Tusass Greenland has a long tradition of issuing stamps to mark major events in the Royal House. The historical bond between the Royal House and the Greenlandic people is, thus, part of a continued narrative about Greenland’s history, contemporary times and culture.
After a reign of 52 years, Her Majesty the Queen announced on New Year’s Eve 2023 that she would be abdicating the throne in favour of her eldest son. The succession of the throne, which took place on 14th Janu- ary 2024, is now being marked with a superb joint stamp issue in the Danish Commonwealth. Consequently, PostNord, Posta Faroe Islands and Tusass Greenland are each issuing a souvenir sheet bearing the same stamp portrait of King Frederik X. The design was created by graphic designer Ella Clausen after a photo taken by Steen Evald. The issue date is Sunday 26th May 2024, on the King’s 56th birthday.
The King, his family and Greenland
The King retains a great affection for Greenland and these warm feelings are reciprocated. In Greenland, King Frederik and his family are wonderful role models for several generations of Greenlanders. This is also due to his wife, Queen Mary, who immediately embraced Greenland and its people after their wedding in 2004. The two youngest of the Regent Couple’s four children have also been given Greenlandic names. The twins’ full names are: Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda and Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander. We are very proud of this in Greenland.
Expedition Sirius 2000 and Project Qaanaaq
There are numerous other reasons for the King’s immense popularity in Greenland, which really gained momentum at the turn of the millennium. That was when the then Crown Prince, together with some good friends, prepared and later completed ‘Expedition 2000’. A true feat of human endurance with a social aim.
́Expedition Sirius 2000’ was a four-month, 2,795 km ex- pedition by sled in Northern Greenland. The expedition embarked from Qaanaaq (Thule) in the Northwest and ended in Daneborg in Northeast Greenland, headquar- ters of the famous Sirius patrol, which as part of the Navy continuously patrols this part of the kingdom. His stay in Qaanaaq prior to the expedition made a lasting impression on the King and his friends, especially the conditions for raising children and the lack of employ- ment opportunities. The almost 650 inhabitants of Qaanaaq, with their well over 2000 sled dogs, live in very unique conditions and exhibit genuine interest and tremendous hospitality. The King and his friends expe- rienced this first hand, which left a lasting impression of the Qaanaaq inhabitants, their lives and their culture.
Upon returning to Denmark, the members of the expedi- tion turned to Save the Children and Rotary and, shortly thereafter, a collaboration developed around ‘Project Qaanaaq’. The King and the other expedition partici- pants earmarked the profits from the sale of their travel journal for the worthy cause. Tusass Greenland also donated 300 rare stamps to the project in September 2001. This was the famous ‘inverted overprint’ from 1996. At a subsequent auction, the sale of these 300 valuable stamps raised DKK 1 million, which Tusass Greenland donated to Project Qaanaaq. The collective funds from the entire project were later donated by the King and
his sledding companions towards a new leisure and activity centre in Qaanaaq. Residents of the town were extremely grateful when the house was inaugurated in the summer of 2004, at a moving event attended by both the King and his wife.
Mutual respect and help to self-help
The King has a proud tradition within the Royal family of mutual respect, insight into the plight of others and the ability to help wherever possible. The King’s wife also actively participates. Consequently, the Mary Founda- tion continuously conducts important work in Green- land, from anti-bullying in schools to combating social isolation as well as preventing and averting violence. The King is obviously very proud of this tremendous social en- deavour. Just as he was proud to show his four children the Greenland he loves. During the family’s latest official Greenland visit in the summer of 2014, he stated, among other things, to the Danish television channel TV 2:
–“It’s fantastic to be able to show your children a country that I love so much and that I think the four of them have welcomed by the way they just relax and enjoy the countryside. For me, this is a sign that they have adopted the country.”
From 29th June to 8th July, King Frederik and Queen Mary will visit Greenland on their first Greenlandic visit as the Regent Couple. We look forward to the visit.
