Queen Margaret II abdicates after 52 years of reign (Reuters)

Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, Europe's longest-reigning monarch, ascended the throne of Denmark on January 15, 1972 at the age of 31. Its motto is "God's help, love for the people, the power of Denmark". After more than 5 decades in power, on the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne, she abdicated to her son Frederick X to become her successor king.

Birth and upbringing

Margaret Alexandrine Thorhildur Ingrid (Queen Margrethe II) was born on April 16, 1940 in Copenhagen, Denmark, a week after the German invasion of the country during World War II.

Her parents, King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid, were members of two royal families; her father was the eldest son of King Christian X of Denmark and Queen Alexandrin (who were also kings of Iceland until 1944), and her mother was the only daughter of King Gustav Adolf VI of Sweden and Princess Margaret.

Margaret II is the elder sister of her two sisters, Princess Benedict (born 1944) and former Queen Anne Marie of Greece (born 1946). She took the name of her maternal grandmother and Crown Princess Margaret, her paternal grandmother Queen Alexandrine, her mother Ingrid, and Thorhildur is a reference to King Christian being King of Iceland.

When she was born, the Danish succession law forbade women from inheriting the throne; this law was changed in 1953 by referendum held under pressure from successive Danish governments.

On June 10, 1967, she married Count Henri de Laborde de Montpeisat, a French diplomat, who later received the title of Prince Henrique. Their first child, Crown Prince Frederick, was born on May 26, 1968, and their second son, Prince Joachim, on June 7, 1969.

Study and scientific training

Queen Margaret attended the Zalls School between 1946 and 1955, was a private student in Amalienburg between 1946 and 1949, and in the 1955-1956 school year she was a pupil at North Forland Lodge, a girls' school in Hampshire, England.

After receiving private tutoring, she graduated from the Zals-School with a high school diploma (language track) in 1959. Between 1960 and 1965, she studied at universities in Denmark and other European countries.

After passing the philosophy exam at the University of Copenhagen in 1960, she studied archaeology at the University of Cambridge, England in 1960-1961 and obtained a diploma in "Prehistoric Archaeology". She then studied political science at Aarhus University in 1961-1962, at the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1963 and at the London School of Economics in 1965.

Queen Margaret II speaks French, Swedish, English and German, as well as her native Danish.

She performed voluntary service with the Women's Aviation Corps (1958-1970) and received comprehensive training as corporal, sergeant and lieutenant in the Women's Air Force.

In addition to her relationship with the Danish Defence, she enjoys special ties with certain units of the British Defence, having been appointed Colonel of the Privy Regiment in 1972 and Colonel of the Royal Princess of Wales Regiment in 1992.

Queen Margrethe II attends the opening of the Danish Parliament in October 2020 (Reuters)

Her experience in governance

Margrethe II was crowned Queen of Denmark on 15 January 1972, the day after her father, King Frederick IX, died of illness. At the time of her coronation, she became the first woman to hold the position in Denmark in modern times.

In her first address to the Danes, she said: "My beloved father, our king, died, the task that my father carried for almost 25 years now falls on my shoulders, I pray to God to give me help and strength to carry this heavy heritage, and may I also have the trust that was given to my father."

As a constitutional monarchy, the Queen does not express any political views and cannot carry out political acts independently, although she signs all acts in parliament, it only comes into force after it is signed by a cabinet minister. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister report regularly to update it on political developments.

Danish historian Lars Hovebaki Sorensen was quoted by AFP as saying that Margrethe "succeeded in being a queen who united the Danish nation in a period of great change... globalization and the emergence of a multicultural state, the economic crises of the seventies and eighties, again in the period from 2008 to 2015, the period of the Corona epidemic (2022/2020)," he added, adding that "the basis of her popularity is that the queen is not political at all."

He noted that the Queen, whom her family and subjects call "Daisy", was able to maintain the monarchy without diminishing its status. After becoming a widow in 2018, she repeatedly insisted she would never give up her duties: "I will remain on the throne until I fall."

Margaret's personal popularity contributed significantly to improving the Danish people's perception of the monarchy. When she became queen in 1972, only 42% of Danes surveyed supported retaining the monarchy, while the rest believed that there was no place for monarchy in modern democracy.

During her rule, however, she was able to modernize the royal institution, allowing her two sons to marry the common people. As she prepares to step down, opinion polls have shown the Danish monarchy to be one of the most popular monarchies in the world, enjoying the support of more than 80 percent of Danes.

Queen Margaret II delivering a speech marking the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 (Reuters)

Artistic talent

Queen Margaret has been fascinated by painting since her childhood and has maintained her interest throughout her life, as creative work has become a priority activity on a fixed day of the week on her busy schedule.

The Queen's artwork became publicly known after she designed the annual Christmas ring in 1970, and at the end of the seventies, prototypes of illustrations were produced for Tolkien's trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Since then, she has been continuously active in a wide range of artistic fields such as: painting and watercolor, embroidery and church textiles, and scenography and fashion design for ballet and film performances.

Much of her work has been exhibited in exhibitions in Denmark and abroad since the mid-eighties. Her work is also in the Statens Museum of Kunst (Danish National Gallery), the Aarhus Aarhus Museum of Art, and a drawing collection at the Koji Art Gallery (sketches of church textiles).

Abdicating from the throne

In 2023, Queen Margaret II underwent major back surgery that required a long period of recovery and rehabilitation. In early January 2024, she surprised observers when she announced that she would abdicate to Crown Prince Frederick on the 52nd anniversary of her ascension. It was Europe's longest-serving monarch, and 900 years ago it was the first time a Danish king or queen abdicated.

On Sunday, January 14, 2024, King Frederick X ascended the throne of Denmark to succeed his mother, while large crowds gathered in the capital to watch the historic event.

The palace said the inauguration became official once Queen Margrethe signed her abdication document during a meeting of the State Council in parliament, as Denmark has one of the oldest monarchies in the world and does not hold coronation ceremonies.

The meeting was attended by government representatives, Queen Margaret, Frederick, 55, his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, now the queen, and their eldest son, Christian, 18, the new heir to the throne.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies + Websites