Denmark king arrives in Greenland in show of support
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King Frederik X of Denmark is due to start a three-day visit to Greenland on Feb 18.
PHOTO: AFP
NUUK - Denmark’s King Frederik X arrived in Greenland on Feb 18 for a three-day visit in a show of support for the autonomous Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, an AFP journalist reported.
The 57-year-old monarch waved to well-wishers brandishing Greenlandic flags at Nuuk airport as he was greeted by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Mr Trump’s threats to seize the vast mineral-rich Arctic island by force if necessary have ratcheted up tensions between Washington and EU and NATO member Denmark.
In a visit seen as highly symbolic, King Frederik was to spend Feb 18 in Greenland’s capital Nuuk, holding talks with Mr Nielsen, touring a high school and a fisheries company, and taking part in a social coffee break with the public at a cultural centre.
On Feb 19, he was to head to Maniitsoq, some 150km north of Nuuk, before visiting a Danish military Arctic training centre in Kangerlussuaq, farther north, on Feb 20.
Despite Denmark’s past as a colonial power over the autonomous territory, the monarchy, including King Frederik, has long enjoyed huge popularity in Greenland.
Among the dozen or so well-wishers braving the cold outside the airport to greet the king was a 44-year-old man who told AFP news agency that “it’s good he’s coming here”.
“There should be no doubt about my love for Greenland,” King Frederik said in March 2025.
An avid sportsman who enjoys the outdoors, King Frederik took part in a gruelling four-month, 3,500km ski expedition across Greenland in 2000 as part of the Danish Navy’s elite Sirius dogsled patrol.
The king, who became monarch in January 2024 after the abdication of his mother Queen Margrethe, last visited the island in April 2025.
He also visited in July 2024, with royal commentators noting that three visits in less than two years was unusual.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Feb 14 she believed US President Donald Trump still desires to own Greenland
Mr Trump insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advantage.
A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public. AFP
