The political system of Denmark is a multi-party structure, where several parties are represented in the Parliament. Danish governments are most often minority administrations, governing with the aid of one or more supporting parties. This means that Danish politics are characterised by inter-party compromising. Since 1909 no single party has had the majority of parliamentary seats.

High degree of regional autonomy
The Danish counties and municipalities have a high degree of regional autonomy – this means for example that they have their own elections and regional administrations.

ROYAL DENMARK

The Nearest Relations
The Queen's nearest family consists of the Royal Consort Prince Henrik, their sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, Crown Princess Mary married to Crown Prince Frederik and their son Prince Christian, Prince Joachim's former wife Princess Alexandra and their two sons Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix.

The Danes and their Queen
Danes are proud of their queen and their royal monarchy. Queen Margrethe is widely respected for her intellectual prowess and her artistic abilities as for example illustrator, set designer for the theatre and textile artist. Along with the Prince Consort, the Queen has translated French literary works into Danish and vice versa.

The Role of the Monarchy
Just like in many other monarchies, a discussion of the role and function of the monarchy takes place in Denmark, but the general tone is much more subdued than what has been the case in other kingdoms.

TRADITIONS & FOOD

In Denmark, great honour is paid to traditions and festivals but without great ceremony.

The Unceremonious Danes
For example, it is characteristic that a survey made in the spring of 2002 showed that the majority of Danes believed Christmas to be the most important religious festival.

From the standpoint of the church, this is not true – Easter is the most important – but Christmas in Denmark is surrounded by many more traditions - being together with the family and the eating of traditional meals - than is Easter.

The Traditional and the Modern
Moreover, in Denmark the traditions observed – and in particular eating traditions - vary greatly between the countryside and the major towns and cities.

This is quite clear when one compares what is considered traditional Danish cuisine with dishes based on minced meat, gravy and potatoes to more modern Danish cuisine with its emphasis on simplicity and fresh and locally produced high quality ingredients.