Tag: Queen Margrethe

Every winter, Denmark’s royal family celebrates the new year over the course of a few days, with festivities including a parade and banquet. But this year, the nation’s long-reigning Queen Margrethe used her New Year’s address to announce some bittersweet news. On live TV, the 83-year-old monarch surprised Danish viewers by announcing that she would abdicate the throne on January 14, bringing her nearly 52-year reign to an end, leaving the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.

“It is my hope that the new King and Queen will be met with the same trust and devotion which have fallen to my lot,” she said. “They deserve it! Denmark deserves it!”

Margrethe became Denmark’s queen in 1972, and reigned alongside her husband Prince Henrik until his 2018 death. After the death of her third cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, Margrethe became Europe’s longest serving monarch and the world’s only serving queen regnant. In her speech, the queen said the back surgery she underwent last February made affected her decision to step down. 

“Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me,” she said. “Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future—whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.”

The surgery kept Margrethe out of the public eye for two months as she recovered. She made her return to royal work on her 83rd birthday last April, which she celebrated with a balcony appearance at the Amalienborg palace alongside her family, including her younger son Prince Joachim and his four children, Count Nikolai, Count Felix, Count Henrik, and Countess Athena. It was a show of togetherness for the family, which argued publicly when Margrethe made the decision to strip the four children of their princely titles in late 2022. 

During Sunday’s event, Margrethe wore a brooch that referenced her late husband and her mother, Queen Ingrid, who died in 2000. According to jeweler Steven Stone, the diamond daisy brooch was originally commissioned in 1935 as a wedding gift for Ingrid, and Margrethe wore the brooch at her 1967 wedding to Henrik. It pays tribute to Denmark’s national flower and Ingrid’s childhood nickname.

In her speech, she said that the world will remember the year 2023 for the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza. “There are no winners, only losers,” she said. “Women and children have not opted for the war themselves, but they are paying the price. Innocent people are the first victims. Not only in the Middle East far from here, but also in Denmark.”

She also mentioned her grandson and heir, Prince Christian, who celebrated his 18th birthday in October with a gala that went viral after one clever guest engineered a Cinderella moment. Margrethe praised the speech that Christian delivered that night, lingering on a comment he made that promises Denmark dedication, but not perfection.

“He presented himself in a way that made all his family proud of him. He was surrounded by nice, excited, and happy young people from the entire kingdom, and he made a speech that commanded great respect. It made his grandmother proud,” she said. “Prince Christian said things as they were. It was not so common when I was young. Today, young people dare show that they can be insecure too. This openness is a strength which we others must admire, and from which we can learn.”

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After the event, the palace shared further details from the night, along with official portraits of the royal family during the celebration. Another portrait that grabbed attention featured Christian posing with four other young heirs to the throne, Princess Estelle of Sweden, 11, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 19, Princess Christina-Amalia of the Netherlands, 19, and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 21. The night’s menu included turbot fish with Jerusalem artichokes, a stuffed cockerel with mushroom sauce, a cake invented specially for the occasion, and Moët et Chandon champagne. Christian’s grandmother, Queen Margrethe II, organized a surprise appearance by Benjamin Hav & Familien, a Danish rapper and his backing group. 

The palace gala was meant as a celebration for Christian, and an acknowledgement that he is taking on an official royal role. The prince undertook a series of events at the royal residences with his family earlier in the day, beginning with a changing of the guard at Amalienborg, the official residence of the queen. In a private ceremony, the queen gave him the Order of the Elephant, an honor that previously belonged to his grandfather Prince Henrik, who died in 2018. They were later joined by Christian’s parents, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, and his younger siblings Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine on the balcony at the Frederik VIII palace.

Denmark’s long-reigning monarchy is among the most popular in Europe, and as recently as 2018, a survey by the conservative newspaper Jyllands Posten said that 77% percent of the country supported remaining a constitutional monarchy. Still, the queen is very sensitive to the public mood, and in 2022, she stripped princely titles from the children of her younger son Prince Joachim, leaving them as counts without much warning. She later apologized for the controversy, and Joachim attended the party with his wife, Princess Marie, and three of his four affected children, Count Felix, Count Henrik, and Countess Athena of Monpezat.

When the palace first announced the birthday gala, they pointed out that the guest list was intended to “reflect Prince Christian’s own generation,” and the outreach for representatives to the nation’s 98 municipalities and the territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands is a sign that they are looking to cultivate popularity among the rising generation of Danes. In his speech that night, Christian said that he was looking forward to a lifetime of service to his country, though he did add a slight disclaimer and an inside joke aimed at his father Frederik.

On Sunday, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II celebrated her 83rd birthday with her first public appearance since she underwent back surgery in February. She greeted a crowd of well-wishers from the balcony at the Christian IX Palace in Amalienborg, flanked by both of her sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. It was a show of unity after a few months of apparent discord, kicked off by Margrethe’s decision to strip Jochim’s children of their HRH designations, effectively demoting them from princes to counts. 

The event marked the first time the queen commemorated her birthday from the balcony since 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic led her to celebrate privately in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The celebrations began with a changing of the guard outside of the palace. Along with his wife, Princess Marie, Joachim was joined by his children, who have been known as Count Nikolai, Count Felix, Count Henrik, and Countess Athena since January. Frederik, next in line to the throne, was joined by his wife Crown Princess Mary, and their four children, Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Princess Josephine, and Prince Vincent. 

In a press release, the Kongehuset announced that Queen Margrethe would also return to her role as regent after her surgery and rehabilitation meant that Frederik had taken over the role. Though she was discharged from the hospital in early March, her rehabilitation process was expected to take months. 

In September 2022, Margrethe announced her decision to strip Joachim’s children of their HRH designations in a press release, and Joachim told news outlet DR.dk that they only had five days’ notice before the decision was shared publicly. Days later, Margrethe issued a public apology for changing the children’s titles, and in her New Year’s address, she noted that the decision had led to discord in the family. 

“That the relationship with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie has run into difficulties makes me sad,” Margrethe said in the address. “We have now had a quieter period and time for reflection, and I am sure that our family can embark on the new year together with confidence, understanding, and new courage.”

This year, the family spent the Christmas holiday apart, but Joachim did join his family for their traditional New Year’s dinner. In March, Joachim announced his plans to move to the United States with Marie and his two youngest children to take a job as a defense industry attaché at the Danish embassy in Washington, DC. The family will move over the summer.

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