Princess Isabella of Denmark 18th birthday: Daughter of King Frederik and Queen Mary can wear the Order of the Elephant insignia when she turns 18 | Danish royal family orders

Huge celebrations are being planned for the 18th birthday of Princess Isabella of Denmark, with events to be held in two of the country’s biggest cities.

The milestone birthday will also see the princess receive a major honour from her father King Frederik X: the Order of the Elephant.

Princess Isabella will turn 18 on April 21, but the party is being brought forward by just over a week because her birthday falls across the Easter weekend.

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Her birthday will be marked officially on 11 and 15 April in Aarhus and Copenhagen, respectively, with “celebrations that pay tribute to the communities of the young generation with culture, creativity, sustainability and volunteerism as the principal elements”, the palace said.

The birthday girl will attend both events but Copenhagen will see Isabella joined by her extended family, including her parents King Frederik and Queen Mary and her siblings Crown Prince Christian and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 14.

Queen Margrethe II is also expected to be on the guest list, as are Prince Joachim and Princess Marie and their children, Count Nikolai, Count Felix, Count Henrik and Countess Athena.

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The royal family will attend a birthday performance on the Old Stage of the Royal Danish Theatre, in Copenhagen.

It is at this special event that Princes Isabella could wear the Order of the Elephant for the first time.

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The Order of the Elephant

Denmark has two royal orders of chivalry: the Order of the Elephant, and the Order of Dannebrog.

The Order of the Elephant is the older and more distinguished of the two and is primarily bestowed upon royalty and heads of state.

King Frederik, as sovereign, is head of both orders.

The Order of the Elephant dates back to 1580 but its historic roots are much older, from the middle of the 1400s.

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The insignia is instantly recognisable: its badge is a white, enamelled, gold elephant decorated with a cross on one side and the monogram of the reigning monarch on the other.

The elephant carries a tower on its back and a black moor holding a spear on its neck.

The badge is worn either on a chain of gold elephants and towers, or on a blue sash across the left shoulder, hence the name Blue Knight for a bearer of the Order of the Elephant.

For the royal family’s first New Year’s gala of the year, they typically wear the Order of the Elephant suspended from its chain. For official portraits and other important events – such as milestone birthdays – the order is often worn with the blue sash.

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Knights of the Order can also wear the smaller rosette, indicating their status, when the major insignia is not worn, such as balcony appearances.

The most likely explanation for the choice of an elephant as the order’s symbol is that a warrior elephant represented defenders of Christianity who were incensed at the sight of Christ’s blood. The elephant symbolises purity and chastity.

Wearing the order

Isabella will likely wear the Order of the Elephant insignia when she attends a performance at the Royal Danish Theatre, in Copenhagen, on April 15.

She and her two youngest siblings were automatically made Knights of the Order of the Elephant on January 14 when their father ascended the Danish throne following the abdication of Queen Margrethe II.

The children of the sovereign typically receive the actual insignia (the enamelled elephant) once they turn 18.

Crown Prince Christian received his when he turned 18 on October 15, 2023, from his grandmother who was the reigning queen at the time.

He first wore the smaller rosette during an appearance on the balcony of Frederik VIII’s Palace and wore the Order of the Elephant at the gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace later that night.

Christian’s order was previously worn by his late grandfather Prince Henrik and underwent minor restorations before it was handed over.

Other, older orders can be viewed along with the Danish Crown Jewels inside the vaults at Rosenborg Castle.

Frederik, when Crown Prince, and his brother Prince Joachim became Knights of the Order of the Elephant upon the accession to the throne of their mother in 1972.

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Queen Mary was made a Knight of the Order of the Elephant on May 9, 2004.

Two days later, the then-Crown Princess wore the insignia of the Order of the Elephant for the first time at a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace, along with the Queen Ingrid Ruby parure, also known as the Danish Ruby set.

The honour came ahead of her wedding to Frederik in May 14, 2004.

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