasmanians last night celebrated the birth of Danish Crown Princess Mary's first child.” Mary (nee Donaldson) is from Tasmania. The same newspaper said, “About 200 people gathered under a full moon at Blackmans Bay for the island state's first official celebrations since their most famous former resident gave birth to the second in line to the throne of Europe's oldest reigning monarchy.”

The fact that two different countries, separated by half a world, can get together for such a celebration is neat. I’m also charmed by the news release from the Danish government, in an aw-shucks kind of way (see the photo). Happy birthday, Chris, Prince of Denmark.

Photo of Crown Prince Frederick: Kristian Juul Pedersen/Scanpix