Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1937-05-13

ASkO
and lifted up before him into the
saddle little girl who was standing
along the roadside, her arms filled
with flowers to welcome His Majesty.
The kings action was SO impulSive,
so very evidently on the spur of the
historic moment, that all were deeply
moved.
In September of the same year
the kings fiftieth birthday was cele-
brated throughout the country, and
if he never before had fully realized
how deeply beloved he was by his
people, he certainly did so now, for
the tokens and spontaneous express
sions of affection that were bestowed
on him came from the heart and not
from any forced feeling of polite
duty to, or reverence for, royalty.
Each summer the king and the
queen go about the Danish waters
aboard their yacht, the Dannebrog-
which is the ancient name of the
Danish flag-and visit various cities
within the realm; frequently they
arrive entirely unannounced, and dis
claim official reception display. In
1921 they extended their travels to
Iceland and Greenland where they
were received with great enthusiasm,
and in 1923 when the royal couple
celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding
anniversary, the peoples love for
them seemed to have scaled, if that
were possible, new heights.
During the following year, Thor
valid Staining formed the first Social
Democratic government of Denmark
and is, for that matter, still in power,
!, although another cabinet has inter-
vened between the two Staining per-
iods. The king who, according to the
constitution, is above and outside the
political parties, has shown great skill
in collaborating with the Socialists
and one gathers that if there has been
any friction, at all, between the mon
arch and the government, it has
. been, indeed, very slight. In par
liamentary countries a kings activ-
. tiles are, of course, kept within the
. confines of the stipulations of the
, constitution. The present king has
, always reigned in the most liberal
, conformity with that fundamental
, law but has, in his quiet, unobtru-
sive way, exerted considerable in
fluence upon the public life of his
!; nation.
Two events-one sad, the other
joyful although, destined to end sor-
rowfully- affected the royal family
during 1926. One was the death OF
Dowager Queen Lovisa, the kings
mother, in March, the other the we'd
ding of Princess Astrid of Sweden
to then Crown Prince Leopold OF
Belgium; Kings Christian and Haakor
cousins of the bride, attended the
wedding at Stockholm as guests OF
King Gustaf, and on that happy day
no one was able to foretell that but
. a few years later the charming prin-
cess, having in the meantime become
the queen of the Belgians, was to
lie tragically shattered on a highway
in Switzerland.
On went the years, with their vary
ing sunshine and shadows, and in
1929 King Christian observed his
fortieth anniversary as a graduate
of the University of Copenhagen.
The king has never been in the
United States, but on several occa-
sions he has addressed Danish-Amer-
lean gatherings at the Fourth of July
celebrations at the Rebild National
Park in Jutland, and among his per-
outstanding Americans of Danish
birth. On two occasions he has
broadcast brief speeches via the radio
to Danes in America.
In 1885 the oldest son of the king
and the queen, Crown Prince Fred
erik, was married at Stockholm to
Princess Ingrid of Sweden, and when
the bridal couple arrived in Copen-
hagen, there was a great outburSt OF
very genuine and sincere enthusiasm
The crown prince is as cordially liked
as his father, and he, too, has always
been very close to the people. His
particular hobby is music, and he
has even been known to direct an
orchestra at public concert.
The royal couple have one other
son, Prince Knud, now also married
and he, like his brother, is, as the
Copenhageners say, Every much one
of u.s.
In fact, in America it is difficult
, to realize the depth of the interest
. with which the people surround the
royal family and its individual men,
bers-it is as though the commoner
of even the lowest social stratum is
quite en- famiue with each one be-
longing to the royal household.
King Christian is very ardent
, sail-sportsman, his yacht, Rita
. which was destroyed in recent fire