Since Her Majesty The Queen’s accession to the throne in 1972, it has been a tradition in the royal family to celebrate the major holidays at Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus. Throughout all the years, The Queen has traditionally resided at the Aarhus palace in connection with Easter and often at Christmastime as well.

This year, Marselisborg Palace is once again the setting for the royal family’s Christmas. The Queen takes up residence at the palace on 20 December and celebrates the holiday together with the Crown Prince family as well as Prince Joachim and Princess Marie and their children.

In connection with the transfer of residency, there will be a changing of the guard by The Royal Life Guard at Marselisborg Palace every day over the Christmas period at 12:00.

Prince Joachim’s older sons, T.H. Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, will spend Christmas with their mother, H.E. Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.

Marselisborg Palace
The right to use Marselisborg Palace was presented as a gift to The Queen and Prince Henrik by The Queen’s father, Frederik the 9th. Originally, the palace was a part of a wedding gift for the newly married Successor to the Throne Couple Prince Christian (the 10th) and Princess Alexandrine, who were wed in 1898.

Two years before, the city of Aarhus had acquired the Marselisborg estate, and, in connection with the nuptials, a portion of the park was presented as a wedding gift from the citizens of the area together with the construction of the existing Marselisborg Palace. In 1902, the palace stood ready and afterwards served as the Successor to the Throne Couple’s summer residence.