The Danish king has shocked some historians by changing the royal coat of arms to prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands – in what could also be seen as a rebuke to Donald Trump resurging interest in acquiring Greenland even when its not for sale.
Less than a year since succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe, who stood down on New Year’s Eve 2023, King Frederik has made a clear statement of intent to keep the autonomous Danish territory and former colony within the kingdom of Denmark.
For 500 years, the Danish royal coats of arms featured three crowns, the symbol of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, which was led from Denmark between 1397 and 1523. They are also an important symbol of its neighbour Sweden.
On the updated version, the crowns have been removed and replaced with a more prominent polar bear and ram to symbolise Greenland and the Faroe Islands respectively.
The move comes at a time of increased tension over Greenland and its relations with Denmark, which continues to control its foreign and security policy.
Incoming US president Trump last month said again that he wants the US to buy Greenland, and the Greenlandic prime minister, Múte Egede, recently accused Denmark of genocide in response to investigations of the forced contraceptive scandal of the 1960s and 70s. In Egede’s own new year’s address, he accelerated calls for Greenlandic independence and called for the “shackles of the colonial era” to be removed.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, was expected to visit Greenland on Tuesday, a local government official told Reuters, adding that it was a private visit and that he would be recording material for a podcast and would not meet with any local officials.
Trump Sr later confirmed the trip was taking place in a post on his Truth Social website, without mentioning a date. He added: “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
The royal household said the coat of arms, which is used on official documents and seals and elements of which date back to the 12th century, “strengthens the prominence of the commonwealth”. The three crowns, it said, had been removed “as it is no longer relevant”.
The changes, it said, were made after a recommendation from a committee that was appointed straight after his accession on 14 January 2024.
Last week, in his first new year speech, the king said: “We are all united and each of us committed for the kingdom of Denmark. From the Danish minority in South Schleswig – which is even situated outside the kingdom – and all the way to Greenland. We belong together.”
Since 1819, the royal arms have been changed three times before now, in 1903, 1948 and 1972. But the latest changes have been met by shock in some quarters.