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.
For once, I’m not sure I agree with you. HM has had serious health issues recently, with restricted mobility and back pain. I’m sure that is a big part of the decision. The demoting of Joachim’s children was possibly the first step towards this, well before the story of the affair.
The low profile in Australia was also possibly them preparing for the huge change in their lives.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I am never of the mind that adding stress helps a rocky marriage (e.g., a new baby after infidelity). However, marriage therapists do often recommend learning something new together to heal or to keep the spark. Perhaps the Queen is thinking the latter rather than the former.
Thank you, Jane. I appreciate your analysis on F and M. I adore this family and follow them closely. I was devastated to learn about the assumed affair. I agree with you that it is hard to deny the pictures and the well-documented timeline of events. The pictures of Mary arriving in Australia early with the twins were heartbreaking and telling. M and F had such a romantic wedding. He cried as she walked down the aisle and throughout the wedding. They always seemed so in love- even recently. I guess you never really know what is going on behind the doors of a palace. Very surprising news this morning for sure.
I wonder if there is more to the queens health problems she is a life long chain smoker and she clearly still struggles at times with her back issues I think it’s also worth noting the timing of this follows Christian coming of age and able to take up position of heir apparent I agree the changes to status of Joachim children may have been positioning to save Frederick having to be the bad guy time will tell I think we can all agree Frederick is very lucky to have Mary as his consort
I appreciate you talking about this, Jane. I was shocked when I heard the news. I don’t know what to think personally. I don’t want Queen Margrethe II to have been informed of any worse medical issues that would require her to step down. But I also don’t want to assume she would step down to save her son’s marriage. That doesn’t feel quite right either. I think Queen Elizabeth II’s death last year may have made her think about this more seriously. But that’s just my two cents.
I've been very impressed with Queen Margrethe's active role in managing her family, unlike Queen Elizabeth's and Prince Charles's tendency toward the ostrich approach. QM was willing to take the hit herself last year, stripping the titles from the children of her youngest son, rather than leaving it to her heir to have to deal with that one day. And she also clarified (just before covid I think?) the only her grandson the heir would receive a royal annuity as an adult. Perhaps it was the combination of her health situation plus being able to give Frederik and Mary a boost, and perhaps her own sudden accession after the unexpected death of her father played a role. I think there's something very jarring to modern sensibilities, in the modern world where retirement is the norm, for royal families to have intertwined the very saddest occasion (and one which for non-royals is allowed to remain private) --the death of the old monarch --with the very happiest -- the crowning of the new monarch.
My general feeling on this is that it's more likely Queen M's health; I think she looks so uncomfortable, but I also think she's been considering this for a while, as shown by the Joachim children situation. I also think that the decision may not be so much to help the F&M marriage, but to shake Fred up and give him purpose in life, which he apparently has had trouble with. The fallout of that would help the marriage, hopefully. And of course Christian coming of age and the upcoming anniversary of her accession makes for lovely timing.
Gosh you commenters and Jane are doing such a great job! You’ve all made great points about how Marguerite has been moving the pieces around for a while now. Was F’s behavior in Madrid the last straw? It totally seems plausible.
I’m irrationally sad about it because Mary was visiting my home town of Raleigh, NC on the day Fred was in Madrid. We NEVER get important people here and now it’s tainted!
Jane, I think you’re on the right track. It’s the first thing I and many others thought when she dropped this bombshell. I hope it heals the hurt Frederick’s behavior has caused, and Denmark can look forward to more happy years with their new King
It seems like I am the only one, but I have been kind of expecting this since the change of Joachim children’s title, hence long before the rumours.
I know QM said abdicating is not the Danish way, but things change. I expect by the next generation abdication will be the norm in all 10 European monarchies - including the UK.
Abdication in Spain and Belgium might have been forced by scandal, but it also cannot be denied that both countries as well as the Netherlands have benefitted from having a younger couple on the throne. And the Netherlands have shown there is much to be said for being able to plan your reign.
As far as the rumours go, I’m not convinced. But it does seem like Fred can do with a more demanding job.
