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DenmarkEuropean Royals

Watercolour paintings by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on Greenland stamps

One fact that is perhaps not as well-known to the vast majority of the world regarding the leadership of Denmark is the not-so-hidden talents of its leading monarch.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was born in April of 1940 during World War II. By the time she assumed the throne of Denmark from her father King Frederick IX in 1972, times were changing. Her position as ruler of the country was one of statement and emphasis on the rise of female empowerment through the ages.

As a young princess, Queen Margrethe II never received formal education in art. Instead, she was educated at private and boarding schools before continuing her education at different universities in the areas of prehistoric archaeology, political science, and economics. She is fluent in several languages, has worked as a costume designer, and has even been a translator.

Yet over the course of not only her reign but her personal life, her interests remain eclectic and inspiring to the world. Queen Margrethe II never received any formal training surrounding her talent. But over the years, she has given us the gift her artistic talents, painting various watercolour paintings.

Her Majesty has hosted art shows and has even had her work featured as the leading illustrations in the Danish edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous Lord of the Rings novel in the 1970s.

Most recently, Queen Margrethe II’s famed watercolour artwork will be displayed on Greenland’s postage stamps. Among them is the 14 kroner+1kr stamp which is in tribute to the Greenlandic Children’s Association of which Her Majesty is a patron.

“I’ve always loved the landscape, and as a child what I really wanted to do was draw landscapes when we had drawing lessons,” said the Queen of her desire to paint in a 2012 article by Reuters’ John Archer.

The stamps were issued in the country on 16 April, Queen Margrethe’s birthday.