Queen’s funeral: Margrethe II of Denmark catches Covid after royal saga at Westminster Abbey
The Queen of Denmark tested positive for Covid after sitting opposite King Charles at Westminster Abbey in the latest twist of the royal family’s funeral saga.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark tested positive for Covid after returning home from the funeral of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth II.
The 82-year-old Monarch is recovering at Denmark’s Fredensborg Castle after attending the funeral service at Westminster Abbey with her son, Crown Prince Frederik.
Prince Frederik’s wife, Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, remained behind in Denmark after being uninvited to the funeral.
The Queen’s Covid diagnosis was revealed when the palace cancelled her official duties after the Tuesday night test.
Princess Mary will help her husband fill in for the Queen at a dinner with local politicians and officials, a spokesman for the Danish royal family said.
It’s the second time Margrethe II tested positive for Covid after she recovered from the first virus infection in February.
BRITS RESPOND TO PRINCESS MARY SNUB
The British Foreign Office has offered its “profound apologies” to the Danish royal family after the Crown Princess of Denmark was reportedly uninvited to the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
According to SkyNews, the Danish family had confirmed that Australian-born Princess Mary, 50, was set to attend the service with husband Prince Frederik and mother-in-law Queen Margrethe II, but she was nowhere to be seen on the day.
Danish news outlet BT reported Princess Mary’s original invitation was impacted by “regrettable error”.
“There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office protocol,” the Royal House reportedly confirmed to the publication.
“It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday.”
A spokesperson from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed to MailOnline that it had sent an apology to the Danish Royal Household via the Danish Embassy.
The “regrettable error” was made due to the Foreign Office having to send out several invitations within a short space of time.
There were reportedly only two dignitaries per country permitted to attend.
PRINCESS ‘UNINVITED’
It appears Princess Mary of Denmark was “uninvited” from the Queen’s funeral with her mother-in-law Queen Margrethe II and husband Prince Frederik joining the heads of European royalty at Westminster Abbey.
While the Danish court had originally confirmed the Australian-born royal would also travel to London, an update ahead of the valediction ceremony removed her name.
Danish media claimed the British Foreign Office had made an error and the invitation was intended to be for only two representatives from Denmark’s Royal family.
“There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office’s protocol. It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday,” a royal spokesman told a Danish newspaper.
“It’s really clumsy and unfortunate … It has meant that the Royal House must now say that a mistake had been made, and that is embarrassing,” royal reporter Jacob Heinel Jensen said.
“I think the Royal House easily understands that a mistake has been made. I wondered myself when I was in London and the British media wrote that there were only two invitees per country.
Celebrity guests and royal insiders were spotted at Westminster Abbey for the funeral of the Queen — with a British adventurer and US TV star among the attendees.
Popular TV explorer Bear Grylls, who met the late Queen on several occasions as Chief Scout and was appointed an Officer of the British Empire in 2019, attended the moving service.
Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve star Sandra Oh was also in attendance as part of the Canadian delegation.
Ms Oh, 51, joined as a member of the Order of Canada, accompanying fellow Canadian and Olympian Mark Tewksbury and musician Gregory Charles. Ms Oh received the honour in June for services to stage, television and film in Canada.
She wore a black slanted hat with a pink ribbon on her dress.
Peepshow actor Sophie Winkleman attended with husband, Lord Frederick Windsor, and his mother, Princess Michael of Kent.’
Carole and Michael Middleton, the parents of the Princess of Wales and the father-in-law of Prince William, were among the early arrivals.
The Middletons shared a bus ride with the Queen Consort’s children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.
Parker Bowles, the stepson of King Charles III, was an early arrival at Westminster Abbey with his daughter Lola and son Fred.
Lopes, the daughter of Camilla, also brought her three children, Eliza and twins Louis and Gus Lopes.
Food critic Parker Bowles had a brief stint on Australian television in 2015 as one of the judges on the ill-fated Nine series The Hot Plate, which was cancelled after one series.
Designer India Hicks, the granddaughter of Earl Mountbatten and the second cousin of King Charles III, was also an early arrival.
Hicks acted as bridesmaid at the wedding of Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales in 1981.
The Queen’s formidable ladies-in-waiting including Lady Susan Hussey and Dame Mary Morrison, her confidantes and most trusted staff, were among the mourners representing her Majesty’s households.
FUNERAL DRESS CODE
In their darkest hour, they followed the royal fashion manuscript — favourite designers and heirlooms, many of them gifted by the Queen.
Royals, world leaders and dignitaries adhered to the strict funeral dress code of all black, but subtle accessories and superbly-cut couture marked the commemoration.
Men were guided to wear black morning suits or military uniform while women wore black knee-length dresses or coats, black hats and veils.
