Mad princes, ancient flags and Michelin stars: 16 fascinating facts about Denmark

["HaMsIK"]

t is a fragment of of our world that is both familiar and a little mysterious - a segment of Scandinavia that lacks the wildness of its Nordic colleagues, and yet also doesn't; a happy country which has become indelibly associated with the hygge concept of cosy contentment, yet has also produced some of the darkest drama to come out of any TV set in its embrace of scandi noir.

It played a violent role in British history via the incursions and conquerings of the Vikings, yet is an in-demand destination for UK travellers thanks to its famously fine food, easy-going ambience and gorgerous coastline. Denmark (visitdenmark.co.uk), you are a bit of a conundrum, and we salute you for it.

Why now for such a salute? Well, this week - today and tomorrow (October 25-26), in fact - Prince Harry is in town.

The capital, to be exact. Not because he fancies a tour of a few locations which popped in The Killing, but for a proper royal visit.

"The two-day programme will focus on the young people of Copenhagen. His Royal Highness is looking forward to spending time with entrepreneurs, young community leaders, and meeting individuals who are using sports for social development," said a statement from Kensington Palace last month. A good enough reason to run through a few facts about our Danish cousins? Why yes...

1. It is one of Europe's smaller countries

Denmark is not a huge place. It sits there on top of Germany, and just to the west of Sweden, as an enclave of just 17,179 square miles. That makes it only the 30th largest country in Europe - a little smaller than Slovakia and Estonia, just a little bigger than Switzerland and the Netherlands. You can drive from Padborg on the southern border to Skagen in the far north - a distance of 245 miles - in a mere four hours. Those 17,179 square miles also include the Faroe Islands archipelago. More on this below (see 13).

2. But also the second biggest

Of course, if you add Greenland into the equation, Denmark is very big indeed. The great frozen landmass which straddles the divide between Europe and North America is an "autonomous constituent country" within the Kingdom of Denmark. It is also the world's largest island (if we agree that Australia is basically a continent) - and the 836,330 square miles it stirs into the Danish pot make Denmark, by this measurement, Europe's second largest country, behind only Russia.

Greenland is, of course, a pretty intrepid place for travel, but far from inaccessible. Explore (01252 883 619; explore.co.uk), for example, sells "Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland" - a 15-day cruise on polar vessel Expedition which charts the east coast of this final European frontier. The next sailing is scheduled for September 2, 2018 - from £3,849 per person.

3. It has the world's oldest flag

The Dannebrog was adopted in 1370 - possibly even earlier.