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Danish royal couple visits National Museum
Traces of glory: Danish Queen Margrethe II (second left), Prince Consort Henrik (second right), Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen (left) and Danish Energy, Utility and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt have a close look at items displayed in the Spice Trail exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta Friday
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Traces of glory: Danish Queen Margrethe II (second left), Prince Consort Henrik (second right), Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen (left) and Danish Energy, Utility and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt have a close look at items displayed in the Spice Trail exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta Friday. (Courtesy of Danish Embassy) (second left), Prince Consort Henrik (second right), Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen (left) and Danish Energy, Utility and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt have a close look at items displayed in the Spice Trail exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta Friday. (Courtesy of Danish Embassy)
Traces of glory: Danish Queen Margrethe II (second left), Prince Consort Henrik (second right), Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen (left) and Danish Energy, Utility and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt have a close look at items displayed in the Spice Trail exhibition at the National Museum in Jakarta Friday. (Courtesy of Danish Embassy)
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her husband Prince Consort Henrik visited the National Museum on Friday, one day after the queen had a lengthy discussion about batik with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo at the State Palace.
The museum is hosting the third annual Museum Week with the theme 'Spice Trail', set to run until Sunday. The Jakarta Post is cohosting the exhibition.
The royal couple paid special attention to the Spice Garden, which showcases various kinds of original Indonesian spices. They were accompanied by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti.
The Brass Ensemble of the Danish Royal Guard performed during the couple's visit to the museum. The royal couple did not talk to the media, but according to people who were present, the queen was very impressed with the richness of Indonesian spices.
On Thursday, the queen spoke in detail about traditional batik with her host Jokowi. She has reportedly had a passion for batik for decades, although she was only this week able to visit Indonesia for the first time.
'I explained to the queen that it took six months to make a batik painting using the diagonal stripes motif, while it took about four months for a batik painting made by using a combination of diagonal stripes and other motifs,' Jokowi said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
The queen's love for batik began when her mother Queen Ingrid brought home some pieces of batik cloth after visiting Indonesia in 1980s.
'I remember my mother who visited Indonesia in the early 1980s. She brought back some lovely pieces of batik which I enjoyed,' the queen said during an interview with Indonesian journalists at Fredensborg Palace in Copenhagen, prior to her visit to Indonesia.
Therefore, she also planned to visit Yogyakarta to sate her curiosity about the symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk batik.
'I want to visit Yogyakarta as one of the cultural centers of Indonesia. I can also witness the working of batik which I found is a very beautiful tradition,' she added.
The queen is scheduled to spend time on Saturday at the Center for Batik and Handicrafts (BBKB), a government research and development center for batik making in Yogyakarta, before attending a joint lecture at Gajdah Mada University and meeting with Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
While the queen is on her first visit to Indonesia, the prince has visited the country several times, mainly in relation to nature conservation. Impressed by Indonesian diversity, he has stated that protecting animals, forests and plants in the country is very important for environmental preservation.
The prince stayed in simple hotels on his previous private visits, while making efforts to help protect orangutans and Komodo dragons.
'I know your population is more interesting than orangutans, but orangutans are important for the rest of the world. The protection is not only for you but also for us,' he said. 'Every time there is a need for my hand, I will be there,' he said.
'I have always been interested in protecting nature. With populations increasing all over the world, we have for taking care of nature,' he added, explaining that it was his reason to take on the role of World Wildlife Fund president in 1970s.
During her visit, the queen was accompanied by a large delegation comprising representatives from major companies and senior government officials.
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