Royal rumble for Metallica: Lars Ulrich given Danish knighthood

Queen Margrethe rewards Danish drummer for his long-standing contribution to music

From behind his mountain of drums, Lars Ulrich has dazzled metal heads across the planet for decades together with his band Metallica.

Now, the Danish drummer is getting some metal dished out to him for a change. And it’s of a royal calibre.

During a trip to San Francisco, where Ulrich resides, Crown Prince Frederik handed the musician the Order of the Dannebrog on behalf of Queen Margrethe.

Ulrich, 53, follows in the footsteps of other Danish celebrities such as actresses Ghita Nørby and Sofie Gråbøl, film director Thomas Vinterberg, and singer Anne Linnet.

READ MORE: Metallica to open new Royal Arena venue

Riding the lightning
Since the Danish musician co-founded the legendary rock band back in 1981, Metallica has pumped out a long line of classic hits like ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Enter Sandman’.

Metallica often come to Denmark, where they spent time during the band’s early years, and recently opened the new Royal Arena in Copenhagen.

They return to Danish shores next March when they rock out Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

The Order of the Dannebrog was instituted back in 1671 by King Christian V.

‘God and the King’ (photo: Royal Family)

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