Queen Margaret of Denmark announced this Sunday that she will abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne. The 83-year-old monarch will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick.
The announcement by the Queen of Danes occurred during her New Year's speech. Two years ago Margaret II celebrated her 50th anniversary on the throne, which made her the only monarch in Europe and the longest-lived, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Last February he underwent successful back surgery. “The operation made me think about the future. If the time had come to leave responsibility to the next generation,” he said in his speech. “I have decided that now is the right time. On January 14, 2024, 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, I will cease to be the queen of Denmark,” said the monarch, who alluded to the “wear and tear” of time since “one can no longer handle what one “I could before.” “I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederick,” she added.
In Denmark as in the other Nordic monarchies there is no tradition of abdicating, and it is usual for monarchs to remain monarchs until death. Margaret II had always reiterated in public that she did not plan to leave the throne and that the status of queen was “a lifelong duty.” The first-born, 55 years old, will assume the throne on the same day of the abdication, after a Council of State, with the name Frederick X. “Tonight I want above all to say thank you, thank you for the overwhelming support and warmth that I have received over the years,” the monarch stated in her speech, asking for “the same trust and affection” for the future king and his wife, Princess Mary. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked the queen in a statement for her “lifelong dedication and tireless work for Denmark.”
Margaret Alexandrina Thorhildur Ingrid, the queen's full name, enjoys wide popularity among Danes, who appreciate her discreet and creative personality. She has managed to stay away from major scandals and the ones she has had have been resolved naturally, including the serious setback that caused her husband, Prince Henry, who died in 2018, to refuse to be buried in the royal pantheon in Roskilde Cathedral. . Enrique, who had never hidden his dissatisfaction with his role and was involved in several public insults, caused a stir in August 2017 by accusing his wife in an interview of taking him for a “fool,” while affirming his love for her, and announcing as a sign of protest his willingness to be cremated. Less than a month later, the Royal Family announced that the prince had dementia and that he was retiring from public life, and in February of the following year, Enrique died weeks after being admitted for a lung infection. “It was his decision. He was a free person. And I respect that,” Margarita said months later.
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The Danish monarch also stands out for her artistic interests, which include everything from ballet sets and costumes, plays and even films; to the design of the monograms of the members of the Royal House or her love for painting. And her prolific and long-lasting activity is appreciated in Denmark, despite the fact that renowned art critics have questioned the artistic quality of her paintings, which has not prevented prestigious museums from dedicating exhibitions to her. The Danish monarch has also been encouraged to illustrate The Lord of the rings, by JRR Tolkien, already translated into Danish All men are mortalby Simone de Beauvoir, and the trilogy about the Fall of the Roman Empire by Stig Strömholm, in addition to designing the set and costumes for a film on the Netflix platform.
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