Danish King Changes 500-Year-Old Coat of Arms as a Warning to Trump that Greenland Is Not for Sale

Denmark's King Frederik X has changed the national coat of arms to clearly show Greenland. The new royal coat of arms emphasises Denmark's ties with Greenland. This comes as recently elected US President Donald Trump has been talking again about taking control of the island. 

The new coat of arms, approved by King Frederik X in December, places the polar bear and ram symbols more prominently than before, each in its own part. They symbolise Greenland and the Faroe Islands, respectively.

US President-elect Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants the US to buy the island. Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede defends the idea of independence and calls for the ‘shackles of the colonial era’ to be removed.

At the same time, the son of US President-elect Donald Trump Jr. is currently visiting Greenland amid his father's renewed interest in ‘owning’ the island. Greenland's Foreign Minister Minninguaq Kleist told Danish public radio DR that Trump Jr's visit is ‘private’ and that no requests have been made to meet with government officials.

Frederik X, who inherited the crown from his mother, Queen Margrethe II, after she abdicated a year ago, emphasised the belonging of the island autonomies to the Kingdom of Denmark by changing the coat of arms.

The upright polar bear became the symbol of Greenland in the 1660s.

Previously, both symbols were reduced to share a quarter with three crowns, which not only mimicked Sweden's national symbol but also represented the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. From 1397 to 1523, the Union represented the Danish king's suzerainty over all three nations, which were still considered separate states. The union included Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Now, 500 years later, the crowns have disappeared, and the royal house has declared that they are no longer relevant.

Frederik also sought to emphasise the continuity of Denmark and its overseas territories in his New Year's speech, the first royal speech since his coronation on 14 January last year.

‘We are all united, and each of us is loyal to the Kingdom of Denmark. From the Danish minority in South Schleswig, which is even outside the Kingdom, to Greenland,’ said Frederik.

There is a long historical tradition in Denmark to use the change of the throne to purify the things that adorn the royal coat of arms. Royal expert Lars Hovbakke Sorensen notes that King Frederik IX removed the Icelandic falcon in 1948.

Queen Margrethe did the same in 1972, when she removed the symbols of five different areas of Germany that no longer belonged to Denmark, the expert explains.

This time, it is the three royal crowns that symbolise the union of the three Scandinavian kingdoms that were rejected.

The new royal coat of arms, which is the king's personal coat of arms and also the state symbol, will now appear on official documents and on seals attached to royal appointments and original laws, among other things.