Saturday the 18th of April was a great day in the Guild. H.R.H. Prince Joachim and H.R.H. Princess Marie was to be initiated into the Guild and become a member of Honor. Prince Joachim has been a member of Honor since he was initiated in 1988, when he was doing his military service, stationed in Aalborg.
The Prince and the Princess were welcomed by the benchers and the chief bencher, Niels Voss Hansen, on the red carpet outside Jens Bangs’ Stenhus. A granddaughter of the chief bencher performed the presentation of the flowers to the Princess.
When the Princess were seated in Duus’ Winecellar, the benchers made their usual entrance; the initiation ceremony had to be shortened a little, but away from that it was an usual initiation – almost; as everybody knows, usually nothing are being served to the applicants, who are being initiated, before the end of the ceremony. But this time – as the people, who were going to be initiated together with the Princess, were already sitting in the audience with the other guests – the chief bencher had to decide, that there would be no serving at all during the ceremony (except of course for the benchers themselves).
After the ceremony in the cellar, the newly initiated all wandered around Jens Bang’s Stenhus, and Princess Marie got an opportunity to try her new key to the secret back entrance to the winecellar. Back in the cellar the traditional glass of mead was served, and at the table the Princess served not only her husband but all sitting at the table with the red sausages. And the “snapses” were enjoyed, as is the custom in the Guild.
About twenty VIPS’s were initiated together with the Princess. The Bishop of Aalborg, Henning Toft Bro, was among them, and so were the chief of Air Station Aalborg, colonel Karsten Fledelius Jensen, major general Jørgen Høll, principal magnificus of the University, Per M. Johansen, and leader of the Music House, Lasse Rich Henningsen.
Photo: Jens Morten