Following the death of Prince Henrik, rumours that Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will abdicate have once again began circulating.
These rumours have been around for some years stating that The Queen of Denmark would abdicate in favour of her eldest son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik, mostly due to her advanced age and the very high popularity of both the Crown Prince and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
However, these rumours have been strongly denied by The Queen herself, saying: “I will remain on the throne until I fall off”.
It is easy to understand Queen Margrethe’s great determination by analysing her history.
Born on 16 April 1940 as HRH Princess Margrethe of Denmark, she didn’t have succession rights at the time of her birth. Because her parents (then Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid) only had daughters, the next in line to the throne was Prince Knud, younger son of King Christian X of Denmark and brother to Crown Prince Frederik.
It wasn’t until 1953 that the Act of Succession was changed to allow female succession in the absence of a son. The change made it possible for King Frederik IX to be succeeded by his eldest daughter.
So only in 1953 did Margrethe became first in line the to the throne and one can only imagine how important it must be for her to know that a change of legislation was necessary to make her eligible to be the next Monarch of Denmark.
And to this day, Her Majesty carries out her duties with the utmost importance in her role as Queen of Denmark. Even following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Henrik, it is clear that she will make it through the grief with the support she has been given from the people of Denmark.
While we can expect to see Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, together with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, stepping up their roles to support The Queen, an abdication would be a last resort in the Danish Monarchy.
