The Danish Queen Margaret II may continue to play a representative role in the royal family after his abdication next Sunday. After stepping down from the throne, the 83-year-old could be named the king's representative, the royal family announced on Wednesday in Copenhagen. This function is called rigsforstander in Danish.
Various members of the immediate royal family may take on this representative role if, for example, the acting head of state is traveling abroad or is unable to attend. For Margrethe, this means that, after her abdication, she can continue to assume duties as head of state if both the previous Crown Prince Frederik and her eldest son, Prince Christian, are unable to attend.
Margrethe surprisingly announced in her New Year's speech that she wanted to abdicate after 52 years on the throne. On Sunday she will sign a declaration to this effect, after which her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederickwill assume the role of head of the Danish kingdom as King Frederick X.