Danish Frederick XX has arrived in Greenland for a visit aimed at showing solidarity with semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump says he wants to take over for a strategic Arctic location.
A trip to the capital of the monarch island, Nuuk, will visit Copenhagen earlier this week by Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens Frederick Nielsen.
Frederick told Danish media he was happy to be in Greenland and told the visit there was no specific mission. Nielsen told reporters that Frederick’s love for Greenland cannot be questioned, adding that the monarch is well known to the island.
The Danish King will meet with the new Greenland government this week to attend a traditional “cafe mik” or coffee break.
Inclement weather forced him to cancel a planned trip on Wednesday – encounters Station Node, the island’s northernmost military and science station, and the dog charm forces of elite Danish special forces patrol the farthest parts of Greenland.
The Danish royals traditionally make annual trips to the island, and Frederick visited Greenland last July.
The latest trip comes after US Vice President JD Vance visited a remote US military base on the island earlier this month and accused Denmark of underinvestment in it.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in mineral-rich Greenland, despite Denmark being a US NATO ally, and has not ruled out taking the island with military force.
Greenland’s political parties have been leaning towards final independence from Denmark for many years, but recently agreed to form a wide new coalition government in the face of Trump’s design on the territory.
The world’s largest island – home to about 57,000 people – was a Danish colony until 1979 that became Danish autonomous territory.
Since 2009, Greenland has retained the right to declare independence through a referendum.
