Friday, Apr. 16, 2010
Many Happy Returns
The Queen of Denmark's 70th birthday has been ruined by the volcanic ash plumes. The guest list was truncated Friday as several dignitaries failed to make it to Copenhagen, including Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia and Iceland's President Olafur R. Grimsson. Those still in doubt included Britain's Prince Philip, Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe and his wife Princess Mathilde. The monarchs of neighboring Sweden and Norway already missed the first part of the program on Thursday. At least Queen Margrethe put a brave face on the situation: referring to her work, she said, "I'll continue as long as I have the power to do it. I am not winding down. There are still many things that are important to do."