Queen Margrethe: 5 things that made her so extraordinary

Queen Margrethe
These 5 things made her an extraordinary monarch

from Charlotte Reppenhagen

Jan 4, 2024, 2:24 p.m

4 mins

Until Queen Margrethe abdicates on January 14, 2024, she will be Europe’s longest-serving regent. She can look back on 52 years as Denmark’s queen – and her people can look back on a monarch who is anything but ordinary.

Many Danes may have grown up with her as monarch: Queen Margrethe, 83, announced in her New Year’s speech on December 31, 2023 that she will abdicate on January 14, 2024. It will be the end of an era; Queen Margrethe knew how to inspire her people like no other. And one thing remains until the end: unique.

Queen Margrethe: These 5 things made her a monarch in a class of her own

1. Royal airs? Not with Denmark’s queen

There had been no woman on the throne in Denmark for 600 years until the coronation of Queen Margrethe. Actually, only men were intended to succeed to the throne. Due to the lack of a son, Margrethe’s father, King Frederik IX, †72, had to change the law accordingly. Margethe only realized that she would one day become queen when she was 13 years old. For her that meant: No more fun – now it’s getting serious!

But even though young Margrethe is up When she was sent to Europe’s best universities to study economics, history and law, she got her way – and also took art, literature, ballet dancing and philosophy. Even before her coronation, Margrethe made it clear: she has a mind of her own. There can be no question of supposed royal airs with the future Queen Margrethe. She continued to paint her own pictures, illustrated books under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer and designed costumes and stage sets. The “Deutsche Welle” describes Margrethe as “The coolest queen in Europe”. Maybe also because she preferred to go shopping herself and was rarely deterred.

2. Queen Margrethe loves dogs like no other

Members of the Danish royal family are excluded from prosecution. The country’s constitution stipulates this. As “Spiegel” knows, this includes not only the members on two legs, but also those on four: Queen Margrethe and Prince Consort Henrik have always had at least one dachshund in their house since 1970. In May 2009, Evita, a female dachshund, bit a bodyguard in the calf.

But because her owner is Denmark’s queen, both eyes are turned a blind eye to Evita: she is not put to sleep and doesn’t even have to wear a muzzle. “Different rules simply apply to the royal family, they somehow overshadow everything, and that’s why they are applied here too,” police lawyer Helle Just was quoted as saying by “Spiegel”.

3. Colorful, more colorful, Queen Margrethe

When it comes to colorful clothing, no one seems to be able to beat Queen Margrethe: Since the beginning of her reign, the Scandinavian queen has preferred to dress in all the colors the rainbow has to offer. Muted tones and pastel colors are rarely found in her wardrobe. Margrethe’s self-confident creativity is also evident in her outfits: lavish gala gowns, an exciting mix of materials and a large hat collection are part of the 83-year-old’s wardrobe. And ensure that no one can look past Queen Margrethe so quickly.

4. Margrethe was the “Volcano Queen” for decades

Queen Margrethe retained one vice from her younger years into old age: smoking. At dinner, in a concert hall or on a plane: the monarch almost always seemed to have a cigarette in her hand, especially in the first years of her reign. For a long time, this didn’t seem to bother her people much – until a family photo of the royals was published in 2015. It shows Queen Margrethe with a grandchild in one hand and a cigarette in the other. After that, the comfortable acceptance of the health-conscious Danes was over.

In recent years, Queen Margrethe has restricted herself from smoking in public. In June 2023, the palace confirmed: Margrethe stopped smoking after 66 years. This despite the fact that she had declared in February of the same year that she was so old that it “no longer mattered” whether she would stop or not. Her health has become increasingly important to Queen Margrethe, especially in the last few months.

5. Queen Margrethe can make decisions – including for her health

Just a few years ago, Margrethe had declared that she wanted to remain queen until her death. The idea of ​​handing over the throne to her son Prince Frederik, 55, only occurred to her last year, the current monarch explained in her last New Year’s speech. It was health problems that ultimately brought Margrethe to her knees.

With her abdication, Queen Margrethe also makes it clear what is at the top of her list of priorities: herself – and her health. The monarch has made an idiosyncratic decision. And thus remains true to herself until the end of her reign.

Sources used: dw.com, spiegel.de, Dana Press, ndr.de

This article originally appeared on GALA.