Margrethe II

Margrethe II (Danish: [mɑˈkʁeˀtə]; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she was the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV. She is also the world's most recent female reigning monarch.
Margrethe was born into the House of Glücksburg, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King Christian X. She is the eldest child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid. She became heir presumptive to her father in 1953 when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons, Frederik and Joachim. Margrethe succeeded her father upon his death in January 1972.
Margrethe has worked as a scenographer, a costume designer, and an illustrator of works by J. R. R. Tolkien. Support for the monarchy in Denmark, alongside her personal popularity, gradually rose throughout the course of her reign, attaining around eighty percent by the time of her abdication. She was succeeded by her elder son, Frederik X.
Margrethe was born on 16 April 1940 at 10:10 CET at Frederik VIII's Palace, in her parents' residence at Amalienborg, the principal residence of the Danish royal family in the district of Frederiksstaden in central Copenhagen. She was the first child of Crown Prince Frederik (later King Frederik IX) and Crown Princess Ingrid (later Queen Ingrid). Her father was the elder son of the then-reigning King Christian X, while her mother was the only daughter of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustaf VI Adolf). Her birth took place just one week after the beginning of Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark following the war invasion.
Princess Margrethe was baptised on 14 May in the Holmen Church in Copenhagen. Her godparents were her grandfathers, King Christian X of Denmark and Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden; her maternal great-grandfathers, King Gustaf V of Sweden and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn; her uncles Prince Knud of Denmark and Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten; as well as her first cousin twice removed, Prince Axel of Denmark. She was named Margrethe—the Danish variation of her late maternal grandmother Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden's name—Alexandrine after her paternal grandmother, Queen Alexandrine, and Ingrid after her mother. Since her paternal grandfather was also King of Iceland at the time of her birth, she was given the Icelandic name Þórhildur. Like her maternal grandmother, Margrethe is known affectionately as "Daisy" to her family and close friends.
The birth of Margrethe's younger sisters Benedikte and Anne-Marie followed in 1944 and 1946, respectively. The princesses grew up in apartments at Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and in Fredensborg Palace in North Zealand. Margrethe spent summer holidays with the royal family in her parents' summer residence at Gråsten Palace in Southern Jutland. On 20 April 1947, following the death of Christian X, Margrethe's father ascended the throne as Frederik IX.
Margrethe was educated at the private school N. Zahle's School in Copenhagen, from which she graduated in 1959. She spent a year at North Foreland Lodge, a boarding school for girls in Hampshire, England, and later studied prehistoric archaeology at Girton College, Cambridge, during 1960–1961, political science at Aarhus University between 1961 and 1962, attended the Sorbonne in 1963, and was at the London School of Economics in 1965. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
At the time of her birth, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark, owing to the changes in succession laws enacted in the 1850s when the Glücksburg branch was chosen to succeed. As Margrethe had no brothers, it was assumed that her uncle Prince Knud would one day assume the throne.
The process of changing the constitution started in 1947, not long after Margrethe's father ascended the throne and it became clear that Queen Ingrid would have no more children. The popularity of Frederik and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life started the complicated process of altering the constitution. The law required that the proposal be passed by two successive Parliaments and then by a referendum, which occurred on 27 March 1953. The new Act of Succession permitted female succession to the throne of Denmark, according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture, where a female can ascend to the throne only if she does not have a brother. Princess Margrethe therefore became heir presumptive. In 2009, the law of succession was modified into absolute primogeniture.
Margrethe attended the traditional New Year Courts for the first time in 1956. On her eighteenth birthday, 16 April 1958, Margrethe was given a seat in the Council of State. She subsequently chaired the meetings of the Council in the absence of the King. In 1960, together with her first cousin, Princess Margaretha of Sweden, and Princess Astrid of Norway, she travelled to the United States, which included a visit to Los Angeles, and to the Paramount Studios, where they met several celebrities, including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley.
She paid her first visit to the Faroe Islands in 1959, alongside her parents and sisters, and to Greenland in 1960.
While Margrethe studied in London, she met the French diplomat, Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who was legation secretary at the French Embassy in London. Their engagement was announced on 5 October 1966. They were married on 10 June 1967, at the Holmen Church in Copenhagen, and the wedding reception was held at Fredensborg Palace. Laborde de Monpezat received the style and title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark" because of his new position as the spouse of the heir presumptive to the Danish throne. They were married for over fifty years, until his death on 13 February 2018.
Less than a year after the wedding, Margrethe gave birth to her first child, a son, on 26 May 1968. By tradition, Danish kings were alternately named either Frederik or Christian. She chose to maintain this by assuming the position of a Christian, and thus named her elder son Frederik. The following year, a second child, named Joachim, was born on 7 June 1969.
In 1974, she and Henrik purchased Château de Cayx in the wine district of Cahors in Southern France.
