This picture shows a time-worn statue that commemorates King Christian X's daily rides in Copenhagen; the elderly king rode in all weather for the first two years of the German Occupation. After King Christian X fell in 1942, Crown Prince Fredrick IX took over many of his father's duties, but the Prince never felt he should replace his father on the daily rides. In the background of the picture, the Danish Rudetarn (Round Tower), built by Christian in 1700, is visible.

For two years after the German invasion, Christian X rode by the Rudetarn almost daily, and he insisted on riding with neither guard nor horse handler. While Christian X often rode alone, the Danish citizens in the area always kept watch on him. Many Danes came long ways to observe their king's ride and his daily reminder that he and they were responsible citizens who had freedom of thought, no matter what power occupied their country.

My mother visited Copenhagen when she was 14, when Christian X could no longer ride his horse, so Mom never personally witnessed Christian X's resistance. Instead, on the trip to Copenhagen, Mom and her older brother, Andreas, enjoyed Tivoli Gardens, the amusement park Lowry mentions on page 30.

But like Lowry's Annemarie, my mother saw King Christian X when she was a little girl. While King Christian X waves to Annemarie and her sister in the book, he shook my mother's hand when she was 6 and spoke to her in the Southern Danish dialect she accidentally spoke to him. Prior to the German invasion, King Christian X and Crown Prince Fredrick IX visited Aabenraa and all Danish harbor towns annually. In 1935 my mother's first grade class was stationed right by the town's pier for the annual visit; all the students were supposed to sing patriotic songs and remain quiet as the King and Prince walked by them to the town's castle. But my mother was so excited to see the two Royals that she essentially, called out in a Danish dialect, "Howdy, King Christian, Howdy!" The King stopped the procession to the castle, nudged the Crown Prince to come with him, walked to my mother, enveloped her hand in his, and said, "Howdy, little girl" in the same Danish dialect Mom had used.

On pages 12-13, Lowry captures an exchange between Lise and Annemarie after they have seen the King on his daily ride. Because King Christian X had waved at Lise and her sister, the older girl explained to the younger one, "Now you are special forever [ . . . ] because you have been greeted by a king." My mother's life aptly reflects Lise's words.

While mother has admired her king since he shook her hand when she was six, other Danes, including those who had distrusted him in 1920, found even more reasons to admire Christian X when he cleverly insulted Adolph Hitler. To read that story, navigate back to the Christian X page and go to Birthday Slight page.