Wasn’t it a delicious dish to pose for the guests at the British Embassy on 9 June, which gathered to celebrate the ‘Platinum Jubilee’ for Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Admittedly, France’s Louis XIV, the Sun King, still holds the record for being the longest-serving monarch in history, but he was four when he took over the mantle. Lilibet was 25! Only four monarchs have celebrated a Platinum before, so it was a no-brainer for British establishments in Copenhagen to mark the big day with great style. From tea parties to banquets, her lips were rarely dry among the feverish toasts of her majesty.
When they sing “long to reign over us” in the British national anthem, they do not make fun.
Among the guests at the British Embassy Tea Party to mark not only the platinum anniversary, but also Queen Margrethe II’s golden anniversary, were: (top) the President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark, Gareth Garvey, and the chairman Klaus Søgaard, who is pictured here . by British Ambassador Emma Hopkins; (center) a host of dignitaries, including Indian Ambassador Pooja Kapur (second right), and members of the English-speaking community, including several teachers from Copenhagen International School; and (bottom) none other than British fiction’s most popular characters – James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Mary Poppins – pictured here with South African Ambassador Fikile Magubane.
One week later, it was the turn of the participants in the British Embassy ‘Ambassador for a Day’ mentorship initiative to take over its lawns. Among the participating ambassadors were the Moroccan ambassador Khaija Rouissi (center) and, of course, Hopkins (bottom).
Meanwhile, on June 10, the Royal Society of St George at the Hotel D’Angleterre held a lavish banquet to mark the anniversary. At the top table enjoyed (top: left to right) the British Ambassador Emma Hopkins, the Royal Society of St.George President Simon Mears, St Andrew’s Society President Kaj Larssen (standing), Princess Eleonore-Christine of Schaumburg-Lippe and British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark President Gareth Garvey. Among those in charge of the entertainment (bottom) was half of Denmark’s 2000 winning duo in Eurovision, Jørgen Olsen, who later found time to take a picture with the Canadian ambassador Denis Robert. The evening began in the Louis XVI room – a nod for sure to the inevitable moment when Elizabeth overtakes her ancestor as the world’s longest reigning monarch.