Queen Margrethe – royal title rows, cheating scandals and Lord of the Rings
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark shocked her nation this evening by announcing she was abdicating the throne.
After over half a century on the throne, the Danish monarch said in her New Year’s Eve speech that she would be stepping down. On January 14 she will renounce her throne and step down officially.
This will mark exactly 52 years since she took over the throne following her father’s death on January 14 1972. She told the Danish people that her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, will succeed her as heir.
Queen Margrethe is currently the longest serving monarch in Europe after the late Queen Elizabeth II died in September last year. However, across her 52 years as an unelected ruler, she has seen her fair share of royal rows, title feuds, cheating rumours, and more.
First female Danish ruler since the 15th century
Queen Margrethe was the first female ruler her country saw since the Black Plague swept through England for the final time. Her namesake, Margrethe I had ruled the Scandinavian kingdoms from 1376-1412 when all three nations, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, had unified under a single ruler.
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However, at the time of her birth in 1940, only men could ascend to the throne of Denmark. This was thanks to a series of changes made the previous century, and, as Margrethe had no brother, many later thought he uncle Prince Knud would become monarch instead of her.
However, in 1947, not long after her own father ascended to the throne, the process of changing the constitution to allow Queens once more began. The law however, required that two successive parliaments pass the proposal and then a referendum does as well.
So, eventually, by March 1953, the law finally permitted women to ascend to the throne - but only if they didn’t have brothers and it took until 2009 to remove that condition.
Queen Margrethe II and her sons, one of whom would complain his mum took his children's royal titles away, and the other would face cheating rumours (UK Press via Getty Images)Father’s death and ascending to the throne
It would be almost 20 years from when Margrethe could legally take the throne, until she eventually actually did. On January 14, 1972, 52 years before she will step down as monarch next year, her father King Frederik IX died after a short illness and Margrethe became monarch.
The next day she was proclaimed Queen from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace by the then Prime Minister. Taking her place as head of a lineage that traces its line back to the Viking king Gorm the Old, who died in 958.
Queen Margrethe II marked her 40th year on the throne, her Ruby Jubilee, with celebrations on January 14 2012.
Queen Margrethe pictured on a trip to England (Getty Images)Chain smoking and unrelated health issues
For almost all of her life Queen Margrethe was a chain smoker and had a well known habit. In 2006, it was announced that she would only smoke in private, but continued for years amidst a number of serious health issues.
In 1994, she was treated for cervical cancer, and throughout the 1990s and 2000s she had several operations on her right knee. Later, in 2003, she underwent an almost five hour operation for spinal stenosis. Then, in February of this year she underwent a major back surgery and took two months out to recover and is believed to have stopped smoking since then.
Speaking about the surgery during today's speech, she told the Danish people: "The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future - whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation. I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark," she said. "I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik."
Queen Margrethe would strip one set of her grandkids of their royal titles whilst the others kept theirs (Getty Images)Catching Covid at another Queen’s funeral
Queen Margrethe II is actually third cousins with the late Queen Elizabeth II. She attended the funeral of the British monarch last year.
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However, in the aftermath, the Danish royal household admitted that she had, for the second time that year, caught Covid seemingly whilst there. She went into isolation on September 26 but insisted she felt fine throughout and continued official duties.
Stripping royal titles
Families can be a complicated thing - and royal families are no exception. On top of all the usual drama and conflicts, you add a huge dose of pageantry as well as inherited power and wealth which can lead to disagreements.
Like all royal families, Queen Margrethe’s came into power centuries ago and is trying to stay relevant in the modern world to citizens who have bigger concerns. As a part of this, she, like Britain’s own King Charles, has noted that the families need to slim down and modernise. On this basis, she stripped some of her family members of titles.
She announced that four of her grandchildren would lose their prince and princess titles from the beginning of this year. This, they said was in line with "other royal houses" and help them live more normal lives.
The move affected the children of the Queen's second son Prince Joachim - Prince Nikolai, 23, Prince Felix, 20, Prince Henrik, 13, and 10-year-old Princess Athena. Instead, they will use titles of count or countess and be referred to as their excellencies from next year.
However, it didn’t go down very well with one member of her family.
Royal feuds and unhappy second sons
The Queen of Denmark later would admit she had "underestimated" the impact her actions would have as her second son quickly threw a tantrum over the move.
Prince Joachim complained his children had been "harmed" by only being referred to as count or countess instead of prince or princess. He also moaned about only being given five days to tell the children and said they didn’t understand what was going on.
Such was the furore her youngest son kicked up, that Queen Margrethe apologised - but didn’t backtrack. In a statement released via her Instagram, she said: "In recent days, there have been strong reactions to my decision on the future use of titles for Prince Joachim's four children. It obviously affects me.
"My decision has been a long time coming. With my 50 years on the throne, it is natural both to look back and to look forward. It sometimes requires difficult decisions to be made, and it will always be difficult to find the right moment. Carrying a royal title entails a number of obligations and duties, which will in future be the responsibility of fewer members of the royal family. This adaptation, which I see as a necessary safeguard for the future of the monarchy, I want to make in my time.
"I have made my decision as Queen, mother and grandmother, but as a mother and grandmother I have underestimated how much my youngest son and his family feel affected. It makes a big impression, and I'm sorry for that."
She continued: "No one should be in doubt that my children, children-in-law and grandchildren are my great joy and pride.I now hope that we as a family can find the peace to find our way through this situation ourselves."
The note was signed 'Margrethe R.'
Cheating rumours
Queen Margrethe enjoyed a long and happy marriage to a French diplomat who she met in London.
However, her other son has been recently beset by rumours of infidelity and cheating. Prince Frederick, born in 1968, was accused of cheating on his wife Princess Mary with a Mexican socialite.
Genoveva Casanova, 47, denied the allegations of cheating and the daughter-in-law of the billionaire Duchess of Alba hit back at the rumours as Frederick was pictured with his wife that day, welcoming other European royals.
Lord of the Rings hobby
Now she’s stepped down, Queen Margrethe will have a lot more time for her hobbies and personal pleasures.
One of these is being an accomplished artist, and her illustrations were used for the Danish editions of the Lord of the Rings. She was said to have even sent some to J. R. R. Tolkien himself was struck by the similarities.
So, after January 14, with much more time on her hands, Queen Margrethe can turn her attention to The Hobbit perhaps, or her other hobbies which include archaeology, or costume design.
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