Queen Margrethe, Denmark's good-humored, much-loved monarch

Queen Margrethe, Denmark's good-humored, much-loved monarch

Author: Kay Xander Mellish January 14, 2022 Duration: 6:00

No matter how they feel about the institution of royalty, almost everyone likes Denmark's Queen Margrethe, who is celebrating 50 years on the throne this week.

Every New Year's Eve, the streets of Denmark go quiet as the Queen makes her annual televised speech to her subjects. I find the speeches pretty much the same every year, they're about being kind to each other, taking care of the environment, and such.

The real entertainment is in the Queen's wardrobe - she designs her own clothes, and often chooses rather un-Danishly bright colors -  and whether she'll get her carefully written note cards mixed up. 

Every year she thanks the Danish military for its work, and every year she makes sure to shout out to the Faroe Islands and Greenland, the farthest flung parts of her kingdom. And she ends every annual speech with "GUD BEVARE DANMARK" – God Save Denmark. 

The Queen is the head of the Danish state church, and the Danish state – she still signs all the laws, including the specific law that made me a citizen.  But the Queen is also an artist. She paints, and draws, and has designed stage sets for the Royal Ballet. 

 

 


For anyone curious about or currently navigating Danish life from the outside, How to Live in Denmark serves as an essential, on-the-ground guide. Hosted by Kay Xander Mellish, an American writer who has made Denmark her home for over ten years, this conversation cuts straight to the heart of the everyday realities in one of the world's most homogenous-and often puzzling-societies. Rather than lengthy lectures, you'll find concise, ten-minute episodes packed with practical advice and cultural translation. This isn't just about travel tips; it's a deep dive into the unspoken rules of Danish social etiquette, the nuances of the local workplace, and the sometimes surprising path to feeling at home in a country frequently labeled the world's happiest. Mellish draws from her own long-term experience to explain everything from navigating the infamous Jantelov to understanding the Danish approach to business meetings and casual Friday night hygge. As Denmark's longest-running English-language podcast, it has become a trusted resource for internationals, whether they are planning a move, newly arrived, or have been settled for years but still occasionally find themselves wondering, "Why do Danes do it that way?" Each episode feels like a chat with a well-informed friend who helps decode the complexities of a fascinating culture, making your time there richer and a lot less confusing.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

How to Live in Denmark
Podcast Episodes
New Year's Eve Traditions in Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:24
It's almost Week 1, in the weekly numbering system that's widely used in Northern Europe, where the year starts with week 1 and runs through to Week 52 or 53, depending on the calendar. It's very efficient for planning,…
How to Handle a Conflict in Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:55
If you are an international who lives in Denmark, or someone who wants to, you have to learn the Danish way of dealing with conflict. This might be with a colleague, or your upstairs neighbors, or the authorities at the…
Drugs in Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:45
Denmark is getting rich selling pharmaceuticals to other countries, but within Denmark itself, the approach is inconsistent. Getting illegal drugs doesn't seem to be too difficult, but getting legal drugs from your docto…
Equality and the Electric Bike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:47
When I first arrived in Denmark, you could shut down any dispute in Denmark by appealing to equality and the common good. Solidarity - "solidaritet" - and "fælleskab", or community, or even "samfundssind", societal spiri…
How to Meet a Dead Viking: The Mummies of Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:21
Many people who visit Denmark are fans of the Vikings, the colloquial name for Scandinavians before the medieval era, although technically speaking the Viking raiders were at their peak in the years 800-1100. There are p…
No ice cream in July: Scenes from the Danish summer vacation period [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:23
In Denmark, the right to a long summer vacation is enshrined into law - the national vacation law, which states that all employees have a right to three weeks' vacation between May and September. Shops close, too. An ice…
Rich in Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:26
Denmark is a rich country, but does it have rich people? It does, but Denmark's wealthy tend to keep a low profile, due to the informal Jante Law in Denmark that prohibits too much showing off. That said, spring and summ…
What Newcomers to Denmark Ask Me [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:57
When you've been an international in Denmark for a while, as I have, you sometimes forget what it was like to arrive here for the first time and know nothing. I remember arriving just about this time of year and being as…
Denmark and Butter: A Love Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:16
The hottest competitive sport in Denmark over the past year hasn't been handball, or football, or badminton. It's been chasing cheap butter in the supermarket. Recent inflation has doubled the price of butter – in some p…
Randers is not a joke [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:51
It seems as if every country has a city or region that it is the butt of jokes. The rest of the country makes fun of the locals' unattractive accents and supposedly low-end behavior. In Denmark, that city is Randers. Ran…