Copenhagen Pride gets royal treatment as Danish Princess attends
Denmark’s Princess Marie made history and headlines last weekend by becoming the first member of the royal family to attend Copenhagen Pride.
The event saw a record number of 30,000 attendees, with almost 200,000 people celebrating in the Danish city’s streets.
Among the crowds were Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who was joined by Princess Marie – wife of Prince Joachim of Denmark.
Princess Marie shocked and surprised crowds, showing up unannounced to march with the Danish AIDS Foundation.
Princess Marie is not the first Danish royal to throw her weight behind the LGBT community in this year.
Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary delivered a powerful speech calling for unity on LGBT rights, as the world marked International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Princess Mary gave an address at the IDAHO forum, hosted by her country’s government in May.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said.
“But that assertion, for far too many around the world, does not hold true,” the princess added.
“Even though we write 2016, too many LGBTI people continue to be victims of hatred, violence, discrimination, bullying and ill-treatment – and this we cannot and must not accept.”
Denmark has long led the way on LGBT rights, introducing the world’s first same-sex partnerships law in 1989 – decades before many other countries.
The country has also pioneered gender laws that mean trans people can get legal recognition without undergoing medical treatment, and recently became the first country in the world to remove ‘transgenderism’ from its list of mental disorders.
Meanwhile, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau won praise for marching in various Pride parades across his country, whilst Sadiq Khan lead celebrations in London in June.
The UK has yet to see a member of the royal family take part in a pride parade.
However, Prince William did make history earlier this year by becoming the first member of his family to appear on the front of a gay magazine.
