Well, the maelstrom had subsided. And then came the coronation. And now Genoveva Casanova has poked her head above the parapet, in her first social media post since the coronation of Frederik X. Casanova, 47, was pictured with Frederik in November, out late after a dinner before also being seen leaving a flamenco club at 2am. This spawned wild rumours about an affair between the pair, leading to much consternation about the then-Crown Prince’s relationship with his hugely popular wife, Mary (now Queen Consort Mary). At the time Casanova vociferously denied the ‘malicious' rumours – and also posted a legal letter online, threatening action against B.T, the magazine that first published them. The Danish royal household, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that they ‘do not comment on rumours or insinuations.’
On Tuesday, Casanova took to Instagram to re-share a post by the Spanish actor and singer Miguel Bose about children working in modern slavery in Africa. Specifically, the post concerned the exploitation of children as barons pursue much-coveted rare earth metals, which are found plentifully in central Africa. Bose’s post read, ‘40,000 slave children in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.’
Casanova’s public display of conscience certainly draws attention to an important issue. It also, she and Frederik will hope, draws attention away from the affair allegations. One has to think, even if the pair were not involved in anything questionable, that it was unwise for the heir to Danish throne to be seen out at 2am in a major European city, without his wife and with an unmarried woman. Casanova, sometime reality TV star, was once married to the Duchess of Alba’s son, Cayetano Martinez de Irujo, but they divorced in 2007. It is said that she met Frederik on a luxury hunting trip in Spain.
Since the furore around the Casanova-snaps, Frederik and Queen Mary have produced a united display with no discernible signs of disharmony. After the shock abdication of Queen Margrethe II (who will still be known has Her Majesty) Frederik acceded the throne last Sunday, with Mary as his consort. The coronation was met with jubilant celebrations in Copenhagen. Many hotels were sold out and people travelled from around the world as well as across the country to witness it. There was champagne in the streets, with corks lying pell-mell on Monday morning and much jumping around and donning red and white.
After Frederik was proclaimed King by the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, she led a chorus of cheers for the King. He was then joined on the balcony of Christiansborg palace by Queen Mary, where they soaked up the (plentiful) adulation of the crowd. Frederik wore full military dress, along with the blue sash of the Order of the Elephant. Mary, meanwhile, wore a stunning white dress, with angelic overtones – it closely resembled the dress worn by Princess Kate to the Together at Christmas carol service. This dress, however, was designed by Soeren Le Schmidt and sewn by Birgit Hallstein. Birgit was also chosen to sew Mary's wedding dress by Uffe Frank on her wedding day to the Danish prince in 2004. The Queen coordinated the dress with a ruby and diamond hair piece and matching earrings.
After Frederik and Mary enjoyed waving to the crowds from the balcony, they were joined by their four children: Christian, Isabella and the twins, Vincent and Josephine. Later on Monday, the family travelled to the Danish parliamentary chambers – the parliament is known as the Folketing – for an official celebration of Frederik’s enthronement.
In spite of the recent ups and downs, the Danish monarchy continues to enjoy overwhelming support. Queen Margrethe II is largely credited with modernising the monarchy and bringing it into touch with the Danish people. The Tasmanian-born Queen Mary remains the frontrunner in terms of popularity, with 86% of people believing she will make a good Queen. She is slightly ahead of Frederik who scored 82% on the same metric. Some pundits have suggested that his appeal may have diminished slightly after the Casanova debacle. Such a misjudgement, whatever it’s true nature, was never going to serve him well.
