Danish Navy Celebrates 500th Anniversary

The Royal Danish Navy is 500 years old this year. The Dane's small navy has been an effective participant in the campaign against Somali pirates; recently, a Danish destroyer sank a pirate mothership.

Hundreds of people and 21 ships assembled at Copenhagen Harbour yesterday to celebrate the Royal Navy’s 500th anniversary.

Queen Margrethe II hosted the festivities, joined by her husband Prince Henrik and the Crown Prince and Princess on the deck of the warship Absalon, back from its pirate-battling mission in the Gulf of Aden.

A short ceremony for Crown Prince Frederik was also held during the celebration, officially promoting him to the rank of navy captain.

The large crowd included many navy veterans, some of whom served during the Second World War. But their grandchildren and great-grandchildren also watched the parade of giant ships in awe from the pier, plugging their ears for the 27 canon shots fired as a salute to the queen.

Of the 21 ships in the harbour, 18 were Danish. But during the course of the week, around 30 foreign ships – including the historic Amerigo Vespucci cutter – are expected to sail through the city’s harbour. Events in connection with the Navy’s 500th anniversary are scheduled up until the end of October.

According to most history books, the Danish Royal Navy was founded during the reign of Queen Margrethe I in the early 1400s.

By: Shelldrake