Alexandria's Little Corner of the World

This morning (well, here in Toronto it was morning anyways), Crown Princess Mary of Denmark gave birth to a daughter at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen (4:02 p.m. Copenhagen time). The little girl is the second child for Crown Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik, who have an 18-month old son, Prince Christian. The newborn girl is the first Danish princess to be born since 1946 -- the year that Princess Anne-Marie (now Queen Anne-Marie of Greece) was born to King Frederik IX and his wife Queen Ingrid. Queen Anne-Marie is the newborn princess's paternal great-aunt.

The little princess's birthday has a special royal significance: She was born on Queen Elizabeth II's birthday, the former commonwealth sovereign of her mother's birthplace, Australia. (I wonder if Elizabeth might be part of the baby's name then?!)

As per Danish tradition (well, religious tradition, actually), the baby's name will not be revealed until her baptism. So, now the name guessing can begin! Some possible contenders: Margrethe, Elisabeth, Louise, Alexandrine, Ingrid, Thyra, Ingeborg, Dagmar and Maria/Marie.

Likely middle name choices will be Henrietta (for Mary's late mom) and Ingrid (for Frederik's maternal grandmother, the late Queen Ingrid).

When meeting with the press today, proud new papa Crown Prince Frederik said that his daughter has a full head of dark hair and dark eyes, and that when he held her for the first time he wasn't as scared as when he held his son for the first time. He compared holding his newborn son to a set of Flora Danica (china), and he said that he was more secure and comfortable in holding a newborn the second time around.

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik also made a visit to the hospital this evening to visit with Mary and their newborn granddaughter. The Queen said that her new granddaughter was "a sweet and lovely girl," but had no opinion on whom the baby resembled, saying only that "babies are very sweet, but look like, well, babies."

Tomorrow, flags will fly in honour of the new baby as will 21 salutes from the Sixtus Battery on Holmen in Copenhagen and from Kronborg Castle in Elsinore.

Labels: Danish, Royalty