King Frederick X of Denmark announced a change of the royal coat of arms on January 1 this year. This change was understood by many – rightly or wrongly – as an intervention in US president Donald Trump’s aspirations to enhance America’s influence over Greenland. However, more interestingly it put an end to a 17th-century Swedish-Danish conflict.
While many headlines have read along similar lines to LBC’s “Danish king changes 500-year-old coat of arms amid growing row with Trump over Greenland”, the composition of the new royal arms was planned in early 2024. As such, the design predates Trump’s current interest in the territory.
In reality, the king’s decision to change the coat of arms was about bringing the different parts of the Danish kingdom together in a way that is more representative of modern Denmark. This is not a new practice. What is, however, surprising is his choice to remove a part of the royal coat of arms that has been there since 1397 and has been a source of conflict with Denmark’s neighbour Sweden.
