An honored polyglot, renowned artist, out-of-the-box thinker and loving grandmother. She is also commander-in-chief of the Danish defense and supreme authority of the Church of Denmark. Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid – or as she is officially called Queen Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark – is highly loved by the Danish people.
Today, the Queen is celebrating a special anniversary, as it is fully 50 years since she became monarch after the death of her father Frederik IX. January 14, 1972.
A day after Margrethe was officially announced by the then Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag from the balcony of Christiansborg Castle. There was no coronation.
Postponed to September
Like her 80th birthday in 2020, much of the pomp and splendor of the many festivities planned to mark the 50th milestone has been canceled because of the corona. A party at City Hall, a gala performance on the Old Stage and a service in Copenhagen Cathedral have all been moved to 10 and 11 September.
Of course, the Danish people still managed to celebrate her birthday. Hundreds of thousands gathered on balconies, street corners and from windows, of course in strict compliance with safety rules, to wave their Danish flags, sing and wish her congratulations on the day.
Expect similar scenes today and tomorrow!
Princess in danger
Born just a week after the Nazi invasion of Denmark in 1940, Margrethe was the eldest of the three daughters of the future king, Frederik IX, and Ingrid, a Swedish princess and great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who died in 2000, aged 90 years. , at that time Margrethe was excluded from the succession because she was a woman.
She had to wait 13 years to inherit from her father when a constitutional amendment in 1953 allowed women to inherit the throne – changes that were not received with pleasure by her uncle Prince Knud, who was relegated from first to fourth in a row. inherited, behind his brother’s three daughters.
As an 18-year-old, Margrethe was filling her father in government roles, for example as chair of the Council of State – a dress rehearsal for her future role. But before she finally joined, she had time to go to university, get married and start a family.
She studied political science, law, sociology, philosophy and prehistoric archeology at five universities in Denmark and the United Kingdom, including Cambridge, where she became known as Miss Dane in 1961.
As a young princess, she traveled the world expanding her knowledge of archeology – a fascination inspired by her grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, even a prominent name in the field. Together, they traveled to Egypt and visited the temples of Abu Simbel, where her grandfather co-sponsored the Scandinavian expedition to preserve the temples.
As she got older, her trips became more social. She visited the United States with the princesses of Sweden and Norway, including a visit to Paramount Studios, where Princess Margrethe met Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine and Elvis Presley in 1960. Although she later admitted that she did not like his music!
A queen is born
It was January 15, 1972, when the then Prime Minister Jens-Otto Krag announced the new queen from the balcony of Amalienborg Castle with a view of a crowded Christiansborg Square after the king’s death. “King Frederik IX is dead! Long live Queen Margrethe II! “He announced.
In her first address to the people, Queen Margrethe II said: “My beloved father, our King, is dead. The task that my father had performed for almost 25 years now rests on my shoulders. I pray to God to give me help and strength to carry the heavy inheritance. May the trust that was given to my father also be given to me. ”
For the first time since 1412, Denmark got a queen, and despite the slightly different spelling, the queen decided to honor Margrete by becoming Margrethe II.
With her motto “God’s help, the love of the people, the strength of Denmark”, Margrethe has certainly won the hearts of the Danes. About 77 percent approve of the monarchy, where only 16 percent want a republic, according to a Megafon poll from 2011 for Politiken.
Wife, mother, grandmother
Since then, she has unfortunately become a widow. She met the French diplomat and nobleman Count Henri de Labored de Monpezat while studying at the London School of Economics in 1965.
When they got married in 1967 in Holmen’s Church, the princess walked down the aisle in an ivory silk dress made by royal couturier Jørgen Bender with a veil of Irish lace.
Her husband was named Danified, from Henri to Henrik, and when Margrethe took the throne, he became prince consort.
At that time they were the parents of two boys, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim, who were born just over a year apart in 1968 and 1969.
Both sons have since given their mother four grandchildren respectively: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine (through Crown Prince Frederik’s marriage to Crown Princess Mary); and Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix (through Joachim’s first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg), and Prince Henrik and Princess Athena (through his second marriage to Princess Marie).
Designer, artist, icon
Most Danes will be aware that the Queen has designed sets and costumes for no less than eight Tivoli ballet productions – the latest being ‘The Snow Queen’, which was staged in 2018 and 2019 in collaboration with singer Oh Land.
But were you aware that in the early 1970s she illustrated the Danish version of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. In fact, she is such a talented artist that in 2012 the ARKEN Museum exhibited over 130 of her works in an exhibition that the Danes flocked to.
And she’s also a style guru. Her eccentric and colorful taste in clothing earned her a spot on the list of ’50 best dressed over 50s’, compiled by the Guardian in 2013.
Outside of her traditional New Year’s Eve broadcasts, she is largely silent on all current affairs in Denmark. But when she speaks, they listen!
Source: The Nordic Page