King Frederik and Queen Mary spent their final day in Paris amidst the splendour of the city, culminating with a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Their final day in Paris began with a visit to the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, at the City Hall, but it wasn’t long before they boarded an electric boat on the Seine and departed for a green cruise on the water.
Mayor Hildago wrote on her social media: “What an honour to welcome the King and Queen of Denmark to Paris. An even more special visit because we are doing it on the Seine: the most beautiful showcase of Paris’ ecological adaptation! Pedestrianization of the quays, protection of the river, launch of the citizen convention to grant it rights, but also of course the long-awaited opening of the swimming pool this summer: so many actions taken to transform Paris.”
After the Seine cruise, King Frederik and Queen Mary split for solo engagements: the King paying a visit to KNDS, a defence company; and the Queen to the Hôpital Foch. The King received a tour and learned how France and Denmark are collaborating on defence. Queen Mary, joined by First Lady Brigitte Macron, learned more about the research at the Hôpital Foch, as well as healthcare innovations.
“We warmly thank the Embassy of Denmark: the Health Ecosystem, the Prefecture of Hauts-de-Seine, the City Hall of Suresnes as well as our elected officials for this absolutely exciting state visit,” the hospital wrote on its social media.
The royal couple then reunited for a visit to the Assemblée Nationale, where they met with its President and received a tour of the renovated library facilities.
And to wrap up their visit, King Frederik and Queen Mary ended at the Notre Dame Cathedral, receiving a personal tour from President Emmanuel Macron. The royal couple saw firsthand how traditional methods and materials were used to preserve Notre Dame.
The Danish King had said at the state banquet that he was looking forward to visiting Notre Dame and seeing how craftsmen and architects have worked to restore the cathedral following the fire in 2019. King Frederik said he and Queen Mary ” look forward to discovering this achievement, which embodies both the talent of the artisans and France’s ability to combine heritage preservation with a vision for the future,” he said.
After their tour of Notre Dame, the state visit officially came to an end on the square in front of the cathedral, with the Danish Royal Court later sharing on social media: “Merci pour cette visite, Paris.”
