Royal Salute for DANNEBROG and the King in Copenhagen
On 10 September, the Danish King and Queen will board the royal yacht Dannebrog from Nordre Toldbod to mark the end of the 2025 sailing season.
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The end of the royal yacht’s sailing season (during spring and summer the King and Queen use the yacht to visit Danish towns around the country) is celebrated in style.
Until leaving the harbour for the official end of the season the Royal Yacht is anchored in the port of Copenhagen just outside of the Royal Navy’s base on Holmen.
This year, the Danish King and Queen will board Dannebrog at 15:00.
They are taken out to Dannebrog from Nordre Toldbod in the newly renovated Royal Chaluppe.
Loud bangs will be heard as the navy salutes the yacht by firing off their cannons from Batteri Sixtus – part of the naval base on Holmen.
Dannebrog officially belongs to the navy but is put at the royal family’s disposal for six months every year.
This is an annually recurring event and called “Kongeparret går officielt i land fra Dannebrog.”
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Dannebrog was built in 1932 at the then existing shipyards of Copenhagen (Orlogsværftet), this more modern ship replaced the former one in service until then; the old Dannebrog dated back to 1879.
The yacht has a crew of 55, all of them naval personnel as the ship is officially part of the Danish naval fleet. When in official use, a further staff of 27 from the Royal household and up to 14 passengers are added to the crew.
The yacht is is 78m long and 10m wide. Dannebrog has visited most Danish seaside towns and harbours, and sailed to Greenland, Britain, Norway, Sweden and even Greece to act as royal residence for the Danish royal family’s many trips around Denmark and abroad.
During the sailing season from May until September, Dannebrog can be seen on cruise along the Danish coasts while the new recruits practice on board.
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In this movie, viewers are taken on a tour of Dannebrog – it is all in Danish – but the pictures are great, and you get a chance to see the royal yacht from the inside as well.
Picture and text by Bente D. Knudsen