Denmark’s Queen Margrethe’s shocking abdication leaves all major European monarchies with male heads of state

Queen Margrethe of Denmark announced the end of her time as Europe’s longest-reigning monarch after she announced her shock abdication in a New Year’s Eve address to the nation.

But Margrethe’s son Crown Prince Frederik, 54, stepping forward to take the throne on January 14 marks another major change for Europe’s major monarchies, with all heads of state He will become a man.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II and the abdication of Queen Margrethe signaled a shift in power from strong women to male monarchs, but with almost all heir presumptives now female, the future of European royal families remains female. be.

From Princess Leonor of Spain to Princess Elisabeth of Belgium to Princess Katharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, the next generation of royals is decidedly female.

Photos from Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th birthday show the young princesses ready to one day succeed their parents and rule the country.

The birthday boy, who is now Denmark’s heir apparent, was flanked by Princess Estelle of Sweden, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Princess Katharina Amalia of the Netherlands and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium.

Here, FEMAIL introduces the European princesses who will represent the changing face of continental European monarchies in the coming years…

princess leonor of spain

King Felipe VI of Spain (55 years old) is entering his 10th year on the throne. The royal family assumed the role in similar circumstances to Prince Frederick, following the abdication of his father.

Felipe’s scandal-hit father, Juan Carlos, announced his surprise decision to abdicate on June 2, 2014, saying he was stepping down and allowing his son to take Felipe’s position. became.

While Felipe is still in his prime, Princess Leonor is already preparing herself to be the next monarch, carrying out official duties, giving speeches, and conducting military training.

The 18-year-old future Queen of Spain is undergoing solo appearances and training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza to ensure her preparation for her future in the monarchy.

On Leonor’s 18th birthday, she received from her father the symbolic collar of the Order of Charles III.

The collar is a historic gift created by Charles III in 1771, representing Princess Leonor’s possible accession to the throne someday.

King Felipe VI was awarded the collar of the Order of Charles III on his 18th birthday in January 1986.

It was presented to Princess Leonor in a ceremony attended by the royal family, senators and elected representatives.

In addition to her royal duties, Leonor is undergoing military training at the Zaragoza Military Academy.

Last September, the Spanish Palace announced that Princess Leonor would attend university to study law after completing three years of military training.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Sweden is ruled by King Carl Gustav XVI, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary.

King Karl ascended the throne in September 1973 upon the death of his grandfather, Gustav VI Adolf.

Karl, 75, ascended the throne in 1973 and is Sweden’s longest-reigning monarch. Following Queen Margrethe’s abdication, he will now also inherit the title of Europe’s longest-reigning monarch.

He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustav Adolf of Vasterbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Karl married Sylvia Samaras in 1976, three years after ascending the throne.

The royal couple have three children. They are Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (46 years old), Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Duke of Värmland (44 years old), and Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Duchess of Helsingland and Gastrikland (41 years old).

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has become heir to the throne, adding a new female heir.

The heir apparent will welcome the role alongside her husband Prince Daniel, 50.

Victoria and Daniel, who have two children, Princess Estelle, 11, and Prince Oscar, seven, celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary this year.

Daniel (real name Olof Daniel Westling), a former gym owner, met Viktoria at a training session before they started dating in 2002.

The two announced their long-awaited engagement in 2009 and married a year later.

As the heir to the throne, the mother-of-two is said to be preparing to serve as head of state alongside the king in the future, in order to better understand her position and responsibilities.

After Queen Victoria’s reign, her daughter Princess Estelle, 11, is expected to take over the throne, making her one of the youngest heirs in Europe.

princess elisabeth of belgium

King Philippe, 63, has ruled Belgium since 2013, taking over the role from his father, King Albert II.

Philippe’s father abdicated in July 2013, and King Philippe became king less than an hour later.

In doing so, his eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, became his heir apparent.

Destined to be the young country’s first queen, she was directly affected by the 1991 legal reforms. Previously, her younger brother Gabriel was the monarch.

Born on October 25, 2001, Princess Elisabeth is the eldest of the four children of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.

When her father became King in 2013, Elisabeth became heir to the throne and became Duchess of Brabant.

Elizabeth began attending royal functions at an early age, and was only nine years old when she gave a speech at the opening of the Princess Elizabeth Children’s Hospital.

Like many other European royals, including Princess Leonor of Spain and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, Elizabeth attended the University of the Atlantic in Wales and then Oxford.

Elizabeth enrolled in the school’s International Baccalaureate qualification, a two-year course costing £67,000, which she has now completed.

Prior to her two-year course in Wales, she attended the Dutch-speaking secondary school Sint-Jan Bergmans College in Brussels.

The princess also participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program at Yale University.

She then completed a one-year course in social and military science at the Royal Military Academy. It is said that the course will teach in detail about her four elements of Belgian defense (Army, Air Force, Navy and Medical).

An apparently brilliant 22-year-old, Elisabeth enjoys walking in nature, reading and playing the piano, but is “like all young people her age,” according to the royal family’s official website. But “her musical tastes are diverse,” the Palace wrote.

Princess Katharina Amalia of the Netherlands

Princess Katharina-Amalia, the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, became the heir apparent after her grandmother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated in 2013.

She will take over the role from her father Willem-Alexander, who took the throne following his mother’s abdication in 2013.

Although she is still attending university and refusing the rights to her 1.6 million euros (about 136 million yen) a year, she has been increasingly in the spotlight, with her parents and younger sister at royal events due to safety concerns. He is often on the side of .

The 19-year-old, who completed a degree in politics, psychology, law and economics at the University of Amsterdam last year, left her student dormitory and returned to her home in The Hague in October.

She later confessed that she was “missing a normal life” after being forced to move out of university accommodation due to a kidnapping plot by a gang.

In addition to her royal duties, she She was an avid jockey with a horse named Mojito, and after a summer working at a beach bar in Scheveningen, she became known as the Cocktail Queen.

She recently went on her first overseas tour, taking an extended visit to the Dutch Caribbean islands with her parents.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Princess Ingrid, second in line to the throne after her father, is the daughter of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Prince Mette-Marit, and the granddaughter of Norway’s current ruler, King Harald V.

Ingrid Alexandra will become Norway’s second female monarch after her father secured her line of succession to the throne by changing the law to allow eldest daughters to take the throne over younger male siblings.

The last Queen of Norway was 600 years ago. Queen Margaret ruled Norway, Denmark, and Sweden from the late 1380s until her death in 1412.

Born in Oslo in 2004, Princess Ingrid Alexandra attended the same local primary school as her half-brother, the son of Mette-Marit’s previous relationship.

Her parents chose this school because they wanted her to have as normal a childhood as possible.

Ingrid Alexandra is an avid skier, boxer and surfer. She won gold at the Norwegian Surfing Junior Championships in October 2020.

She has participated in several public activities, including opening a public sculpture park in her name in 2016.

In the coming years, she will raise her public profile and take on more responsibilities on behalf of the royal family, but will continue to focus on her education, the palace said in a statement on her 18th birthday. mentioned in.