MOSCOW, August 31 (Itar-Tass) — Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will pay a state visit to Russia on September 6-9 at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev will meet with Margrethe II on September 6, the presidential press service said on Wednesday, August 31.
The queen said earlier she hoped that her upcoming state visit to Russia in September would “give an impetus” to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The queen met with a group of Russian journalists at her summer residence in Grasten, South Denmark, ahead of her visit to Moscow.
Prince Consort Henrik, who also attended the meeting, stressed that the Danish queen would be accompanied by “the biggest delegation of businessmen in the history of her state visits” of which she has made about 40.
Margrethe II said she was looking forward to travelling to Russia where much has changed since 1975 when she visited the country for the first time and has heard many times from her husband, who has been to Russia several times since then, and from numerous friends how beautiful St. Petersburg and Moscow are, and she wants to see them with her own eyes.
During the trip to St. Petersburg, the queen plans to visit the tomb of Empress Maria Fyodorovna, former Princess Dagmara of Denmark. Her reburial in St. Petersburg was of great importance because the whole Danish Royal family knew that Maria Fyodorovna loved Russia, she lived her life with Russia and her last will was that she should be laid to rest in Russia.
Margrethe II said she also had other family ties with Russia that go far back into history.
Replying to an ITAR-TASS question what in Russian art and culture had inspired her artistic creativity, the queen said she has a collection of Russian folk fairytales in English in her library and she was “very much inspired by the illustrations created by artist Ivan Bilibin”.
Her Majesty also mentioned her visit to a London exhibition on Diaghilev’s ballet where she had seen “absolutely splendid costumes”.
The Queen of Denmark and the Prince Consort will pay a state visit to Russia on September 6-9 at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev who was in Denmark on a state visit on April of last year.