The new King of Denmark Frederick X: how he became a monarch, what is known about his mistress

On January 14, a new monarch, King Frederik X, ascended to the Danish throne. His mother, 84-year-old Queen Margrethe II, had ruled the country since 1972 and unexpectedly announced her abdication two weeks ago. In her appeal, she mentioned that she was thinking about leaving after her illness, but the real reason, most likely, was not her health. According to one version, Margrethe II decided to recant after the publication of photographs of Frederick and his alleged mistress. According to another, her grandchildren are to blame for everything, who dropped out of school and became fashion models.

The Danish Queen announced her abdication in her New Year's address

On December 31, 2023, the Danish Queen Margrethe II delivered her traditional New Year's address to the nation. At the very end of her speech, she unexpectedly said that she intended to abdicate the throne.

According to Margrethe, she decided to retire while recovering from surgery.

Margaret II scheduled her abdication for January 14, 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne. Predictably, her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick, became the successor.

There will be no coronation or lavish ceremonies. An extraordinary cabinet meeting is expected to mark the abdication, at which Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will declare the prince king. Frederiksen will then go out onto the balcony with the new monarch to greet the assembled people.

Margrethe was a heavy smoker and illustrated the Lord of the Rings book series.

In Denmark, Margrethe is known for her unusual preferences. Until recently, she smoked a lot, and her favorite cigarettes were Karelia Super Slims without a filter. The Queen managed to overcome this bad habit only a year ago, when her health began to deteriorate.

In the past, Margrethe has not been shy about getting around Copenhagen by bike. Such closeness to the people is common not only for her, but also for other members of the Danish royal family.

The Queen knows five languages ​​and draws beautifully: at one time she illustrated books, including the Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings, about which Margrethe personally corresponded with the author of the trilogy, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. In addition, she was a production and costume designer for theater and film.

Margrethe's husband was the French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who was famous for his grumpy character. All his life he was offended that he remained a prince consort, although he could have received the title of king or at least king consort. Because of this, in 2017 he asked that he and Margrethe be buried in different places.

The unexpected abdication of Margrethe II shocked Denmark

According to one of those close to the Danish royal family, the aristocratic circles did not expect the queen’s abdication at all. “It was always believed that she would remain on the throne, if not forever, then certainly for many more years,” quotes his publication The Daily Beast.

Almost no one knew about Margrethe II’s desire to retire – neither her subjects, nor her friends, nor her relatives. She warned only her sons Frederick and Joachim, and even in their case this happened only three days before her New Year's address.

The Queen is loved by the people of Denmark. According to one recent poll, about 70 percent of the population supports her. For many of them, the renunciation came as an unpleasant surprise. “It was a real shock,” told to The Guardian Martin Ebmark is a hotel manager in the Danish city of Billund. “She has been queen since 1972.” Since my birth.”

“This is all new to us,” explains Maria Gunderlund, who farms in Jutland. — The Queen has been Queen for many years. Most people no longer remember when there was a king on the throne. And now we will have a king and queen.”

“I had tears in my eyes,” says Morten Pelch, a public relations specialist from the Danish city of Vejle. “And then I reconsidered her appeal and cried again.” According to him, all Danes remember where they were in 1992 when they learned about the victory in the European Football Championship. He considers Margrethe's abdication to be the second event in the country's recent history that affected everyone.

The Queen could abdicate due to the scandal about Prince Frederick's mistress

According to one version, the queen's unexpected abdication is connected with the scandal in which Prince Frederick was drawn into. “When she announced her departure, it was a huge surprise and it’s hard to shake the suspicion that it was related to recent problems,” admitted to the Daily Beast, an anonymous aristocrat familiar with the Danish royal family.

We are talking about photographs that appeared in the press of the prince in the company of Genoveva Casanova, a Spanish reality show star who met him on an exclusive hunt in the Alps.

The Crown Prince arrived in Spain without his wife and spent the entire day walking with Casanova. He sat with her in a restaurant until one in the morning and then spent the night in her apartment. At the same time, Frederick, apparently, did not suspect that photographers were on duty under his windows.

The photographs they took were published by the Spanish publication Lecturas. Fans of the royal family immediately accused Frederick of treason. As a result, Casanova had to turn off the phone and escape from the journalists pressing on her. And they grabbed onto the sensation with all their might and called what happened perhaps the biggest monarchical scandal in Europe since the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The prince himself did not comment on what happened and continued to appear in public with his wife as if nothing had happened. However, after this, his wife Princess Mary began to publish photos less frequently on social networks and even apologized for this to her subscribers. “I just need more time for myself and other things,” she explained. “I decided that in November I would write only about the most important events.”

The Queen stripped her grandchildren of their titles who became fashion models.

The Danish press linked Queen Margrethe's sudden abdication of the throne with the success of her grandchildren – 24-year-old Nicholas and 22-year-old Felix, sons of Prince Joachim. Both work as fashion models and, according to critics, thus benefit financially from their royal origins.

Nikolai left the military academy back in 2018, where his parents traditionally sent him, and devoted himself entirely to his modeling career. That same year, he signed a contract with the Danish modeling agency Scoop Models and began participating in shows for Burberry and Dior. The Queen's grandson appeared on the cover of the Scandinavian edition of Vogue magazine and went to Paris Fashion Week.

His younger brother Felix followed in his brother’s footsteps: he also entered the military academy, but almost immediately dropped out and in February 2023 starred in an advertising campaign for the Danish brand Georg Jensen.

In an interview with Scandinavian Vogue, Nikolai claimed that his relatives did not try to stop him when he decided to become a fashion model. “Nobody had anything against it,” he said. “Of course, I had to explain everything to the family. But it always has to be, no matter what I do.”

Officially, she explained this by the desire to make them determine their own destiny. However, the queen's other grandchildren retained their titles. Many considered this a sign that she was unhappy with Nikolai's choice.

This step, taken, according to Margrethe, “for the benefit and for the sake of the future” of her grandchildren, led to Prince Joachim and his family deciding to leave for the United States. He admitted to reporters that he had a difficult relationship with his brother and that he had not spoken with his mother about her decision. His ex-wife Alexandra (Nicholas and Felix's mother) said his sons “feel rejected” and “can't understand why their identity is being stolen from them.”

The Queen issued an official apology, but never returned the titles. “It is my duty and my desire as Queen to ensure that the monarchy continues to evolve with the needs of the times. Sometimes it requires difficult decisions and it will always be difficult to find the right time for them,” she said.