The four palaces
Identical rococo around an octagonal square.
Janeway666 โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Tony Webster โ CC BY 2.0 ยท Peter Elfelt โ Public domain ยท Frederikke Lett โ CC BY-SA 3.0
The royal standard (red with white cross and arms) flying over the king's palace means residence โ then the change comes with a full band, otherwise drums only. For the royals themselves: they appear on the square's balcony on national occasions (the king's birthday, 26 May) and the city crowds in.
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Amalienborg is the Danish royal family's actual home โ Europe's oldest continuous monarchy: four identical rococo palaces (1750s) around an octagonal square centred on King Frederik V on horseback, King Frederik X and Queen Mary genuinely living in two of them โ the flag above the palace tells you whether the king is home. Its most famous rite is the Royal Guard's daily changing at noon: guards in black bearskin hats march from Rosenborg Castle across the city (11:30) to reach the square at twelve exactly, with military music if the king is in residence โ a free hour's show the whole city attends. One of the four palaces is an enterable museum: the royal apartments of the 19th and 20th centuries as left, with their desks, stoves and the recesses of daily life โ the home, not the palace. And the square itself is the harbour walk's hinge: Nyhavn behind you, the Mermaid ahead.
Identical rococo around an octagonal square.
The guard marches from Rosenborg at 11:30.
Amalienborg Slotsplads, 1257 Copenhagen