Who is the Queen of Denmark?

 Who is the Queen of Denmark?

Queen Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, known as Margrethe II, is the Queen of Denmark. She is also multi-talented, as she paints, designs costumes, and has participated in various archaeological excavations around the world, including in Italy, Egypt, Denmark, and South America. Margrethe II was crowned Queen of Denmark after the death of her father, King Frederik IX, in 1972. Following her father’s death, a constitutional amendment in 1953 allowed women to inherit the throne.

Margrethe studied at Girton College, Cambridge University, Aarhus University, and the London School of Economics. She has spent 46 years on the Danish throne, making her the second-longest reigning Danish monarch after her predecessor, Christian IV, who ruled in the 16th and 17th centuries. During her reign, she received numerous honors.

Birth of the Queen of Denmark

Princess Margrethe was born on April 16, 1940, at Frederik VIII’s Palace. Her parents lived in the Amalienborg Palace complex, the main residence of the Danish royal family in the Frederiksstaden area of central Copenhagen. She was the first child of the Crown Prince, who was then the eldest son of King Christian X, while her mother was the only daughter of the Crown Prince of Sweden. Margrethe was named after her late maternal grandmother.

Marriage of the Queen of Denmark

Princess Margrethe married French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat on June 10, 1967, at Holmen Church in Copenhagen. Laborde de Monpezat received the title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark due to his new position as the husband of the heir presumptive to the Danish throne. They were married for over fifty years until his death on February 13, 2018.

Children of the Queen of Denmark

Margrethe gave birth to her first child on May 26, 1968, and her second child, Joachim, on June 7, 1969. They hold the additional title of “Count” as the Queen announced that all her grandchildren would bear the title of Count or Countess in honor of their father’s lineage. She has eight grandchildren, four from each son.

Siblings of the Queen of Denmark

When Margrethe was four years old, in 1944, her younger sister Princess Benedikte was born. Princess Benedikte later married Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and lives in Germany. Her second sister, Princess Anne-Marie, was born in 1946 and later married King Constantine II of Greece.

Artistic Works of the Queen of Denmark

Queen Margrethe II’s artworks are exhibited in museums both domestically and internationally. Her landscapes are often delicate, simple, and luxurious at the same time. The largest art exhibition of the Queen was held in 2012 at the famous Arken Museum in Copenhagen, featuring around 130 watercolor paintings.

The Queen explained how she suffered from stage fright when opening art exhibitions, feeling nervous when presenting her art to the public, in contrast to her confidence when acting as head of state.