Danish palace scraps system dating to the 1800s that grants royal labels for products

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s royal court said Wednesday it will phase out a labeling system dating to the 1800s that grants companies the right to use the image of the Danish crown on their letterhead, packaging and labels.

The five-year renewable designations, including “Holder of the Royal Warrant” and “By Appointment to the Royal Danish Court” and others, will be phased out by Dec. 31, 2029, the palace said in a statement.

Currently, there are 104 Danish suppliers and five foreign companies who can use such designations and images of the Danish crown on their products.

“A system which implies that individual companies can claim special recognition from the Royal House of Denmark for a number of years is no longer in keeping with the times,” the palace said in a statement.

The title was first granted to a company in 1840. Originally, such designations were given to companies or tradesmen who continually supplied goods or services to the royals. In recent years, however, several of the companies which supply goods or services to the royal household are not on the list of Royal Warrant holders.

King Frederik took over Denmark's throne last January after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, then Europe’s longest-serving monarch, became the first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years. Margrethe had stunned the nation when she announced during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech that she would step down for health reasons.

The abdication has left Denmark with two queens: Margrethe keeps her title, while Frederik’s wife becomes Queen Mary. Frederik and Mary’s eldest son Christian, 18, is now the crown prince and heir to the throne.