Queen Margrethe abdication: What does a retired sovereign do?
After a 52-year career on the throne, Queen Margrethe has handed over the crown, but don’t think this long-serving monarch is absconding to her twilight years.
The reign of the one of the world’s longest serving monarchs was over with a simple squiggle of a pen on Sunday. The ink hadn’t even dried before Queen Margrethe, 83, was out the door of Christiansborg Palace, riding away in a carriage into what many believed would be well-earned retirement.
The shock decision for the popular queen to abdicate is still sinking in for many of her subjects. However, while she has relinquished her title and handed over the reins to her son King Frederik X, she will retain the title of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe. She will not exit royal life altogether.
The Danish palace confirmed before the succession that Margrethe would take over again as monarch if Frederik and his son, Crown Prince Christian, were unable to carry out their duties. “Following the Council of State on 14 January 2024, Her Majesty The Queen can be installed as acting regent,” a palace spokesperson confirmed.
Much like her friend Queen Elizabeth II, Margrethe was popular during her tenure, thanks to her accessibility, her dedication to her job and her steadfast commitment to the continuity of the monarchy.
Margrethe, whose nickname is Daisy, studied prehistoric archaeology at Cambridge. To mark her golden jubilee, she rode a rollercoaster. She is also an accomplished artist, something she began after reading The Lord of the Rings as a child. In the 1970s she started sending its author her sketches as fan mail.
She dedicates much of her spare time to serving as a set designer and creating costumes for national ballet productions and has been involved with more than 18 projects in the past 30 years.
While the Windsors have been coy about Netflix’s hit The Crown, Margrethe helped produce a new series for the platform. Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction is a fantasy dramedy for which she served as costume and production designer. She created almost 100 decoupages and outfits for the reimagining of Karin Blixen’s fairytale.
It is expected Margrethe may spend more time abroad, potentially at Chateau Cayx, the royal family’s official holiday residence.
Also expect her to spend more time with her eight grandchildren, including Sydney-based Count Nikolai and 18-year-old Christian, whom she hopes to guide through his apprenticeship as heir.
“It is a challenge, but there is also a sense of security in knowing where you are going and in knowing that others have been in the same situation and have followed the same path,” Margrethe said last year.
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