Prince Harry kicks off his first official visit to Denmark

Prince Harry kicks off his first official visit to Denmark



Prince Harry rounded off a whirlwind day in Copenhagen by attending a glittering drinks reception hosted by the British ambassador.

The royal, 33, is spending two days in the Danish capital on what is his first official visit to the country.

The trip is being made at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is seen as a way to drum up some good feeling towards the UK amid the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Harry started the day with an audience with Queen Margrethe, 77, at the Palace of Amalienborg, before visiting a number of social projects.

The day finished with the event at the famous Tivoli Gardens in central Copenhagen, where Harry impressed the crowd by adding a few words in Danish to his speech. 



The prince, 33, arrived late morning yesterday for his whistlestop tour of the Danish capital which will see him carry out seven engagements across two days.

After arriving by private jet, the royal met Queen Margrethe II, 77, at the city's Amalienborg Palace where the monarch spends the winter months.

The pair met privately before arriving together in the Knights Hall, a grand room used for greeting guests.



Harry is related to the monarch through his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.

It is not known what the pair discussed but it is likely that Britain's decision to leave the EU may have been among topics on the table.



Dressed in a green woollen blazer and blue trousers, Harry then went to a gathering of young people who run their own start-ups before heading on to a community sports charity.

As he crossed a courtyard to the second event in a wet and windy Copenhagen, the prince, who has never hidden his broody side, met a six-month-old baby and posed for pictures with her.

The little girl was the daughter of Syrian refugee Noura Bittar Soeborg, 28, who set up a social enterprise with the help of the KPH project - the charity visited by the prince.

Mrs Bittar Soeborg, who fled the war-torn country in 2012, said: 'She had just woken up and she saw the prince, it was like a fairy tale.'



'She was reaching out for him to pick her up.

'He was super nice to her and I think she liked him too.' The mother-of-one told Harry how her family's home was bombed and she was forced to leave.

Although she has now married a Danish man, she told the prince she hopes to one day return home.

Harry told her: 'Your resilience is just amazing.

'To come through what you have experienced and make something so positive is brilliant. Well done.' It came as two men in the crowd told of how they had hoped for Meghan Markle's autograph - but the American actress did not join her boyfriend on the trip. Jorgen Andresen, 52, and Fleming Christiansen, 45, handed Harry roses as he arrived.



Mr Andresen said: 'We are autograph collectors so it was his girlfriend we were after really but she didn't come.

'We told him 'welcome to Copenhagen' and gave him red and white roses for Denmark.' Although many asked for selfies, the royal politely declined and asked one of his staff to take a picture instead.

Harry is visiting the city as part of what has been dubbed the 'Brexit tour' which has seen members of the royal family visit European countries in a bid to strengthen ties ahead of the UK's departure from the bloc.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited France in March, Kate made a solo trip to Luxembourg in May, and in July the couple toured Germany and Poland.



The Prince of Wales travelled around Romania in the spring and, with the Duchess of Cornwall, visited Italy and Austria.

Next month, Prince William will visit Finland as part of the project and early next year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are scheduled to go to Norway and Sweden.

During a speech at a drinks reception at the Tivoli Gardens, which had been decked out with pumpkins for Halloween, Prince Harry said: 'This trip is a clear reminder of the shared values and strong alliance the UK has with Denmark. Our two countries have an unbreakable bond which is as strong now as it ever has been.'

Prince Harry was last night reunited with Nelson Mandela's youngest daughter. Zindzi Mandela, 56, and Harry, 33, have met twice before.

Mrs Mandela, South Africa's ambassador to Denmark, said of her meeting with the royal: 'He said it was nice to see me again. We talked about the special relationship between my father and his grandmother. He used to call her Lizzie...

'Harry does a lot of work with communities and that is a legacy of his mother. She would be very proud.'