KELD NAVNTOFT / AFP
The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, announced that she would abdicate this Sunday, December 31, during her traditional New Year's address.
INTERNATIONAL – A shocking announcement after half a century of rule. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, announced this Sunday, December 31st, during her traditional New Year's address that she would abdicate on January 14th after 52 years of reign.
“On January 14, 2024, 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark. “I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she said during her televised congratulations.
The unifying and popular ruler, who has been widowed since 2018, underwent serious back surgery in February that prevented her from appearing in public until April. “The operation (…) gave rise to reflections about the future, about the question of whether it was time to transfer responsibility to the next generation,” admitted the 83-year-old queen.
Europe loses its last queen
The polyglot intellectual, who has been on the throne since her father's death in 1972, contributed to the gradual modernization of the monarchy. Since the death of her distant cousin Elizabeth II, Margrethe is the last queen to rule in Europe.
More than 80% of Danes identify as monarchists and turned out in their thousands last year to celebrate his 50th anniversary in power. She is also currently the longest-reigning monarch in Europe. In front of his Swedish neighbor and also cousin Carl XVI. Gustaf, who has just celebrated his 50th anniversary on the throne. Worldwide, only the Sultan of Brunei beats it by four years.
“Many of us have never known another monarch. Queen Margrethe is the embodiment of Denmark and over the years has expressed in words and feelings what we are as a people and as a nation,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded in a statement.
She illustrated the new edition of “The Lord of the Rings”.
The costume designer and set designer, born on April 16, 1940 in Copenhagen, likes to carry her open smile around the country. Every summer she goes on a cruise on her yacht Dannebrog before moving into her summer quarters in the Château de Cayx in southwest France.
Her erudition – she studied at Cambridge and the Sorbonne – and her diverse talents make her a role model for Danes. She particularly excels at drawing and painting. Margrethe has illustrated numerous literary works, including the 2002 re-edition of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
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