King Charles III and Prince William were in military uniform while Prince Harry was in morning suit.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, wore go-to label Alexander McQueen and a wide-brimmed Philip Treacy hat with veil.
Her necklace bore the most significance — a four-string pearl and diamond number, handed down by the Queen and worn at Prince Philip’s funeral. The late Princess Diana also wore it to a banquet at Hampton Court Palace in 1982.
Princess Kate’s sister-in-law Meghan Markle’s pair of pearl and diamond earrings were also a gift from Her Majesty, when she first joined the royal family.
She wore them alongside the late monarch in June 2018 for a bridge opening in Cheshire.
Pearls were a signature of the late Queen Elizabeth II, for every occasion whether happy or solemn.
She wore pearls to the funerals of her uncle the Duke of Windsor in 1972, the Duchess of Windsor in 1986, Princess Diana in 1997, her mother Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret, both in 2002, as well as that of her father King George VI in 1952.
Queen Consort Camilla wore a Bruce Oldfield coat dress, a version of the outfit she donned for the late monarch’s Jubilee. She wore Queen Victoria’s Hessian Diamond Jubilee heart-shaped brooch.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain joined Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan alongside other royals from across the globe representing everywhere from Norway to Greece, Denmark, Bhutan, Jordan, Monaco and Sweden.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wore black MJ Bale suit, joined by partner Jodie Haydon in a Karen Gee dress and hat by Jane Lambert.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern wore a custom classic black dress from designer Juliette Hogan, paired with a Kiri Nathan feather Kakahu (Maori cloak) draped over her shoulders as she wanted to bring “a piece of New Zealand”. Her look was completed by royal-inspired millinery by Monika Neuhauser.
US President Joe Biden attended in a black suit, white shirt and black tie with a crisp white handkerchief in his chest pocket.
Jill Biden too wore a black suit dress from Schiaparelli, accentuated by detailed gold buttons, and a simple headband fascinator. Her black suit dress was accentuated by detailed black buttons.
French President Emanuel Macron wore a black suit with a small red pin on his lapel, with wife Brigitte, wearing a hat and small veil covering part of her face.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, accessorised her black outfit with a sparkling maple leaf brooch.
Several former British Prime Minister’s attended with Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie wearing a black hat and veil along with an elegant square-neck Karen Millen coat-dress with gold detailing down the centre.
Professor Elinor Renfrew, of Kingston University, said attendees paid tribute in subtle ways.
“It might be as simple as a handkerchief that means something,” she said.
“The Queen was very much a traditionalist. They would have worked this out in detail a long time in advance. It is not a case of such and such is wearing whatever, that is not the royal family. It is about being understated and respectful.”
Professor Renfrew noted the likes of Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham, Catherine Walker, Roksanda Erdem, Bruce Oldfield, Anna Valentine and Angela Kelly were favoured designers of members of the royal family.
“Designers would normally reveal who they are dressing but this is not a time to promote their labels. They will be working discreetly behind the scenes,” Professor Renfrew said.
Marie Claire Australia editor Nicky Briger said: “It’s a sombre time of reflection so everyone’s fashion choices – from the royal family and dignitaries to guests and staff – have been timeless, polished and elegant.
“Every piece is loaded with meaning as jewellery is the only way they can make a subtle, personal statement.”
Accessories are important. The work of top milliners such as Philip Treacy and Rachel Trevor-Morgan are on show, while the Australian contingent will likely wear Nerida Winter.
And jewellery will provide an opportunity to make a statement.
“The fashion that sits under the jewellery is less of a statement,” Vogue Australia’s Edwina McCann told News Corp Australia.
“The genius of Queen Elizabeth in a way is that it was about the subtlety. It is not about the huge statement. The idea of the designer being more important than the meaning behind what they are wearing is a pretty new thing, it certainly way postdates Queen Elizabeth ascending the throne.”
“She made designers, they did not make her,” McCann said.
“So we will see people being very selective about what they wear and absolutely not wanting it to be broadcast what they are wearing in terms of advertising a designer because the royals do not advertise in theory. They purchase and in theory you never know what they are wearing. We will see a lot of black that we really struggle to identify and then really significant jewellery.
“What will be fascinating will be the jewellery that comes out, particularly in the inner sanctum because there is always a lot of meaning in the pieces they choose,” McCann said.
“Given how involved the Queen was in the organisation of this funeral, I think it is highly likely that she has already decided what people will wear and who will wear that.”
We have already seen special pieces of the late Queen’s jewellery on display since her passing.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, for example wore Her Majesty’s diamond and pearl leaf brooch as she attended the procession in Westminster.
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wore a pair of pearl and diamond earrings given to her by the Queen.
Close attention will be paid to any other tributes to the Queen.
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