Nordic Person of the Year

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester has received the ‘Nordic Person of the Year Award’ from CoScan, the Confederation of Scandinavian Societies in the UK. The award recognises Her Royal Highness, who is of Danish origin, for her unstinting work as patron to a large range of charitable organisations, with a strong focus on healthcare, music, education and disability support, as well as her role as Protector of the Anglo-Danish Society’s Scholarship Programme. The award is also a heartfelt thank-you from our fellow member societies across the British Isles who take a huge pride in Her Royal Highness’s Danish origins and wish to express their admiration for the unique level of compassion The Duchess shows and her dedication to her role within the Royal Family. The CoScan award was made during an event hosted by the Anglo-Danish Society in London, at the Danish Ambassador’s Residence, on 19th May 2026. Presenting the award, Nick Archer MVO, the President of CoScan, said: ‘CoScan’s Nordic Person of the Year Award goes annually to people of Nordic origin who have made a distinctive mark on this country, whether as residents or visitors. There is possibly nobody of Danish origin who has in such a sustained way over such a long period of time had as great a positive influence on British public life as Her Royal Highness. Since her marriage to the then Prince Richard of Gloucester in 1972, she has travelled the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and around the world as a working Member of the Royal Family, becoming increasingly loved and respected as the years have passed. This recognition by CoScan of Her Royal Highness is long overdue. But, as they say and as CoScan hopes, ‘better late than never’: ‘Bedre sent end aldrig’. photo: John Swannell