Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II
Queen of Denmark |
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Queen Margrethe II (Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid), styled HM the Queen (born April 16, 1940), is the Queen regnant and head of state of Denmark.
Princess Margrethe (pronounced Margretta) was born at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, to the crown prince Frederik and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. She was baptised on 14 May 1940 at the Naval Church. As the Danish king was also sovereign of Iceland at the time, as a courtesy the princess was given an Icelandic middle name, Þórhildur (spelt with the Icelandic thorn character, transliterated "th").
Queen Margrethe II's official motto is "God's help, the love of the people, Denmark's strength".
Biography
Margrethe was not born to be monarch, even though she was the eldest child of a crown prince, later king. At the time of her birth, only males could ascend to the throne of Denmark, due to the changes in succession laws enacted in the 1850's when the Glucksburg branch was chosen to succeed. As she had no brothers it was assumed that her uncle Knud would one day assume the throne.
The process of changing the constitution started in 1947 when it became clear that Queen Ingrid would have no more children. At this time Margrethe II's uncle became Heir Presumptive, but the popularity of Frederik and his daughters and the more prominent role of women started the complicated process of altering the constitution - which had to be passed by two following parliaments and by a referendum, which was held on March 27, 1953. The new Act of Succession permitted female succession to the throne of Denmark, according to male-preference primogeniture, similar to that in use in the United Kingdom. Margrethe therefore became Heiress Presumptive to the Danish throne and took over the title of Throne Follower from her uncle, who was given the honorary title of Hereditary Prince (Arveprins).
She was confirmed on 1 April 1955 at Fredensborg Palace. On her eighteenth birthday, 16 April 1958, the Heiress Presumptive was given a seat in the Council of State, and the Princess subsequently chaired the meetings of the Council in the absence of the King.
She studied political science at Aarhus University between 1961-1962, at Sorbonne in 1963, and at the London School of Economics in 1965.
On 10 June 1967 Princess Margrethe of Denmark married a French diplomat, Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat at the Naval Church. Henri received the style and title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark" because of his new position as the spouse of the heiress presumptive to the Danish Throne. Two children were produced from this union: Frederik André Henrik Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark was born on 26 May, 1968; and Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian, Prince of Denmark, was born on 7 June, 1969.
Her father, King Frederick IX died in 1972. On the occasion of the accession to the throne on 14 January 1972, Queen Margrethe II became the first Danish Sovereign under the new Act of Succession.
Monarchical Styles of
Queen Margrethe II
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| Reference style
| Her Majesty
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| Spoken style
| Your Majesty
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| Alternative style
| Ma'am
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Political Role
The Kingdom of Denmark is a Constitutional Monarchy, which means that the sovereign cannot perform political acts independently. Although the Queen signs all Acts of Legislation before they can become Law, these only come into effect when they have been countersigned by a Cabinet Minister. As Head of State, the Queen participates in the formation of a new government.
After consultation with representatives of the political parties, the Leader of the Party which holds the largest number of seats in the Danish Parliament is invited to form a new government. Once it has been formed, the monarch formally appoints it. Additionally, it is the Queen who is the real Head of the Government and therefore presides over the Council of State, where the Acts of Legislation which have been passed by Parliament are signed into law.
The Prime Minister of Denmark and the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs report regularly to the Queen to notify and advise her on the latest political developments. Her Majesty hosts official visits by foreign Heads of State and pays State Visits abroad. The Queen receives every Ambassador from foreign countries represented in Denmark and also formally appoints and dismisses civil servants.
The Queen's main tasks are to represent the Kingdom abroad and to be a unifying figurehead at home. The Queen performs the latter task by accepting invitations to open exhibitions, attending anniversaries, inaugurating bridges, etc. As an unelected public official, the Queen takes no part in party politics and does not express any political opinions. In addition to her roles in her own country, the Queen is also the Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires), an infantry regiment of the British Army.
Queen Margrethe has a reputation for being one of Europe's most modern and progressive monarchs. She openly grants television interviews, and is fond of casual public appearances.
The Queen is also an accomplished and critically-acclaimed painter, and has held many art shows over the years. It is often said that were she not Queen, she could easily make a living as a professional artist. Her illustrations were used for the Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings published in 1977 and the re-issue in 2002. She is also an accomplished translator and is said to have participated in the Danish translation of this book. She also designs some of her own clothes.
See also
External links
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