The biggest New Year’s shock came from Queen Margrethe who announced in her New Year’s speech that she is abdicating.
After the Queen’s announcement, new healthy forces are expected to take over in the Danish royal house. On January 14, 55-year-old Crown Prince Frederik is crowned the new king of Denmark.
– It will be very exciting to see a historic coronation, says Ebba Kleberg von Sydow, who has not been able to talk about anything else since the unexpected announcement came.
When Queen Margrethe abdicates, it is her son, Crown Prince Frederik, who takes over. He and his wife Mary are popular in Denmark.
– But the Danish royal house has been rocked by scandals in recent years, says Ebba Kleberg von Sydow.
– There have been infected quarrels between the queen’s sons Henrik and Joachim, who quarreled in front of an open curtain. The Queen has been the one who managed to hold it together. Most Danes probably hope that Queen Margrethe will have a continued active role, Kleberg von Sydow continues.
Healthy forces in Denmark’s royal house
It will be a 55-year-old king and father of four who takes over the throne in January. “My hope is that the new royal couple will be met with the same trust and devotion as I,” said Queen Margrethe.
According to several Danish royal experts, the queen wanted to step down while she could make the decision herself and before it went beyond her role as regent. Queen Margrethe has thus been head of state in Denmark for 52 years.
The decision puts pressure on the Swedish King
Queen Margrethe’s decision to abdicate may affect her cousin, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. Several court experts believe so. The announcement will probably increase the demands on both Sweden’s and Norway’s royal houses to change regents where there are also popular heirs to the throne.
The decision to abdicate has evolved, the 83-year-old queen said in her speech, but a crucial reason is the back surgery she underwent in February. “The operation went well, but it also gave me reason to think about the future – and if it wasn’t time to hand over the responsibility to the next generation,” continued Margrethe, who is a cousin of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.
– It was a very big surprise that Queen Margrethe chose to abdicate. It is still an extremely popular queen. She is one of the few who succeeds in the combination of saying “hold din keft” with a cigarette in the corner of her mouth and lipstick on her teeth with royal dignity and broad competence, says Ebba Kleberg von Sydow.
Facts: Queen Margrethe
Margrethe Alexandrine Dórhildur Ingrid was born in 1940. Her parents were Frederik IX of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden, who later became Queen of Denmark.
During her student years, Margrethe studied, among other things, philosophy, archeology and political science in Copenhagen, Cambridge, Paris and London.
Margrethe was also active in the military and underwent voluntary training with the air force.
In 1967, Margrethe married the Frenchman Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat. They have two sons: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark who was born in 1968 and Prince Joachim of Denmark who was born in 1969.
On 14 January 1972, she acceded to the Danish throne as Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
Source: Source: Swedish Royal House website
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