Queen Margrethe of Denmark has performed one last major royal duty as the ailing monarch prepares to hand over the throne to her son Prince Frederik and his Australian wife Princess Mary.
TV2 Denmark’s European correspondent Jesper Steinmetz said it was as if Princess Mary of Denmark was “more royal than the royal family itself.” Mr Steinmetz’s remarks came ahead of the coronation of the Tasmanian-born princess next week. “There is no doubt that Mary is loved and highly respected by all Danes,” he told Sky News presenter Andrew Bolt. “She hasn’t put a foot wrong. She has fulfilled her role as Crown Princess perfectly from the moment she entered the country.”
Unlike the British monarch, who usually only has audiences with prime ministers and visiting heads of state, Margrethe regularly hosts Danish nationals.
Denmark has a long historical tradition of granting an audience to the king for anyone with a special business.
On Monday, 83-year-old Margrethe held her last official audience with Danish laundry worker Flemming Cjorstrup Jensen.
Queen Margrethe greeted the public for the last time on Monday. Photo: Danish Royal Family.Photo: Keld Nabuntoft
The Queen receives between 50 and 150 Danes for each audience, who can request a short meeting with the monarch for a variety of reasons.
“During Her Majesty’s reign, there were well over 50,000 conversations with Danes seeking audiences,” the palace said in a statement.
This staggering figure means that more than 1 percent of Denmark’s 5.9 million people have had an audience with the Queen.
Margrethe has held official audiences at Copenhagen’s Christiansborg Palace on the second Monday of each month, except for a short hiatus due to the coronavirus disease 2021 (COVID-19) pandemic. is restarting.
Frederick and Mary will be sworn in as Denmark’s new king and queen on Sunday.Photo: Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images
During these audiences, Danes have the opportunity to chat with Margrethe and to personally thank the Queen for the awarding of Royal Orders and Orders, royal appointments, or for Her Majesty’s participation in openings and visits. Given.
A somewhat uniquely Danish tradition, the general audience reflects how Denmark, a socially progressive welfare state, reconciles its royal tradition with its modern egalitarian national identity.
Mary and Frederik will officially take the throne on Sunday after Queen Margrethe announced she would abdicate in her New Year’s address.
Gemma Tonini, executive director of GT Communications, says the argument that Crown Princess Mary of Denmark is Scottish is “nonsense”. In response, Ms Tonini told Sky News Australia host Caroline Di Russo: “That’s nonsense. She was born in Tassie.” “She clearly isn’t. It’s like Sam Neill is a Kiwi instead of an Australian. “We need to get these things right.” European newspapers are proud of their Australian heritage Despite this, he sparked controversy after calling his beloved Danish royal family “Scottish.”
Tasmanian-born Mary’s journey from Sydney marketing executive to queen of one of Europe’s oldest royal families is considered a modern-day fairy tale, and her life as Crown Princess and now queen-in-waiting has spanned over 20 years. It has captivated Australians for more than a year.
Denmark’s Palace announced that Mary, 51, and Frederick, 55, will ascend the throne in a low-key ceremony on January 14 and will be officially known as His Majesty King Frederick and Queen Mary.