Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's 70th birthday celebrations have turned from gala into dis'ashter due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southeast Iceland in full eruption, and the spewing ash cloud has moved toward the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and western Europe. Air travel has largely ceased in Europe due to the closures of airports, including Heathrow and other British airports, Kastrup in Copenhagen, and elsewhere. Flights from the US to Europe have also been canceled.
Margrethe was born on April 16, 1940. Celebrations for her 70th birthday began yesterday with a gala dinner for members of the Royal Family and Danish politicians and government officials. Many of the guests, including members of other European royal families, for tonight's gala performance at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen will not be able to make it in time. The Swedish and Dutch royal families are to travel by overnight train to Copenhagen. Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are heading to Copenhagen by car, while Crown Prince Haakon remains in London, unable to catch a flight to Copenhagen.
The foreign royals who did manage to get to Copenhagen in time to attend the gala event include the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, King Constantine II and Queen Anne Marie of the Hellenes and their elder daughter, Princess Alexia, Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, and Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway.
Crown Prince Frederik appeared to be truly chuffed by having two Crown Princesses to escort into the theater, as he held the arms of his wife and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
According to Danish television, the king and queen of Sweden arrived at the theatre during the intermission.
Members of the Queen's family were also present, including her two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim and their wives, Princess Benedikte and her husband, Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and their children. Hereditary Prince Gustav was accompanied by his longtime companion, the American-born Carina Axelsson.
Gustav's younger sister, Princess Nathalie, who is expecting a child in July, and her fiance, Alexander Johannsman, were also expected to attend tonight's event.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain are on the list of guests for tomorrow night's black tie gala, but it now appears unlikely that they will be able to fly to Copenhagen tomorrow.
It is not yet known if members of the Belgian or British royal families will attend tomorrow night's event. The Prince of Wales does not have any engagements scheduled for tomorrow, so it is possible that he was planning to attend Friday's events. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also have no engagements tomorrow. The Duchess is Danish-born, so it would not be a surprise to see this royal couple representing Queen Elizabeth II at Margrethe's birthday celebration.
Travel to Copenhagen tomorrow will depend solely on the reopening of the airports.
British and Dutch investors lost millions in the IceSave banking scandal. They have been demanding that the Icelanders send Cash, but as there is no C in the Icelandic alphabet, Iceland has sent Ash.
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