Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II on Sunday (Dec 31) announced a shocking abdication, passing the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik. She is to abdicate on January 14.
The surprise announcement came during the queen’s traditional New Year’s Eve speech broadcast on Danish television. She said she is doing this because of her age and health issues.
Queen Margrethe II is Europe’s longest-serving monarch and last reigning queen after the death of Britain’s Elizabeth II. The 83-year-old is praised for modernising Danish royalty in her half-century on the throne.
“In two weeks time I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years,” she said, further adding that that length of time would take its time on anyone. She added. “One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past…”
“On 14th January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik,” she said.
Earlier, she had repeatedly said she would never abdicate. However, back surgery she underwent in February “gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation”.
People have shared their opinions on the queen’s announcement. She is extremely popular in the nation, especially for her artistic talents. Historian Lars Hovebakke Sorensen told the news agency AFP: “She has managed to be a queen who has united the Danish nation in a time of large changes: globalisation, the appearance of the multicultural state, economic crises in the 1970s, 1980s and again in 2008 to 2015, and the pandemic.”
“The basis of her popularity is that the queen is absolutely non-political,” he added.
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Who is Queen Margrethe II?
She is known for her relaxed and playful side, as well as for her involvement in Denmark’s cultural scene. She is a painter as well as a costume and set designer and has worked with the Royal Danish Ballet and Royal Danish Theatre several times.
She studied at Cambridge and the Sorbonne in Paris, and is fluent in English, French, German and Swedish. She has also translated plays, including Simone de Beauvoir’s “All Men Are Mortal” with her French-born husband under a pseudonym.
But of all, her paintings and drawings grabbed most of the attention.
She has illustrated several books, including a Danish 2002 edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”, and her paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries in Denmark and abroad.
(With inputs from agencies)
