Denmark's King Frederik in Greenland for symbolic show of support

The 57-year-old monarch waved to well-wishers brandishing Greenlandic flags at Nuuk airport as he was greeted by the territory's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

"It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Greenland and to meet the Greenlandic people,," the king told reporters after a meeting with Nielsen.

He added that Greenland's people and wellbeing were "very close to my heart."

"They always have been. They always will be," he said.

Trump's threats to seize the vast mineral-rich Arctic island, by force if necessary, have ratcheted up tensions between the United States and Denmark.

Frederik spent Wednesday in Greenland's capital Nuuk to start the highly symbolic visit.

After talks with Nielsen, the king toured a high school and a fisheries company, and was due to take part in a social coffee break with locals at a cultural centre.

On Thursday he was to head to Maniitsoq, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Nuuk, before visiting a Danish military Arctic training centre in Kangerlussuaq, farther north, on Friday.

Despite Denmark's past as colonial power over the autonomous territory, the monarchy, including Frederik, has long enjoyed huge popularity in Greenland.

Among the dozen or so well-wishers braving the cold outside the airport to greet the king was a 44-year-old man who told AFP that "it's good he's coming here."

"There should be no doubt about my love for Greenland," Frederik said in March 2025.

An avid sportsman who enjoys the outdoors, Frederik took part in a gruelling four-month, 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) ski expedition across Greenland in 2000 as part of the Danish Navy's elite Sirius dogsled patrol.

The king, who became monarch in 2024 after the abdication of his mother Queen Margrethe, last visited the island in April 2025.

He also visited in July 2024, with royal commentators noting that three visits in less than two years was unusual.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday she believed Trump still wants to own Greenland despite dialling back his threats to seize it by force.

Trump insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China, as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advantage.

A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington's security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public.