Danish sovereigns and their families have always served as patrons, patrons or godfathers of Denmark’s cultural scene. This Wednesday, January 22, 2025, King Frederik X and Queen Mary occupied the royal box of the Royal Theater for the first time to attend a performance of Jeppe des Collinesthus honoring the tradition of royal support for the theater.
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The return of the Danish sovereigns in the royal box of the Royal Danish Theater
At the beginning of the 18th century, the art of theater began to emerge in Denmark and King Frederick V had a theater built for royal performances in 1747. During his son’s reign, theater was extremely expensive and it was King Christian VII himself who had to finance the productions. The building continued to expand over the decades and in 1872, a new theater was rebuilt in place of the old one.
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King Frederik X and Queen Mary attend the premiere of Jeppe des Collines
This January 22, 2025, King Frederik X and Queen Mary attended the first performance of Jeppe des Collines a comedy written in 1722 by Ludvig Holberg. It has been more than 90 years since this classic piece of the Danish repertoire was last performed on the stage of the Royal Danish Theater. The presence of the royal couple was very symbolic since it was the first performance attended by Frederik and Mary as sovereigns.
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King Frederik X and Queen Mary occupied the royal box located on the balcony. This box can only be occupied by the sovereign and his guests. During her reign, Queen Margrethe was a regular at the theater, she who has a particular passion for this art. Going to the theater was an important activity for Margrethe, who attended in evening dress and even wore a tiara on special occasions. Queen Mary chose a less formal style than her mother-in-law for her first outing at the Theater Royal.
Jeppe’s story is that of a man who has no control over his own life. He is a farmer, beaten and cheated on by his wife. After sinking into alcohol, he is found sleeping on a pile of manure and as a joke, a baron lends him his bed. When he wakes up from his drunken night, everyone around him plays an act and makes him believe that he is the baron. Jeppe transforms into a tyrannical leader and abuses his power over his staff, taking his new status too much to heart. A fake court is then set up and he will be falsely sentenced to death, only to be brought back to where he started, the dung heap.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
