It was a busy week for international Royal visits: while Victoria and Daniel were busy in Peru and Colombia, Queen Margrethe was making her first ever official state visit to Indonesia alongside her husband, Prince Consort Henrik. Not only was it Margrethe’s first visit, but the first visit of any Danish Monarch.
Business was the main focus of this State Visit as Her Majesty was accompanied by a delegation of almost 100 Danish representatives from a variety of companies, involved in areas such as agriculture and design.
The Queen and Prince arrived in the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday afternoon and went straight to some more informal events, including a reception where they couple had the chance to meet some Danes who live and work in Jakarta.
The official welcome from President Joko Widodo took place the next morning at the Presidential Palace where The Queen inspected the Guard of Honour. A private meeting was then held between the Royal couple and the President.
The next stop was Jakarta Harbour where they attended the signing of a partnership which could lead to the first and largest wind farm in South East Asia.
The couple then went their separate ways for the afternoon, as The Queen’s activities included a visit to Wayang Museum, where she watched a shadow puppet show called ‘H.C. Andersen meets court poet Ronggawarsita.’ Henrik meanwhile, gave the opening speeches at an industry seminar and agricultural conference.
Queen Margrethe yesterday evening attended a gala dinner in Indonesia. She wore the “Daisy bandeau” pic.twitter.com/1S45N96MAE
— Simo.R (@Like_aPrincess2) October 23, 2015
Margrethe and Henrik reunited for a State Banquet to round off the first day. Margrethe chose the understated Danish Turquoise Bandeau, a perfect choice for what was a relatively casual affair.
Day two was jam packed, featuring a visit to the National Museum and a luncheon with the Governor of Jakarta. The Queen also opened Gran Rubina, a Danish-designed energy efficient complex.
Prince Henrik made a visit to Lotte Shopping Avenue where he learnt about the ‘bike to work’ initiative, that aims to get more people using bikes in Jakarta, and a project called ‘Cities changing Diabetes’.
That evening it was the Danes’ turn to host President Joko Widodo in a reciprocal dinner that took place in Raffles Hotel, where the Royal couple are stayed during their visit to the Indonesian capital.
The Queen and Prince Consort again attended separate events, this time in different cities, for the start of their final day of engagements. Margrethe headed to Yogyakarta where she met His Majesty Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. Margrethe was able to indulge in her love of art as she was shown the batik painting technique that traditional to Indonesia.
Henrik, meanwhile, spent the morning in Surabaya where he visited an Ecco tannery. Ecco is a Danish shoes and small leather goods company, a world leader in leather production, used in the its production.
The pair reunited in Yogyakarta where they attended a press conference at Prambanan Temple; after a few blunders with the microphone, the Royal couple were able to talk to the Indonesian and Danish press about what, for them, was, “a great experience”.