Margrethe announced in 2008 that her male-line descendants would bear the additional title of Count or Countess of Monpezat in recognition of her husband's ancestry.
In 2022, the Queen announced that, from the start of 2023, the descendants of Prince Joachim will only be able to use their titles of Count and Countess of Monpezat, their previous titles of Prince and Princess of Denmark ceasing to exist. To allow the children, who were never expected to hold an official role within the royal family, to have normal lives, the Queen wanted "to create a framework for the four grandchildren, to a much greater degree, to be able to shape their own existence without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation with the Royal House as an institution implies". Her son, Joachim, daughter-in-law, Marie, former daughter-in-law, Alexandra, and eldest grandson, Nikolai, publicly expressed shock and confusion because of the decision, after which Margrethe released a statement in which she said that it saddened her that she had upset Joachim's family.
Along with her late husband, Margrethe has kept dachshunds since the 1970s. She currently has one dog, the dachshund Tilia, who was Prince Henrik's dog until his death in 2018.
On 3 January 1972, three days after King Frederik IX delivered his New Year's address, he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the Copenhagen Municipal Hospital. Margrethe was then designated regent the following day. The king died on 14 January, and Margrethe acceded the throne at the age of 31, becoming the first female Danish sovereign under the new Act of Succession. She was proclaimed Queen from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace the following day by Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag.
Her regnal number was chosen in recognition of the 14th century Danish monarch, Margrethe. Her motto was "God's help, the love of the people, Denmark's strength" (Danish: Guds hjælp, folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke). She relinquished all the monarch's former titles except the title to Denmark, hence her style "By the Grace of God, Queen of Denmark" (Danish: Margrethe den Anden, af Guds Nåde Danmarks Dronning).
The Queen's main tasks were to represent the Kingdom abroad and to be a unifying figure at home. She performed the latter by opening exhibitions, attending anniversaries and inaugurating bridges, among other things. She received foreign ambassadors and awards, honours and medals.
As a constitutional sovereign, Margrethe took no part in party politics and does not express any political opinions. Although she had the right to vote, she opted not to do so to avoid even the appearance of partisanship.
The Queen held a meeting with the prime minister and the foreign affairs minister every Wednesday, unless either she or the prime minister was outside of the kingdom.
After an election where the incumbent prime minister does not have a majority behind him or her, the Queen held a "Dronningerunde" (Queen's meeting) in which she met the chairmen of each of the Danish political parties.
Each party has the choice of selecting a royal investigator to lead these negotiations or alternatively, give the incumbent prime minister the mandate to continue his or her government as is. In theory each party could choose its own leader as royal investigator, as the social liberal Det Radikale Venstre did in 2006, but often only one royal investigator is chosen plus the prime minister, before each election. The leader who, at that meeting, succeeds in securing a majority of the seats in the Folketing, is, by royal decree, charged with the task of forming a new government. (No party has held an absolute majority in the Folketing since 1903.)
Once the government had been formed, the Queen formally appointed it. Officially, it was the monarch who was the head of state, and she therefore presided over the Council of State (privy council), where the acts of legislation which have been passed by the parliament are signed into law. In practice, nearly all of the Queen's formal powers were exercised by the Cabinet of Denmark.
It was customary for Margrethe, as the Danish monarch, to host the annual New Year levées. Every year on 1 January, a banquet was held for the government, the Speaker of the Danish Parliament, representatives of official Denmark and the Royal Court at Christian VIII's Palace at Amalienborg. On day two, a levée was held at Christian VIII's Palace for the justices of Supreme Court of Denmark and the Officer Corps of the Royal Life Guards and the Guard Hussar Regiment, followed by a levée at Christiansborg Palace for the diplomatic corps. On day three, a levée was held for officers from the Defence and the Danish Emergency Management Agency, the I., II. and III. ranking classes as well as invited representatives of major national organisations and the royal patronages.
Up to the end of her reign, Margrethe held 72 Danish and eight foreign patronages as queen, including Aarhus Festuge, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, DaneAge Association, Danes Worldwide, the Danish Animal Welfare Society [da], the Danish Cancer Society [da], Den Gamle By, Det Classenske Fideicommis, the Danish Bible Society [da], Det Kongelige Vajsenhus, Diakonissestiftelsen, Foreningen Norden, Land of Legends (Sagnlandet Lejre), M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark, Moesgaard Museum, National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, Nyborg Slot, Rebild National Park, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Danish Yacht Club, Rungstedlund Foundation [da], Sankt Lukas Stiftelsen, Vallø stift and Vemmetofte.
A pillar of her reign was an intricate knowledge of and connection to all parts of the Danish Realm. In 2016, she contributed to a book about Denmark's history.
