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DenmarkHistoryHistory

Why is Queen Margrethe called ‘Daisy’?

Last week, Queen Margrethe of Denmark had to celebrate her birthday in a different way than planned because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many royals from Europe had come together and made a very special video greeting for the Danish Queen. Many people noticed that several royals called the queen “Daisy” in the video. But why did they do so?

Nicknames are quite common in royal circles and Queen Margrethe has been called Daisy so long that on several occasions she has signed official documents with her nickname. The Danish Queen is named after her grandmother, Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. It is partly from her and partly from a flower that the nickname has its origin.

The British borne Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden, was the first with the nickname “Daisy” and the woman that Queen Margrethe is named after. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Swedish Crown Princess was born as Princess Margaret of Connaught in Great Britain. When she came to Sweden and become widely known in the Nordic nations her name “Margareta” sounded very similar to a common Nordic flower. In English the flower is called Leucanthemum but in Sweden and Denmark the flower is known as a “marguerite”, not far from the name of Margrethe/Margaret/ Margareta.

As the English name “Leucanthemum” is quite complicated it was common to call this flower “Daisy” in Britain, something many still do. When the Swedes learned this, they thought this was a funny name and therefore began to call the Crown Princess “Daisy” instead of Margareta.

The flower leucanthemum, often just called “Daisy” and in the Nordic nations called “marguerite”. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Crown Princess Margareta died at the age of just 38 in 1920. Therefore, when a new Margrethe came to the world in Denmark in 1940, many still remembered the first Margareta, that the future queen was named after. That is why people started calling the little Danish princess “Daisy” while she was a child. Then this became a nickname that has settled and it’s been used by the Queen and her family and friends ever since.

The Danish Queen’s nickname is so well established that on several occasions she has also signed documents and letters with the name “Daisy”. She did this in a personal letter to the Norwegian royal couple after the terror attack that took place in Norway in 2011. The entire younger part of Europe`s royals including Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria and their family`s calls Queen Margrethe “aunt Daisy”.

Hear all about the celebration of “Daisy” in Royal Central`s podcast here.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.