I wonder if she's ill - if she has been diagnosed with a major heath issue. She said she'd stay until she died or became too ill. I usually find this blog to be insightful, but I doubt this is about F&M's marriage.
My first reaction on hearing this news was that it was an emergency action because of the marriage. So Jane I think your sense that it’s primarily about the marriage is the right one and the preponderance of expert royal analysis is assuming the same. This assumed infidelity is a catastrophe for the Danish royals. This is exactly the move one could expect from the very canny Danish Queen. She has already shown in the last year that she will take difficult decisions that cut across her own and her children’s positions. Her personal preference and pain in some of these decisions clearly have taken a back seat to the Crown. And we know in these families that the Crown and it’s modern survival must take precedence or it may go by the wayside.
Sorry, it’s absolutely absurd and backwards to think this has anything to do with Fred and Mary’s marriage, which as far as I know is fine.
They are popular, the monarchy is in 0 danger; the Danes believe they have a right to privacy. It’s the foreign press who are looking for drama and creating an issue where it doesn’t exist.
Here in DK a rather solid theory has begun to circulate: is, that CP Frederik met with spanish Cassanova as a cover up to actually meeting with King Felipe to talk about hand over and such.
That she was used as a "middle man" (if that is even a word in English).
It does not give more answers as such, seems somewhat plausible but if any at the court thought we would stop asking questions, they were mistaken.
I've never followed the Danish royals so my impressions are superficial at best. I have noted that people either seem to really love Mary or really dislike her. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground with her. I couldn't say. My main impression of her is that she looks like Kate's older sister. I've seen some people say that Frederik needs to grow up but the man is 55 years old. I'd say if he hasn't grown up by now it's probably not going to happen. Whether he slept with the Mexican socialite or not we really can't know but it was at best a colossal display of poor judgment, given his position. Situations like this display the problems inherent in hereditary monarchies where the heir isn't perhaps best suited for the role.
Interestingly, People Magazine has basically copied this story!! And I have to say that no one knows the truth of what goes on in anyone else's marriage.
My understanding is that the Danes do not have “coronations”.
For once, I’m not sure I agree with you. HM has had serious health issues recently, with restricted mobility and back pain. I’m sure that is a big part of the decision. The demoting of Joachim’s children was possibly the first step towards this, well before the story of the affair.
The low profile in Australia was also possibly them preparing for the huge change in their lives.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I am never of the mind that adding stress helps a rocky marriage (e.g., a new baby after infidelity). However, marriage therapists do often recommend learning something new together to heal or to keep the spark. Perhaps the Queen is thinking the latter rather than the former.
Thank you, Jane. I appreciate your analysis on F and M. I adore this family and follow them closely. I was devastated to learn about the assumed affair. I agree with you that it is hard to deny the pictures and the well-documented timeline of events. The pictures of Mary arriving in Australia early with the twins were heartbreaking and telling. M and F had such a romantic wedding. He cried as she walked down the aisle and throughout the wedding. They always seemed so in love- even recently. I guess you never really know what is going on behind the doors of a palace. Very surprising news this morning for sure.
I wonder if there is more to the queens health problems she is a life long chain smoker and she clearly still struggles at times with her back issues I think it’s also worth noting the timing of this follows Christian coming of age and able to take up position of heir apparent I agree the changes to status of Joachim children may have been positioning to save Frederick having to be the bad guy time will tell I think we can all agree Frederick is very lucky to have Mary as his consort
I appreciate you talking about this, Jane. I was shocked when I heard the news. I don’t know what to think personally. I don’t want Queen Margrethe II to have been informed of any worse medical issues that would require her to step down. But I also don’t want to assume she would step down to save her son’s marriage. That doesn’t feel quite right either. I think Queen Elizabeth II’s death last year may have made her think about this more seriously. But that’s just my two cents.
