25.5.09

Flying Tuesday May 26, 2009


You see today the national flag of Denmark.


It should please my Danish neighbour in Vernon Street, although perhaps he is unaware that today is the birthday of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark.

Frederik André Henrik Christian, Kronprins til Danmark was born Copenhagen, 26 May 1968 and is the heir apparent to the Throne of Denmark. Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Count Henrik of Monpezat. If Crown Prince Frederik becomes king, as he is expected to, he will be Frederik X of Denmark.

The national flag of Denmark, Dannebrog, is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design of the Danish flag was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821.

Dannebrog is the oldest state flag in the world still in use, with the earliest undisputed source dating back to the 14th century.

Legend says that during the Battle of Lyndanisse, also known as the Battle of Valdemar (Danish: "Volmerslaget"), near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, on June 15 1219, the flag fell from the sky during a critical stage, resulting in Danish victory.


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