Until her abdication, Margrethe served as colonel-in-chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, an infantry regiment of the British Army, following a tradition dating back to 1906 when Edward VII, married to Alexandra of Denmark, appointed his brother-in-law, Frederik VIII of Denmark, colonel-in-chief of the then Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).
As sovereign, Margrethe received 42 official state visits and she undertook 55 foreign state visits herself. She and the royal family have made several other foreign visits.
As queen, her official residences were Amalienborg (where she resides at Christian IX's Palace) in Copenhagen and Fredensborg Palace near Hillerød. Her summer residences were Marselisborg Palace near Aarhus and Gråsten Palace near Sønderborg, the former home of her mother, Queen Ingrid, who died in 2000.
In her New Year's address at the end of 1984, the Queen addressed the xenophobia experienced by many immigrants in Denmark:
The term "cocky remarks" (dumsmarte bemærkninger, lit. 'dumb-slick remarks') has since become an integrated part of the Danish vocabulary.
In an interview within the 2016 book De dybeste rødder (The Deepest Roots), according to historians at the Saxo Institute of the University of Copenhagen, Margrethe showed a change in attitude to immigration towards a more conservative stance. She stated that the Danish people should have more explicitly clarified the rules and values of Danish culture in order to be able to teach them to new arrivals. She further stated that the Danes in general have underestimated the difficulties involved in successful integration of immigrants, exemplified with the rules of a democracy not being clarified to Muslim immigrants and a lack of readiness to enforce those rules. This was received as a change in line with the attitude of the Danish people.
Margrethe marked her Silver Jubilee in 1997 with a religious service and a gala dinner attended by fellow Scandinavian royals. She celebrated her Ruby Jubilee, the 40th year on the throne, on 14 January 2012. This was marked by a church service, concert, carriage procession, gala banquet at Christiansborg Palace and numerous TV interviews.
The Queen's Golden Jubilee was marked on 14 January 2022, with celebrations to take place later in the year. In September, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, it was announced by the Royal House that it was "Her Majesty The Queen's wish that a number of adjustments be made" to the upcoming celebrations.
Between Elizabeth II's death and her abdication, Margrethe was Europe's longest-reigning monarch, the world's only queen regnant, and the longest-serving incumbent female head of state.
In July 2023, the Danish Royal House recognized Margrethe II as Denmark's longest-reigning sitting monarch. Though Christian IV reigned for over 59 years between 1588 and 1648, he was not officially installed until 1596, ruling with a "guardian government" up until then.
In her annual live broadcast New Year's Eve address on 31 December 2023, Margrethe announced her abdication, which took place on 14 January 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne. She said that time had taken its "toll", that her number of "ailments" had increased, and that she cannot undertake as many duties as in the past. She cited her extensive back surgery in February, and said that the operation made her reassess her position and consider "whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation".
Margrethe's elder son, Frederik, assumed the throne as Frederik X. Mirroring her first New Year Address in 1973, she said of the succession: "The support and assistance which I have received throughout the years, have been crucial to the success of my task. It is my hope that the new King and Queen will be met with the same trust and devotion which have fallen to my lot."
Since her abdication, she has been referred to as "Her Majesty Queen Margrethe". She is eligible to serve as regent in the event of the incapacity or absence of the King and Crown Prince Christian. As regent, Margrethe can perform the duties of the head of state on certain occasions, for example during Frederik and Christian's stays abroad.
Queen Margrethe II has had a number of health issues. Since the 1990s, she has undergone several operations on her right knee due to injuries and osteoarthritis. In 1994, she was treated for cervical cancer. In 2003, she underwent a four-and-a-half-hour-long operation for spinal stenosis.
On 9 February 2022, the Danish court disclosed in a press release that the Queen had contracted COVID-19. On 13 February, the Queen was able to leave home isolation after having had a mild case of the virus. On 21 September 2022, the Danish Royal House disclosed in a press release that Margrethe had tested positive for COVID-19 a second time after attending the state funeral of Elizabeth II, her third cousin, in London. She left home isolation again on 26 September and resumed her official duties immediately, stating that she felt fine.
On 22 February 2023, the Queen underwent "major back surgery" at Rigshospitalet due to continued back pain. In a statement the following day, a representative for the Queen said that the surgery had gone well and that she had already been up for a walk. She was discharged from the hospital on 2 March, and returned from sick leave on her birthday on 16 April.
Margrethe has been a chain smoker and is well known for her tobacco habit. On 23 November 2006, the Danish newspaper B.T. printed an announcement from the Royal Court that the Queen would henceforth smoke only in private.
In September 2024, she was hospitalised after falling in Fredensborg Castle.
Margrethe wears designs by former Pierre Balmain designer Erik Mortensen, Jørgen Bender, and Birgitte Taulow. In March 2013, The Guardian listed her as one of the fifty best-dressed over-50s. In connection with her 80th birthday, British Vogue published an article calling her "An Unsung Style Heroine."
