In a break from tradition, the Danish Royal Family are not celebrating in Marselisborg Palace and is instead spending the festive season in Copenhagen at Amalienborg. The Danish Royal House announced, along with a video of the royal family decorating the Christmas tree together with a sweet nod to Queen Mary’s Australian roots.
Where do the Danish Royal Family normally celebrate Christmas?
Since 1972, when Queen Margrethe II ascended the throne, the royal family has made Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus their traditional Christmas base. It’s around 300km away from Copenhagen.
The monarch (and often the extended Danish royal family) moves there in mid-December — around December 20 — to spend Christmas with one another.
While in Aarhus, there is a daily guard-changing ceremony by the Royal Life Guard at noon throughout the Christmas period.
However, in 2025, the Danish Royal House revealed that King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark and their four children (Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine) will remain in Copenhagen for the festive period. The palace has also shared a video of the family decorating a Christmas tree at Amalienborg Palace.
The video, see it below, shows the King and Queen and their four children share a laugh and a dance as they decorate the tree. One of their border collies, Grace or Coco, makes an appearance as well.
Among the Christmas tree decorations were numerous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Amalienborg Palace. However, in a sweet nod to Queen Mary‘s Australian background, also included in the ornaments was a decoration of the Sydney Opera House. This has a double significance, as the architect who designed the Sydney Opera House was also Danish, Jørn Utzon. Also among the decorations were baubles bearing the names of the royal children and the King and Queen.
In a statement from the Danish Royal Family, Queen Margrethe will also spend Christmas with the royal family in Amalienborg. However, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will remain in Washington, DC, United States of America, to celebrate with their children.
What is usually served for Christmas dinner in Denmark?
It’s wintertime in Denmark, so unsurprisingly the Christmas dinner menu is suitably warm and cosy. Roast goose (stegt gås) and roast duck (stegt and) are typical at Christmastime, and so too is roast pork with crackling (flæskesteg). A popular side dish is rødkål, sliced and stewed red cabbage with classic Christmas spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice and cardamom. Another classic Christmas dish in Denmark is brunede kartofler or browned potatoes, basically boiled potatoes caramelised with butter and sugar. Risalamande is a classic Christmas dessert dish, which is a kind of rice pudding with cherry sauce. Like other European nations, in Denmark, Christmas dinner (Juleaften) is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.
The Danish Royals could expect something along those lines on their menu this Christmas Eve at Amalienborg Palace.
The King’s speech at Christmastime
Like King Charles III, King Frederik also makes a speech at Christmas time; however, he makes his on New Year’s Eve rather than Christmas Day. His speech will take place at Amalienborg Palace at 6pm local time.
