Royal Teatime

A million small ears overheard King Frederik IX of Denmark admonishing his nine-year-old daughter Margrethe at tea one day last week: "You've got your feet on the table. Sit properly." "I do sit properly," Margrethe answered back before she obeyed.

In a special "Schoolradio" broadcast, Danish children were having their first occasion to listen to their Royal Family's teatime conversation. The program was unrehearsed. King, Queen and Royal Princesses were just their normal selves. Even the coughs of five-year-old Princess Benedikte and of Anne-Marie, 2 1/2, both recovering from whooping cough, were clearly heard by Denmark's schoolchildren.

When Radio Reporter Axel Dahlerup asked the King to speak into the microphone, Frederik said that his children were "as charming as anyone else's" but also could be very noisy on occasion, "so that sometimes you feel you could strangle them." He then presented the radio reporter to Queen Ingrid, whom he called his "dream wife." He referred to the Princesses as the "ungerne," the kids.

Margrethe proved a natural radio speaker. Last Christmas, she volunteered, she and seven friends had performed a playlet from Andersen's fairytale, The Princess and the Swineherd.

Margrethe: "I played the Swineherd."

Reporter: "Why not the Princess?"

Margrethe: "Because then everybody would only stare at me."

Reporter: "Was the Princess good?"

Margrethe: "Very good. Suzy, who played it, has got such a good stuck-up voice."

Reporter: "Is the Princess stuck up?"

Margrethe: "Yes, in the fairytale she is."

When Queen Ingrid came on the air, she revealed that all her children have inherited their father's musical talent. "Even Anne-Marie," said the Queen, "has been able for fully a year to hum the tune of the trooping of the colors." The Queen told of her daily round of duties, adding: "However busy we may be, we always manage to be together at teatime."

Like a businessman at a luncheon table, Frederik spoke of a king's activities: signing of appointments and laws every day, weekly conferences with Premier and Foreign Minister, fortnightly public audiences, state councils at least once a month. He added: "If there is something else, they just phone me." The radio reporter interrupted:

"Nevertheless Your Majesty must have fixed times and appointments?" Said the King: "Of course I must, as in every big business; otherwise everything gets confused. Sometimes I work late, but when one has a charming wife and charming kids, there is no reason for complaint."

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