A 2012 poll showed support for the monarchy in Denmark remained consistently high at around 82%, compared to less than half when she ascended the throne in 1972.
The Queen has been depicted on the annual christmas seal twice—as a child in 1942 and following her accession to the throne in 1972.
Margrethe was included in Andy Warhol's portrait series in 1985 as one of four Reigning Queens, along with queens Ntfombi of Eswatini, Elizabeth II and Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Margrethe is known for her strong archaeological passion and has participated in several excavations, including in Italy, Egypt, Denmark and South America. She shared this interest with her grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, with whom she spent some time unearthing artefacts near Etruria in 1962.
Since the 1970s, Margrethe has designed and embroidered several vestments and church textiles for churches in Denmark, Greenland, Germany and England. She has designed a chasuble for Fredensborg Palace Church which was since embroidered by her mother, Queen Ingrid, and appliquéd by her sister, Princess Benedikte. The textile was presented to the church on its 250th anniversary in 1976. In 1989, Margrethe designed the bishop's robe for the Diocese of Viborg. In 2017, she designed the antependium for the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany. In 2020, she designed the chasuble for the Danish Church of St Katharine in Camden, London.
In addition to the church textiles, Margrethe has various other things, including an altarpiece for Skei Mountain Church in Norway, a Christmas spoon, the annual Danish Christmas seals in 1970, 2003 and 2015, and Greenland's Christmas seal in 1983.
Since the mid-1970s, Margrethe has been using the découpage technique, which involves combining clippings from periodicals and books for new motifs. This technique is used in auction catalogues, home magazines, and furniture decorations. The découpage often references literary, mythological, or art-historical topics, and is often displayed in royal palaces, particularly Christian VII's Palace at Amalienborg. Sealed with a protective lacquer, the Queen's découpage works generally have references to literary, mythological or art-historical topics.
Margrethe's découpage works have also been used in various books and films, including Prince Henrik's poetry collections Cantabile (2000) and Frihjul (2010). Eighty-one découpages she designed were the basis for the sets of the 2023 film Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.
As a child, Margrethe preferred drawing rather than needlework, but since 1960, numerous embroideries have been presented as gifts or used in the Queen's own rooms. The embroideries are made from patterns that Margrethe herself creates on graph paper, which includes twining shapes and the recipient's monogram. The Queen has designed several embroideries for the Danish Handcraft Guild, including patterns for calendars, cushion covers and dinner mats. Margrethe has also designed evening bags and spectacle cases for friends and family members, including Christmas calendars for all of the grandchildren, cushion covers and furniture covers for the palaces, and fireplace screens for Fredensborg Palace.
The Queen's private embroideries were exhibited at Koldinghus Castle in 2021.
The Queen has worked as a screenwriter alongside Per Brink Abrahamsen on the two Hans Christian Andersen adaptations The Snow Queen [da] from 2000 and The Wild Swans [da] from 2009. Additionally, she narrated the former and made an uncredited acting cameo as a "member of the mob" in the latter.
Using decoupage as her primary craft, she has also been a set designer for:
For her work on Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, Margrethe won the Robert Award for Best Costume Design at the 41st Robert Awards on 3 February 2024. She was also nominated in the category Best Production Design.
In 2004, Margrethe designed the official monogram of her second cousin twice removed, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway. She has also designed her own personal monogram; the personal monograms of her son Frederik X, daughter-in-law Mary and grandson Christian; as well as the joint monograms of the Danish Crown Prince couple as well as the Norwegian Crown Prince couple, her godson Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, and his wife Mette-Marit.
Over the years, Margrethe has become involved in ballet as a scenographer and costume designer. She designed the costumes for the Royal Danish Ballet's production of A Folk Tale and for the 2009 Peter Flinth film, De vilde svaner (The Wild Swans). She also designs her own clothes and is known for her colourful and sometimes eccentric clothing choices. The Queen designed 51 costumes for the 2023 film Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction as well as 81 découpages that were the basis for the sets.
Margrethe has designed sets and costumes for numerous ballets. Since 2001, she has worked with the Tivoli Ballet Theatre:
Margrethe is an accomplished painter and has exhibited many of her works over the years. In 2000, she illustrated Prince Henrik's poetry collection Cantabile. Under the title From mountains to coast, she and her close friend, Queen Sonja of Norway, exhibited selected works inspired by nature at the Barony Rosendal in 2015.
Under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer (the latter being an anagram for Margrethe and the former made up of her secondary names Ingrid, Alexandrine and Þórhildur), her illustrations were used for Danish editions of The Lord of the Rings, which she was encouraged to illustrate in the early 1970s. She sent them to J. R. R. Tolkien, who was struck by the similarity of her drawings to his own style.