In Denmark we have a very special tradition of royal “Honnørmarcher”.* This tradition goes back to King Frederik VII, who was given a personal Honnørmarch in 1861, composed by H.C. Lumbye. Every Danish King and Queen since then, has had their own personal Honnørmarch, which functions as a musical portrait of the Majesty.

When His Majesty King Frederik X ascended to the throne in January 2024, his wife, the former Crown Princess Mary, became Queen Mary. Originally titled “Kronprinsesse Marys Honnørmarch”, this present work of music changed title as well.

In 2014 it was decided, that it was time for the then Crown Princess to have her own march. The composer David M.A.P. Palmquist was tasked with writing the music and through a series of meetings with the Crown Princess learned of her wishes for the new march.

A tradition of leaving musical greetings to the person whom the piece is written for in the form of musical quotations, can also be traced back to H.C. Lumbye. Following this tradition, many small quotations found their way into the march. We hear the psalm “Eternal Father, strong to save”, “Waltzing Mathilda”, “Advance Austalia Fair” and the danish royal anthem “Kong Christian” among others.

The march was premiered by The Band of The Royal Danish Life Guard at a concert held to mark the 400 year anniversary of the danish army in 2014. The march served as a gift for the Crown Princess from the Danish Armed Forces. After the name change in 2024, a competition was held to find a new march for the King. At the Kings birthday in 2025 the new “Kong Frederik d. X’s Honnørmarch” was heard along with “Dronning Marys Honnørmarch”. Both marches are composed by David M.A.P. Palmquist.

*Seeing as this concept is not directly known in the Englishspeaking world, the translation should be as literal as possible, i.e. “Salute March”. “Honnør” is “salute” in english, while the similar sounding English “honour” is “ære” in Danish.

Den danske tradition med personlige kongelige Honnørmarcher strækker sig tilbage til Kong Frederik VII, der i 1861 fik komponeret en Honnørmarch af H.C. Lumbye. Siden da har hver eneste danske Konge og Dronning haft deres egne personlige Honnørmarcher.

Da Hans Majestæt Kong Frederik d. Xende blev konge i januar 2024, blev hans hustru, den tidligere Kronprinsesse Mary, til Dronning Mary. Marchen der oprindelig hed “Kronprinsses Marys Honnørmarch” fik i den anledning også et navneskift til “Dronning Marys Honnørmarch”.

I 2014 blev det bestemt, at det var på tide at den daværende Kronprinsses fik sin egen honnørmarch. Komponisten David M.A.P. Palmquist fik til opgave at skrive musikken og lærte
gennem en række møder med Kronprinsessen, hvad hendes ønsker for det nye værk var.

Traditionen med at gemme små musikalske hilsener til personen værket er skrevet til, i form af små musikalske citater, kan også spores tilbage til H.C. Lumbye. Og i sporet på denne tradition er der da også mange små citater i denne march. Vi hører bl.a. den engelske salme “Eternal Father, strong to save”, “Waltzing Mathilda”, “Advance Australia Fair” og den danske Kongesang “Kong Christian”.

Marchen blev uropført af Den Kongelige Livgardes Musikkorps ved en koncert i 2014, der markerede 400 års jubilæet for den danske hær. Marchen var Forsvarets gave til Kronprinsessen. Efter navneskiftet i 2024 blev der udskrevet en konkurrence om at skrive en ny march til Kongen. Og ved Kongens fødselsdag i 2025 kunne man således for første gang høre den nye “Kong Frederik d. X’s Honnørmarch” efterfulgt af “Dronning Marys Honnørmarch”. Begge marcher er komponeret af David M.A.P. Palmquist.

This edition is scored for Brass Band:

Soprano Cornet in Eb
Solo Cornet in Bb
Repiano Cornet in Bb
Cornet II & III in Bb
Flugelhorn in Bb
Solo Horn in Eb
Horn I & II in Eb
Baritone I & II in Bb (treble clef)
Trombone I & II in Bb (treble clef)
Trombone III in C (bass clef)
Euphonium in Bb (treble clef)
Tuba I in Eb (treble clef)
Tuba II in Bb (treble clef)
Tambour Petit (Snare Drum)
Tambour Grand (Cymbals and Bass Drum)
Glockenspiel

Additional optional parts:
Harp

Substitute parts provided:
Horn parts transposed in F
Baritone, Euphonium and Trombone I & II parts transposed in C (bass clef)
Trombone III part transposed in Bb (treble clef)
Tuba parts transposed in C (bass clef)