Painting is not what my life is about, but it is very important to me, and I am very lucky to be able to give some time to it. The time that I devote… - Margrethe II of Denmark

I think that people imagine protocol and etiquette as some kind of great dragon that hovers behind the pageantries of the palace to pounce on you and eat you up if you aren't behaving as you should. But in fact etiquette is saying how to do when you meet people, saying good night to your parents before going to bed, opening a door to a woman, getting up if an older person wants to sit down on the bus and it's all full, that is etiquette, or protocol, if you wish. At the everyday level, all the time, all of us. It's a way of knowing what you've got to do so that you have your mind free to do other things and think of other things.

For me it is always the colour, first and foremost.

In spite of the many initiatives our society offers to help and support, recovery can be such a monumental task that some give up. They withdraw into themselves. Not least during Christmas and New Year is it hard to feel left out. Tonight my thoughts are with them.