Regrets

That plume of ash over Europe has led to further regrets for the gala dinner in honor of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The King and Queen of Spain were unable to fly out of Madrid to Copenhagen. Madrid's airport is open. Copenhagen is one of dozens of northern European airports still closed. Members of the Belgian Royal family were also unable to get a flight to Copenhagen, although Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, accompanied by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima, took the train to Copenhagen. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her fiance, Daniel Westling were already in Copenhagen before the airports closed.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden arrived during the intermission last night at the Royal Theater. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway arrived in time yesterday, but her husband, Crown Prince Haakon was stuck in London, but he managed to get to Copenhagen today. The King and Queen of Norway also made it in time for tonight's gala dinner.
Crown Prince and Crown Princess Pavlos and Prince Nikolaos of Greece also had to send their regrets as they were not able to fly out of London. Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and his wife, Marie Astrid, were also expected to attend, but remain stuck in Brussels.
The Prince of Monaco was in London yesterday for the opening of the Princess Grace exhibit at the V & A museum. His girlfriend, Charlene Wittstock, accompanied him to the opening, but it is not known if he had also been invited to the Danish celebrations. (If he had, Miss Wittstock would not have accompanied him as she is neither his fiancee or wife.)
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg arrived in time for last night's celebration.
News accounts also say that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, also sent his regrets, but this has not been corroborated by official sources in the UK or Denmark. It seems unlikely that Philip, who will celebrate his 89th birthday in June, would be the one member of the British royal family to attend the party.
The Prince of Wales has formed a close friendship with his cousin, Daisy, who has stayed at Highgrove, and he would have been a logical choice to go. He would have gone alone as the Duchess of Cornwall is recovering from a broken leg.

Here is a link to a lovely video of the four Crown Princely couples walking together. For a few seconds, I thought they would be escorted by Crown Princess Mary's dog Ziggy.

http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article/29949678/?forside

Although the President of Iceland was unable to attend, his wife, Dorrit Moussaief, is in Copenhagen, looking stunning as ever. I bet she's getting an earful of comments about the volcano.