This statue of King Christian X, the present queen’s grandfather, is one of the best known and most prominent in Copenhagen. The King is depicted on horseback – a reference to his daily solo rides through Copenhagen during the German occupation. This show of defiance and courage means that Christian X is seen as the great unifying figure of Denmark during the Second World War. The popular myth that Christian wore the yellow star the Nazis forced as an identifying badge on Jews is untrue, although the King undoubtedly despised everything the Nazis represented and anti-Semitism in particular.
