Denmark Updates Coat of Arms Amid Trump Push to Buy Greenland

Over the last month, President-elect Donald J. Trump has repeatedly discussed his desire for the United States to purchase Greenland, and during a long news conference on Tuesday he refused to rule out using military force to accomplish that goal.

In a far more subtle act of geopolitics that came ahead of Mr. Trump’s remarks, Denmark’s newly proclaimed king, Frederik X, implemented changes to the Danish royal coat of arms that reaffirm his kingdom’s commitment to Greenland, a sovereign territory.

The Danish royal coat of arms — a more elaborate symbol than the kingdom’s national coat of arms — had previously featured a panel with three crowns that represent the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Those crowns have now been removed, with separate panels being dedicated to Greenland (represented by a polar bear) and the Faroe Islands (represented by a ram). In the previous royal coat of arms, Greenland’s polar bear was in the same lower left panel, but was far smaller.

A statement from The Royal House of Denmark said of the new design that “the Faroe Islands and Greenland have each gotten their own field, which strengthens the Realm’s prominence in the royal coat of arms.” The royal symbol is a coat of arms for the king’s personal use, and also a state symbol.

According to the statement, the royal coat of arms received a public showing last week when it was featured on a flag raised at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen for the royal family’s New Year’s banquet, where it also appeared on royal vehicles as guests arrived.