AGM and Ambassador’s Reception 2026

AGM & Ambassador’s Reception

The Royal Danish Embassy, 55 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9SR  16.45-20.00

Our AGM & the Ambassador’s reception, which took place on Tuesday 19th May 2026 at the Royal Danish Embassy was a very successful and enjoyable afternoon and evening where a good time was had by everyone. We had an exceptionally good turnout this year and we would like to express our thanks to our members, who attended the event and made it special.

After the brief AGM, we were welcomed to the Ambassador’s Residence by HE Kristina Miskowiak Beckvard R, who took up her post as Ambassador last summer. We were immensely grateful to her for hosting us as our Honorary President.

We were especially pleased to have Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester KG GCVO, the Protector of our Scholarship Programme, in attendance as our Guest of Honour this year, as we celebrated her special birthday (coming up in June) as well as the 15th anniversary of her taking on the role of Protector of our Scholarship Programme.

The Duchess kindly took the time to speak to our scholars, members and other guests, including presenting this year’s Certificate of Merit to Katie Schwarck, our Scholarship Secretary, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Society. Many congratulations to Katie.

The Duchess also joined everyone in congratulating our scholars on their achievements and their scholarship awards. This year we have awarded 6 scholarships to talented British and Danish post-graduate students in various fields of study and research.

Benedicte Adrian, who is the recipient of our Queen Alexandra Award for Excellence for 2026/2027, performed a beautiful piece for us, Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major by JS Bach.

The Duchess was presented with the Nordic Person of the Year Award 2026 by Nick Archer MVO, President of CoScan. He stated that the award recognises Her Royal Highness, who is of Danish origin, for her unstinting work as Protector of the Anglo-Danish Society’s Scholarship Programme and as patron to a large range of other charitable organisations, with a strong focus on healthcare, music, education and disability support.

He went on to say that the award is also a heartfelt thank-you from CoScan’s member societies across the British Isles (including our Society) who take a huge pride in Her Royal Highness’s Danish origins and wish to express their admiration for the unique level of compassion she shows and her dedication to her role within the Royal Family.

In her acceptance speech after the presentation, the Duchess expressed her delight at being given the award.

In order to celebrate the Duchess’s special birthday, there was singing in both English and Danish, three cheers, cake and champagne, flowers and, of course, a card.

In addition, we were pleased to be joined by one of our Honorary Members, Flora Montgomery, a few of our fellow Nordic Society representatives, CoScan representatives as well as some of our Scholars of course.

All the photos were taken by Gerald Sharp Photography