Danish king changes coat of arms amid row with Trump over Greenland Design shows intent to keep control of Faroe Islands and Greenland – which Trump says he would like the US to buy

guardian ^ | January 6, 2025 | Miranda Bryant

[xxqqzz]

The Danish king has shocked some historians by changing the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands – in what has also been seen as a rebuke to Donald Trump.

Less than a year since succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe, after she stood down on New Year’s Eve 2023, King Frederik has made a clear statement of intent to keep the autonomous Danish territory and former colony within the kingdom of Denmark.

Donald Trump Jr in front of the statue of Hans Egede in Nuuk, Greenland, while on a private visit. Donald Trump Jr visits Greenland amid father’s interest in owning island

For 500 years, previous Danish royal coats of arms have featured three crowns, the symbol of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, which was led from Denmark between 1397 and 1523. They are also an important symbol of its neighbour Sweden.

But in the updated version, the crowns have been removed and replaced with a more prominent polar bear and ram than previously, to symbolise Greenland and the Faroe Islands respectively.

The move comes at a time of increased tension over Greenland and its relations with Denmark, which continues to control its foreign and security policy.

Incoming US president Trump last month said again that he wants the US to buy Greenland, and the Greenlandic prime minister, Múte Egede, recently accused Denmark of genocide in response to investigations of the forced contraceptive scandal of the 1960s and 70s. In Egede’s own new year’s address he accelerated calls for Greenlandic independence and called for the “shackles of the colonial era” to be removed.

[Chgogal]

I prefer Greenland to Gaza.

[kaktuskid]

Those cavemen don’t look like Inuits (the native people of Greenland)

[Mastador1]

Seems to me Trump has gotten what he wanted, for Denmark to be more serious about defending Greenland and its waters, which helps insure America’s security, and he did it without spending a penny or taking any military action.

[packrat35]

He can change it again after we get Greenland to a US flag instead of a Polar Bear.

[Angelino97]

ann elderly associate who was in the grocery business always said, “everything is for sale. just a matter of the price.”

How much is Alaska for sale? You think the U.S. would sell Alaska at any price?

What's the asking price for Jerusalem? I assume not for sale, at any price.

Then if Greenland is not for sale, respect that.

[epluribus_2]

You’re so right, bad analogy. His context was always about bargaining for materials, real estate, bulk groceries, etc. (Mesopotamian Christian)