Is Margrethe Abdicating to Save Frederick and Mary's Marriage?

Today, the last day of 2023, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark made a shock announcement during her evening New Year address. The 83-year old monarch announced that on January 14th, 52 years after becoming Queen, she will abdicate in favor of her son Crown Prince Frederick.

In two weeks time I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody – also on me! The time takes its toll, and the number of “ailments” increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past.

In February this year I underwent extensive back surgery. Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me. Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation. 

I have decided that now is the right time. On 14th January, 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik. 

You can read the full text here.

As I have mentioned before, I don’t track the Danish royals super closely, but I think I remember reading that Margrethe, like Elizabeth II, was not inclined toward abdication, and this news has certainly rocked Denmark and the royal-watching world.

During her address, Margrethe noted her significant back surgery earlier this year, but as I shared on Instagram, I think this unforeseen plot twist is closely connected to Frederick’s recent assumed affair, not to any health issues. If you missed that update, you can read it here:

Lots of you have asked me if the affair has been “confirmed.” The Danish royals certainly did not issue any statement acknowledging infidelity. To me, the pictures and accompanying details all but confirm the affair. When a man and a woman spend the day together, enjoy a late, intimate dinner together, and retire to her apartment for the night, how can one not conclude sex was involved? Which is why rather than referring to this as an alleged affair, I am now calling it the assumed affair.

My understanding is that Mary and Frederick take their children back to Australia most years in the run-up to Christmas, and Mary returned this year, as usual. Unlike in years past, though, she kept a very low profile, and was only photographed a few times at the airport. Frederick joined her there at some point, but most royal watchers agree there appeared to be significant strain between the two in their public engagements around the time the news broke. To me, that is all the corroboration needed, but you are certainly entitled to come to your own conclusion. I proceed on the assumption, however, that there was an affair.

I think that Margrethe is abdicating now so that she can help smooth the transition, which could get rockier and rockier if Frederick and Mary are in trouble. A coronation will be glitzy, glamorous, and upbeat and help distract the public from the stories of an affair. By doing it now, it also provides Mary and Frederick a new joint project on which they can focus as a couple, which might help them heal their marriage.

From my time observing Mary, she likes to be royal and has embraced the status whole heartedly. When the pictures of Frederick were published, I remember thinking that Mary was in a tough spot, because she seems to enjoy her royal status and her work as a royal too much to walk away from it.

Several readers have confirmed this in private messages to me, noting that Mary is the more active working royal in her marriage. Whatever Mary’s personal feelings about Frederick’s assumed infidelity, I don’t think she wants to relinquish her position on the global stage. It is possible that she has requested a status upgrade as a condition of remaining in her marriage. Or, perhaps Margrethe understands that Mary will benefit from throwing herself into a more prominent role as Queen.

In short, I think this abdication is a recent decision and that Margrethe is doing it to save Frederick’s marriage and secure the throne. As mother and monarch, both are of the highest priority to her.