Danish Queen Margrethe II visits Russia

Sep 6, 2011, 7:21 GMT

Moscow - Danish Queen Margrethe II sailed into a Russian port aboard her royal yacht on Tuesday for a visit devoted to promoting trade and cultural exchange.

Her personal vessel, the twin-masted Dannebrog, was escorted by a Danish navy frigate and a Russian navy corvette as it entered Russia's Baltic Sea port St Petersburg and tied up at a wharf on the Neva River, Russia's state television reported.

Queen Margarethe was planning during her four-day visit to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as well as speak with members of Russia's parliament the Duma.

Her packed official schedule also included the gala opening of a Danish-financed factory, a business conference, visits to photography and art exhibits, and tours of a shipyard and a brewery.

She also intended to make a walking tour 'as a simple tourist' to historical sites in St Petersburg which, because of family links between the Danish and Russian royal families, had a personal meaning to her, the Queen said in an interview with news agency Itar-Tass.

'We are really looking forwards to have the chance to walk in the steps of your Empress Maria Federovna, whom we know as (Princess) Dagmar. She was my father's great aunt, and he knew her well,' she said.

Russia's 9th Tsarina was born the Danish princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar. She married Russia's ruler Alexander III in 1866 and was the Russian Empire's co-monarch until 1891.

Margarethe's husband Prince Henrik and their son and Danish heir apparent Crown Prince Frederik and more than 100 Danish businessmen were traveling with her.

Queen Margarethe in the interview said she had traveled in the region 'several times' before, including a single official visit in 1975 to the then-Soviet Union.

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