Queen Margrethe of Denmark’s shock abdication leaves all major European monarchies with male heads of state – but now that heirs apparent across the continent are women and girls, the future is female

After Queen Margrethe of Denmark announced her shock abdication in a New Year’s Eve address to the nation, she marked the end of an era as Europe’s longest-serving monarch.

But as Margrethe’s son Crown Prince Frederik, 54, steps up to take the throne on January 14, it marks another huge change among the major monarchies of Europe – as they will all have male heads of state. 

Although the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the abdication of Queen Margrethe signalled a shift in power from stalwart female figures to male monarchs, the future of the European royal households is female, as almost every heir apparent is now a woman.

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

Future heirs to European monarchies Princess Estelle of Sweden (far left), Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (left), Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (right) and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium (far right) smiled for the camera next to Prince Christian (centre) at his 18th birthday celebratory gala

A photo from Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th birthday showed the young princesses ready to step into the shoes of their parents one day to reign over their nations.

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

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at the princesses of Europe who will represent the changing face of the continent’s monarchies in the years to come… 

Princess Leonor of Spain

Heir to the Spanish throne, Princess Leonor of Spain is the oldest child of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia 

Leonor, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, is pictured above with her father during ceremony of opening of the Cortes last year 

King Felipe VI of Spain, 55, has entered his tenth year on the throne. The royal entered the role under similar circumstances as Prince Frederik – 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 aside, which then allowed his son to step into his shoes. 

While Felipe remains in his prime, Princess Leonor is shaping up as a monarch-in-waiting with solo engagements, speeches, and military training, already under her belt. 

The future queen of Spain, 18, has been making solo appearances and training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza to ensure she’s ready for her future in the monarchy. 

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

Princess Leonor is currently undergoing military training at Zaragoza Military Academy. After, she plans to study law at university 

The Collar is an historic gift, created by Carlos III in 1771, and represents the possibility that Princess Leonor will one day assume the crown.

King Felipe VI received the Collar of the Order of Charles III on his 18th birthday in January 1986.

Princess Leonor was given it in a ceremony attended by the royal family, senators and elected representatives. 

On top of royal duties, Leonor undergoing military training at Zaragoza Military Academy. 

In September last year the Spanish palace also announced that Princess Leonor will go to university to study law once her three years of military training have been completed. 

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is the apparent heir to the throne after her father King Carl Gustaf

Victoria is pictured above with her father, who is the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history 

In Sweden, King Carl Gustaf XVI, who recently celebrated his 50th jubilee, reigns. 

King Carl ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, in September 1973. 

At the age of 75, Carl is the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history, having taken the throne in 1973. Following the abdication of Queen Margrethe, he will also now assume the title of Europe’s longest-reigning monarch.

He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Carl married Silvia Sommerlath in 1976, three years after his accession. 

Princess Estelle of Sweden is the apparent heir after her mother. She is pictured above with her mother Crown Princess Victoria and her father Prince Daniel 

The royal couple share three children – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, 46, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland, 44, and Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, 41.

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is heir to the throne – adding another female heir to the mix. 

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

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

Previously a gym owner, Daniel, who was born Olof Daniel Westling, met Victoria at a training session before the pair began dating in 2002.

The couple announced their highly-anticipated engagement in 2009 and tied the knot a year later.

As heir to the throne, the mother-of-two is said to be preparing for her future role of Head of State with the King to obtain a deeper understanding of the position and its responsibilities. 

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

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium 

After a change in primogeniture rules, Princess Elisabeth is the apparent heir to the Belgium throne  

Elisabeth is the oldest daughter of Queen Mathilde (far left) and King Philippe (left)

In Belgium, King Philippe, 63, has reigned since 2013 after taking on the role from his father King Albert II. 

Philippe’s father abdicated in July 2013, and no more than an hour later, King Philippe was sworn in as King. 

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

Destined to be the first queen of her young nation, she has been directly affected by a legal change, made in 1991. In earlier times, her younger brother Gabriel would have been the monarch.

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

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

22-year-old Elisabeth is currently studying at the University of Oxford. She also completed a scholar programme at Yale university 

Elisabeth began attending royal engagements from a young age and was just nine when she delivered a speech at the opening of the Princess Elisabeth Children’s Hospital.

Like a number of other European royals, including Princess Leonor of Spain and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, Elisabeth attended Atlantic College in Wales before moving on to Oxford.

Elisabeth enrolled on a £67,000, two-year course to study for her International Baccalaureate diploma at the school, which she has now completed.

Before her two-year course in Wales, she attended the Dutch-speaking secondary school Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Brussels.

The Princess also went to the Yale Young Global Scholars Program at Yale University.

She then completed a one-year course in social and military sciences at the Royal Military Academy which is said to teach in-depth about the four components of Belgian defence: Army, Air Force, Navy and Medical.

An accomplished 22-year-old by any measure, the official royal website says Elisabeth enjoys walking in nature, reading and playing the piano – although like ‘all youngsters her age’, writes the palace, ‘her taste in music is varied.’ 

Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands 

Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands will one day be Queen after her father, King Willem-Alexandra 

The royal is the oldest child of Queen Maxima (centre) and King Willem-Alexandra of the Netherlands (right) 

The 19-year-old has rejected her right to a 1.6 million euros (£1.36 million) annual income. She is pictured above at King’s Day last year 

The oldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, Princess Catharina-Amalia became the apparent heir when her grandmother Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013.

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

While she is still at university – and has rejected her right to a 1.6 million euros (£1.36 million) annual income – she has been increasingly stepping into the limelight, but often stays by her parents and sister’s sides at royal events due to security fears.

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

She later opened up about ‘missing normal life’ after she was forced to leave university accommodation over a gangster plot to kidnap her. 

Asides from royal duties,  she is a keen jockey with a horse named Mojito and she was nicknamed the Cocktail Queen after working a summer at a beach bar in Scheveningen.

She recently took part in her first international tour, joining her parents on a lengthy visit to the Dutch Caribbean Islands.

Princess Ingrid-Alexandra of Norway 

The heir to Norway’s throne, Princess Ingrid Alexandra (pictured), put on a dashing display to celebrate Prince Christian’s birthday earlier this year 

19-year-old Princess Ingrid is second in line to the Norwegian throne after her father Prince Haakon 

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

Ingrid Alexandra will become Norway’s second female monarch after her father secured her place in the line of succession by changing the law to allow first-born daughters to ascend the throne over their younger male siblings.

The last Norwegian queen was 600 years ago: Queen Margaret reigned over Norway, Denmark, and Sweden from the late 1380s until her death in 1412.

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

Her parents chose the school because they wanted her to have as ordinary a childhood as possible.

Ingrid Alexandra is an avid skier, boxer and surfer. She won a gold medal in the Norwegian surfing championship for juniors in October 2020.

She has taken part in a handful of public engagements, including opening a public sculpture park in her name in 2016.

In the next few years, she will increase 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.