-Jeni in Kansas
I've been very impressed with Queen Margrethe's active role in managing her family, unlike Queen Elizabeth's and Prince Charles's tendency toward the ostrich approach. QM was willing to take the hit herself last year, stripping the titles from the children of her youngest son, rather than leaving it to her heir to have to deal with that one day. And she also clarified (just before covid I think?) the only her grandson the heir would receive a royal annuity as an adult. Perhaps it was the combination of her health situation plus being able to give Frederik and Mary a boost, and perhaps her own sudden accession after the unexpected death of her father played a role. I think there's something very jarring to modern sensibilities, in the modern world where retirement is the norm, for royal families to have intertwined the very saddest occasion (and one which for non-royals is allowed to remain private) --the death of the old monarch --with the very happiest -- the crowning of the new monarch.
My general feeling on this is that it's more likely Queen M's health; I think she looks so uncomfortable, but I also think she's been considering this for a while, as shown by the Joachim children situation. I also think that the decision may not be so much to help the F&M marriage, but to shake Fred up and give him purpose in life, which he apparently has had trouble with. The fallout of that would help the marriage, hopefully. And of course Christian coming of age and the upcoming anniversary of her accession makes for lovely timing.
Gosh you commenters and Jane are doing such a great job! You’ve all made great points about how Marguerite has been moving the pieces around for a while now. Was F’s behavior in Madrid the last straw? It totally seems plausible.
I’m irrationally sad about it because Mary was visiting my home town of Raleigh, NC on the day Fred was in Madrid. We NEVER get important people here and now it’s tainted!
Jane, I think you’re on the right track. It’s the first thing I and many others thought when she dropped this bombshell. I hope it heals the hurt Frederick’s behavior has caused, and Denmark can look forward to more happy years with their new King
It seems like I am the only one, but I have been kind of expecting this since the change of Joachim children’s title, hence long before the rumours.
I know QM said abdicating is not the Danish way, but things change. I expect by the next generation abdication will be the norm in all 10 European monarchies - including the UK.
Abdication in Spain and Belgium might have been forced by scandal, but it also cannot be denied that both countries as well as the Netherlands have benefitted from having a younger couple on the throne. And the Netherlands have shown there is much to be said for being able to plan your reign.
As far as the rumours go, I’m not convinced. But it does seem like Fred can do with a more demanding job.
I wonder if she's ill - if she has been diagnosed with a major heath issue. She said she'd stay until she died or became too ill. I usually find this blog to be insightful, but I doubt this is about F&M's marriage.
My first reaction on hearing this news was that it was an emergency action because of the marriage. So Jane I think your sense that it’s primarily about the marriage is the right one and the preponderance of expert royal analysis is assuming the same. This assumed infidelity is a catastrophe for the Danish royals. This is exactly the move one could expect from the very canny Danish Queen. She has already shown in the last year that she will take difficult decisions that cut across her own and her children’s positions. Her personal preference and pain in some of these decisions clearly have taken a back seat to the Crown. And we know in these families that the Crown and it’s modern survival must take precedence or it may go by the wayside.
Sorry, it’s absolutely absurd and backwards to think this has anything to do with Fred and Mary’s marriage, which as far as I know is fine.
They are popular, the monarchy is in 0 danger; the Danes believe they have a right to privacy. It’s the foreign press who are looking for drama and creating an issue where it doesn’t exist.
Here in DK a rather solid theory has begun to circulate: is, that CP Frederik met with spanish Cassanova as a cover up to actually meeting with King Felipe to talk about hand over and such.
That she was used as a "middle man" (if that is even a word in English).
It does not give more answers as such, seems somewhat plausible but if any at the court thought we would stop asking questions, they were mistaken.
I've never followed the Danish royals so my impressions are superficial at best. I have noted that people either seem to really love Mary or really dislike her. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground with her. I couldn't say. My main impression of her is that she looks like Kate's older sister. I've seen some people say that Frederik needs to grow up but the man is 55 years old. I'd say if he hasn't grown up by now it's probably not going to happen. Whether he slept with the Mexican socialite or not we really can't know but it was at best a colossal display of poor judgment, given his position. Situations like this display the problems inherent in hereditary monarchies where the heir isn't perhaps best suited for the role.
Interestingly, People Magazine has basically copied this story!! And I have to say that no one knows the truth of what goes on in anyone else's marriage.