Margrethe II

Former queen of Denmark and current king .

1940 April 16th He was born as the eldest child of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden . His name was taken from his maternal grandmother , Princess Margaret of Connaught, his paternal grandmother, Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , and his mother , Princess Ingrid of Sweden , and because his grandfather, Christian

In 1944, her younger sister, Princess Benedicte, was born, and in 1946, her youngest sister, Princess Anna Maria, was born, making her the eldest with two younger sisters.

On April 20, 1947, when his grandfather Christian X died, his father Frederick IX became king. At the time of Margrethe's birth, women could not become kings in the Danish royal family , so her uncle, Prince Knud , was the heir to the throne. However, in 1953, the Salica Act was abolished and the law was revised to allow women to succeed to the throne if they had no brothers, so Margrethe became the presumptive heir.[1]

When he was a student at the London Political Economy University, he met with French embassy secretary Henryk and married in 1967 . Henrik ball is France He is a member of the Montpeja family. He wore a wedding veil of his grandmother 's grandmother's margaret girl and wore Cartier Tiara , who was presented by King Egypt .

In 1968, she gave birth to her eldest son, Frederick , and in 1969, she gave birth to her second son, Joachim .

On January 14, 1972, her father Frederick IX died and she was crowned queen. There was no coronation ceremony, and Jens Otto Krag, then Prime Minister of Denmark , proclaimed the throne at Christiansborg Palace.

The Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of his reign, was celebrated on January 14, 2022 . Elizabeth II, September 2022 With the death of the Queen of England, Margrethe II became the only female sovereign monarch and the longest-reigning monarch in Europe at the time. At this time, the 50th anniversary event was held, which was postponed due to COVID-19 , but the scale was scaled down following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. #

On January 1, 2023, the children of his second son, Prince Joachim, were stripped of their prince and princess status. “It is my job as queen to keep the royal family in line with the times, and that means making difficult decisions,” she said.

In February of the same year, he underwent back surgery and later stopped performing official duties for rehabilitation treatment. Even after returning to official duties, he had some difficulty moving, so he often used a cane or attended events while sitting on a chair.

December 31, 2023, January 14 in a New Year's Eve speech.[2] He announced his intention to abdicate to his eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick . Originally, the Queen had declared that she would not abdicate during her lifetime, but after undergoing surgery last year, she had a change of heart and decided that now was the right time to pass on the throne. This is the first time in 878 years that a Danish king has abdicated while still alive, since King Erik III abdicated in 1146 . As a result, the king was to step down after 52 years on the throne, and as of 2026, there will be no queen left among the current constitutional monarchies in Europe.[3]

The abdication announcement was so secret that Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen only found out about it right before the speech. Therefore, the content of the originally planned New Year's speech had to be changed, and a new speech had to be written to coincide with the announcement of the Queen's abdication. Major Danish politicians could not hide their embarrassment as they reacted as if they had not expected it at all right after the Queen's abdication was announced, and Crown Prince Frederick is also said to have learned of the news of the abdication three days before it was announced . However, the Queen's maternal cousin, the King of Sweden, It is said that he only informed Karl XVI Gustav of the abdication in advance.

Even after her abdication, she will continue to be called Queen Margrethe II, and will act as regent in the absence of Frederick X and Crown Prince Christian, carrying out the king's affairs. This is due to the fact that there are currently a small number of high-ranking royals in Denmark who can normally perform the position of regent .[4]

On January 14, at 2:15 pm local time, the declaration of abdication was signed at a cabinet meeting held at Christiansborg Palace. With this, he passed the throne to his son Frederick X and officially abdicated. This process was also very simple. Immediately after signing, he declared to his son, Frederick The Prime Minister of Denmark officially declared the new king to the throne. The Danish royal family has not held a coronation ceremony since King Christian VIII, so succession to the throne takes place without a separate ceremony.