Who is Margaret II, the queen fan of The Lord of the Rings who will abdicate the throne after 52 years

Queen Margaret II of Denmark dropped a surprise in her New Year’s message. He has announced that he will abdicate the throne: “On 14 January 2024, 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederick.”

Since the death of her distant cousin, Elizabeth II, last year, the 83-year-old monarch has been the world’s only remaining queen.

Margrethe Alexandrine Thorhildur Ingridthe eldest daughter of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden, she became Margaret II upon her father’s death in January 1972. She was the first monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, who reigned from 1375 to 1412.

Together with her husband who died in 2018, Enrique de Laborde de MonpezatHe had two children: Federico and Joaquin.

Margaret studied at the private N. Zahles Skole school in Copenhagen, where she graduated in 1959. She subsequently studied prehistoric archeology at Cambridge, political science at Aarhus, the Sorbonne and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is fluent in five languages ​​and fluent in Faroese.

In her first speech as queen, Margaret II said: “My dear father, our king, is dead. The task that my father carried out for almost twenty-five years now rests on my shoulders. I pray to God to give me help and strength to carry the heavy legacy. May the trust given to my father be given to me too.”

At the end of summer 2022, the jubilees for the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne were celebrated. They were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Margaret II currently has two residences: Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen and Fredensborg Palace on the island of Zeeland.

The Queen’s B-side

The most curious characteristics of the Queen (who in private is called Daisy and is a chain smoker) have to do with her hobby.

Margarita II is an excellent painter and illustratorso much so that she was responsible for creating the drawings for the Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. When JRR Tolkien He saw them and was surprised by the similarity of their drawings to those he had made.

Another quality that would have brought her closer to Tolkien’s famous book is translation. Margaret II is said to have participated in the translation of the book into Danish, as she was also an excellent writer.

Additionally, Margarita II is a costume designer. Her motifs can be seen in the Royal Dutch Ballet production “A Folk Tale” and in the 2009 film “De vilde svaner (The Wild Swans)”.

Queen Margaret will abdicate the throne

The 83-year-old monarch, widowed since 2018, underwent back surgery in February that kept her away from public life until April.

“The operation (…) gave rise to reflections on the future, on whether the time has come to pass on responsibilities to the next generation,” the queen said, reported by the AFP news agency.

The 55-year-old crown prince will ascend the throne on the same day as his abdication, under the name Frederick X.

Since the death in 2022 of her distant cousin, Elizabeth II of England, Margaret II has been Europe’s last reigning monarch.

More than 80% of Danes say they support the monarchy and last year crowds celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“Many of us have never known another monarch. Queen Margaret is the very embodiment of Denmark and, over the years, has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation,” the prime minister said Mette Frederiksen. a declaration.