As their State Visit came to a close, King Frederik couldn’t resist sharing a dad joke on his final night in Finland.
Long known for his sense of humour, one of the king’s go-to jokes, according to Queen Mary, is to reply, when a waiter asks if he has finished his food, “No, I’m Danish.”
“[Y]ou are not stingy with your laughter…or your jokes for that matter. And often the two come together; you always laugh (a lot) at your own jokes,” she said at his 50th birthday gala dinner in May 2018.
“I have quite simply lost count of the times I had to hear you tell the same jokes over and over again. It is as if you are trying to continuously perfect how they are delivered. Those who have had the pleasure of eating out with you, will know for example that if a waiter asks, ‘Are you finished?’ you can be dead certain that you will answer, ‘No, I’m Danish.’ Every time. And laugh. Every time.”
But on Wednesday evening, at the Danish return reception at Finlandia Hall, the king added a special twist to his favourite joke. He tweaked the punchline in light of the successful visit, revealing: “I have a small confession to make. I am known for repeating my jokes. And a signature joke of mine is relevant here. When a waiter in a restaurant asks me, ‘Are you finish’?– nine times out of ten, I reply, ‘No, I am Danish’ much to my wife’s dismay.
“From now on, however, another answer will come to mind. The question ‘Are you finish?’ is now likely to be followed by, ‘No, but some of my close friends are.’”
King Frederik and Queen Mary’s second day in Finland saw them visit the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Arkki School of Architecture for Children and Youth, Aalto University, Porkkala Garrison, and attend a seminar on green financing at Fiskars’.
The King commented on the success of their visit to Finland, telling President Alexander Stubb and First Lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb that “these past few days have given us unforgettable memories…[and] have left us with a renewed belief in the future we can create together.”
And one last dad joke for the road: “And slightly sore thighs from cross-country skiing in Saariselkä.”
