Date of visit: 15th October 2015
Witnessing changing of royal
guard at Amalienborg Palace was the last itinerary that we had with Jacob. It was
nearing 2pm. Jacob was showing us where to watch the short ceremony was taking place
and later took us around the palace surrounding and towards the palace garden,
located next to the harbour. From thereon, we saw how the naval city once
developed from what they were before and what they are now. We parted at the
garden where everyone came to shake hand with him one by one and parted while wishing each other the best in life.
Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen is
a winter home of the Danish royal family. It consists of four identical
classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard. In
the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's
founder, King Frederick V. Amalienborg was originally built for four noble
families, before the royal family who bought the palaces moved in shortly after
the Christiansborg Palace was burned on 26 February 1794. Over the years
various kings and their families have resided in that four different palaces.
The palace is located in Frederiksstaden
district. The first palace was called Sophie Amalienborg, built by Queen Sophie
Amalie, consort to Frederick III on part of the land which King Christian IV
had acquired. Other parts of the land were used for Rosenborg Castle, Nyboder,
and the new Eastern fortified wall around the old city. It has included a
garden, as a replacement for an earlier garden which had been destroyed under
siege from Sweden in 1659, namely “the Queen’s Garden”, which was located
beyond the city's western Gate Vesterport, an area today known as Vesterbro. The royal family had a hall on an upper floor of the palace to dine while watching the gardens and the harbour.
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| Amalienborg Queen's Garden & the Harbour |
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| Art piece at the Amalie Garden |
Amalienborg is the centrepiece of
Frederiksstaden, a district that was built by King Frederick V to commemorate
in 1748 the tercentenary of the Oldenburg family's ascent to the throne of
Denmark, and in 1749 the tercentenary of the coronation of Christian I of
Denmark. When the Royal Family found itself homeless after the Christiansborg
Palace fire of 1794, the palaces were empty for long periods throughout the
year, with the exception of the Brockdorff Palace, which housed the Naval
Academy. The noblemen who owned them were willing to part with their mansions
for promotion and money, and the Moltke and Schack Palaces were acquired in the
course of a few days. Since that date successive royal family members have
lived at Amalienborg as a royal residence and kings have lent their names to
the four palaces; Christian VII's Palace, Christian VIII's Palace, Frederick
VIII's Palace and Christian IX's Palace.
Amalienborg is guarded day and
night by Royal Life Guards. Their full dress uniform is fairly similar to that
of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army; a scarlet tunic, blue
trousers, and a navy bearskin cap. The guard march from Rosenborg Castle at
11.30 am daily through the streets of Copenhagen and execute the changing of
the guard in front of Amalienborg at noon. In addition, post replacement is
conducted every two hours.
When the monarch is in residence,
the King's Guard also march alongside the changing of the guard at noon,
accompanied by a band that plays traditional military marches. The Guard
Lieutenant is always alerted when Prince Henrik or another member of the royal
family are reigning in absence of the Queen. There are three types of watches;
King's Watch, Lieutenant Watch and Palace Watch. A King's Watch is when Her
Majesty the Queen takes up residence in Christian IX's Palace. A Lieutenant
Watch is when Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim, or Princess Benedikte,
takes the place as regent, when the monarch is unable to. A Palace Watch is
when no member of the royal family is in the palace, and it is the smallest
one.
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| The Equestrian statue of Frederick V |
The equestrian statue of Frederick V was a meticulous
work of sculptor Jacques François Joseph Saly. It is located at the centre of
the Amalienborg Palace Square. The equestrian statue of King Frederik V was
commissioned by Moltke, as Director for the Danish Asiatic Company, and it was
made by French sculptor Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly. Work began in 1753, and the
foundation stone was laid in place in 1760 at the 100 year celebration of
political absolutism in Denmark. The statue was finally unveiled in 1771, five
years after King Frederik V's death in 1766.
Source of info: Wikipedia
Source of info: Wikipedia
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