Queen Margrethe of Denmark Is Embracing Her First Passion — by Working on a Netflix Film

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is adding another title to her royal resume: costume designer.

The royal, who celebrated 50 years on the throne in 2022, served as the costume and production designer for Netflix film “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.” The feature was released in September 2023; Queen Margrethe II was not paid by the production companies for her work on the film.

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“Ehrengard” is an adaptation of Karen Blixen’s fairytale about a lady-in-waiting who dodges a royal court painter’s advances. Blixen was a Danish baroness who published under pseudonym Isak Dinesen.

“It was great fun,” Queen Margrethe II told The New York Times of working on the movie adaptation. “I hope that Blixenites will accept the way we’ve done it.”

Queen Margrethe II designed 51 costumes and made 81 decoupages, or collages, for the film. The sets were based on her drawings and other artwork.

“I’ve been interested in style and in the history of style and costume for a very long time,” the queen said. “I work when I can find the time, and I seem usually to be able to find the time.”

She added of balancing governing Denmark and her creative endeavors, “Sometimes, I think people are at their wit’s end because I’m trying to do these two things at the same time. But it usually works, doesn’t it?”

“Ehrengard” director Bille August called Queen Margrethe II’s decoupages the “tuning fork” for which the entire production was built around since the pieces embodied “a world that is detached from reality without being a full-on fairytale.”

“Conjuring that special atmosphere is perhaps the queen’s greatest achievement here,” August said.

“Ehrengard” is produced by SF Studios and JJ Film, a Danish company that also produced Hans Christian Andersen-inspired short films “The Snow Queen” and “The Wild Swans” for which the queen additionally served as the production designer. Both shorts were released on Danish TV in 2000 and 2009, respectively, and featured artwork by Queen Margrethe II, who became an honorary member of the Danish Designers for Stage and Screen union in 2010.

Other (now former) royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a deal with Netflix through their Archewell Productions banner. However, upcoming series projects have since been shelved or canceled.

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