At the start of 2025, King Frederik X announced the modification of the royal coat of arms, highlighting the Faroe Islands and Greenland. An announcement which comes after Donald Trump declared that he wanted to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.
A new year that opens with new coats of arms. Since January 1, 2025, the three crowns representing the Union of Kalmar – which includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden – have given way to the polar bear and the ram, symbols of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
The latter, previously placed in small format, at the bottom left of the coat of arms, will now be represented in large format. This considerable change comes a few days after Donald Trump reaffirmed his claims on Greenland.
The recently elected American president had in fact indicated during his Christmas message published on his Truth Social network that “the inhabitants of Greenland, whom the United States needs for its national security, want the United States to be present”. A message to which Mute Egede, the Prime Minister of the autonomous territory, responded: “Greenland is ours” and is “not for sale”.
“We are all united”
“We are all united and each of us is committed to the Kingdom of Denmark. From the Danish minority in South Schleswig to Greenland. We are all together,” declared King Frederik X during his New Year’s speech.
However, the Greenlandic Prime Minister does not seem to agree. “The time has come to move forward for our country,” he declared on January 1, 2025 to mark the new year, affirming his desire for independence. “Like other countries around the world, we need to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of the colonial era – and move on.”
This change of coat of arms takes place approximately a year after Frederik X succeeded Queen Margrethe II who abdicated. The last modification of the coat of arms dates back to 1819, so it is very rare, especially since it dates back to the 12th century under the reign of Knut IV.
