JAN 7, 2025
Denmark’s king has unveiled a new royal coat of arms that more prominently features Greenland, as President-elect Donald Trump again floats the idea of the United States buying the Danish territory, a proposal that disrupted relations with Copenhagen during his first term in office.
King Frederik X issued a declaration in December to change the royal coat of arms for the first time in over 50 years, the Danish royal household said in a statement on Jan. 1. The new design, which replaces the one Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe II, established in June 1972, “strengthens the prominence of the Commonwealth in the royal coat of arms,” it said.
The bottom-left quadrant of the shield at the center of the coat of arms previously featured three crowns representing the union of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, as well as symbols of the two parts of the Danish Commonwealth: a polar bear for Greenland and a ram for the Faroe Islands. In the new coat of arms, the crowns have been removed, and the polar bear and ram have their own quadrants.
The king’s move represents a “continuation” of the Danish royal family’s traditional role as a bridge-builder within the Commonwealth, said Mikkel Runge Olesen, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Danish royals have historically played the role “of keeping the kingdom together,” Olesen said.
As Trump gets set for his second term, he is again promoting the idea of Greenland becoming part of the United States — even after Danish and Greenlandic officials dismissed the notion in the years since he first brought it up. His son Donald Trump Jr. is set to visit Greenland on Tuesday in what he described as a “very long personal day trip.”
The president-elect wrote Monday on Truth Social that his son “and various representatives” would travel to Greenland to “visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights.”
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation,” Trump said. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World.”
Greenland, an Arctic island roughly three times the size of Texas with a population of about 57,000 people, is an autonomous territory with its own parliament and government and has been vying for independence from Denmark. It is home to a large U.S. military base, and Washington views the territory as a key strategic location while competition with China and Russia increases in the Arctic.
Last month, Trump said, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Trump initially proposed buying Greenland during his first term, prompting rejections from Greenlandic and Danish officials. He canceled a planned two-day state visit to Denmark in 2019 after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea of the sale “absurd.”
Relations eventually improved, and U.S. and Danish officials characterized a call between Trump and Frederiksen in August 2019 as “constructive.”
“Everyone moved on,” said Olesen, but the question of Greenland’s status remains “a touchy subject.”
How Danish officials will respond to Trump’s overtures about Greenland during his second term remains to be seen. But the situation could be slightly different this time around, Olesen said. In October, three former Trump administration officials wrote in an editorial for National Interest in favor of a U.S.-Greenland free-association agreement, acknowledging the Danish government’s sovereignty over the territory.
Though Trump has not spoken publicly about the idea and it is not clear whether the former officials’ proposal represents his thinking, the editorial could hint to a softening of the president-elect’s stance, Olesen said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
For the Danish government, this situation is “a huge headache,” Olesen said. It cannot be seen to be pressuring Greenland or jeopardize relations with Washington, which it depends on for security guarantees through NATO. Copenhagen has focused on increasing its support for the island: In addition to an annual block grant of about $511 million, Denmark’s defense minister announced last month a defense package for Greenland that comes to some $1.5 billion.
Frederik also highlighted the importance of Greenland in his New Year’s address.
“We are all united and each of us committed for the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said. “From the Danish minority in South Schleswig — which is even situated outside the Kingdom — and all the way to Greenland. We belong together.”
Courtesy/Source: Washington Post
