Denmark’s queen a favourite for modernising the monarchy, sidestepping scandal

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Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II lately celebrated 50 years on the throne with scaled-down festivities restricted by Covid restrictions regardless of the enormous recognition of the creative, chain-smoking monarch.

At 81 years outdated, the all the time elegant Margrethe, along with her trademark white-haired bun, is the second longest-serving monarch in Danish historical past – and the first girl to carry the place of reigning queen

She got here to energy amid waning help for the royals in 1972 however is now beloved for her unifying presence.

“We are unfortunately fewer marking the day than we would have wanted,” parliament speaker Henrik Dam Kristensen informed a socially distanced ceremony, the first of simply two occasions celebrating Friday’s milestone.

Guests, who included Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen, Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born spouse Crown Princess Mary, sat in chairs spaced aside.

Fredriksen mentioned the queen was “elected by the people” in a “democratic vote in 1953”, when a change to the Danish succession regulation enabled ladies to inherit the throne.

A bundled-up Margrethe later took half in a wreath-laying ceremony at her mother and father’ grave at the red-brick Roskilde Cathedral, west of Copenhagen, below sunny however blustery skies, accompanied by her two sons and their wives.

In her 5 a long time on the throne, Margrethe has sidestepped scandal and helped to modernise the establishment, making the Danish royal household certainly one of the hottest in the world.

Bo Petersen, a 58-year-old royalist who was in the crowd to see the queen at the cathedral, known as her “a figurehead for all parts of society”.

A 2018 Voxmeter ballot discovered that greater than three-quarters of Danes supported the monarchy, whereas solely 14.6% needed the Scandinavian nation to develop into a republic.

In this filepic, Margrethe sits in a workshop studio prior a final statement for journalists during her visit in the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste (academy of fine arts) in Munich, southern Germany, last year. Photo: AFPIn this filepic, Margrethe sits in a workshop studio prior a ultimate assertion for journalists throughout her go to in the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste (academy of tremendous arts) in Munich, southern Germany, final 12 months. Photo: AFP

‘Duty and destiny’

“When she became queen, only 45% of Danes were in favour of the monarchy,” journalist Gitte Redder, who has authored a number of books on the Danish royals, informed AFP.

“They didn’t believe in a monarchy in a modern democracy.”

That has modified.

“The basis of her popularity is that the queen is absolutely non-political,” historian Lars Hovebakke Sorensen informed AFP.

“She has managed to be a queen who has united the Danish nation in a time of large changes: globalisation, the appearance of the multicultural state, economic crises in the 1970s, 1980s and again in 2008 to 2015, and the pandemic,” he mentioned.

At age 31, the crown princess acceded to the throne upon the demise of her father Frederik IX. The grief-stricken mom of two younger boys – she now has eight grandchildren – was the first girl to develop into a reigning queen in Europe’s oldest monarchy.

She took her reign title Margrethe II after Margrethe I who dominated Denmark from 1375-1412 however by no means formally held the title.

“She has a strong sense of duty and never questioned her destiny,” mentioned historian Tom Buk-Swienty.

Widowed in 2018, the queen, affectionately nicknamed Daisy by her topics, has regularly modernised the monarchy to maintain it related, with out diminishing its standing.

Queen of arts

She has been the face of an open and hard-working monarchy, allowed her sons to marry commoners, and has herself been concerned in Denmark’s cultural scene.

With glowing blue eyes and a broad smile, she is thought for her relaxed and playful aspect, sometimes answering reporters’ questions with a mischievous grin.

A painter in addition to a costume and set designer, she has labored with the Royal Danish Ballet and Royal Danish Theatre on quite a few events.

A fluent speaker of English, French, German and Swedish, she has taken half in elaborate translation initiatives, together with the 1981 Danish model of Simone de Beauvoir’s All Men are Mortal below a pseudonym in cooperation along with her French-born husband, Prince Henrik.

But it’s primarily her work and drawings which have earned her accolades.

She has illustrated a number of books, together with a Danish 2002 version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and her work have been exhibited in museums and galleries in Denmark and overseas.

With her 82nd birthday approaching in April, Margrethe has repeatedly insisted she’s going to by no means step down from her duties.

“I will stay on the throne until I drop,” she has mentioned. – AFP



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