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As a teenager, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark became uncomfortable with the spotlight and wondered if there was a way to avoid becoming king.
Those doubts were put to rest when the 55-year-old took over the throne from his mother, Queen Margrethe II, on Sunday, breaking with centuries of tradition in the Danish royal family and retiring after a 52-year reign. . His crown prince becomes King Frederik X.
An athlete, decorated military man, and rock music fan, Frederick has a more casual style than his mother, but is equally popular in the Scandinavian country.
Margrethe surprised the nation by announcing in her traditional New Year’s Eve speech that she was resigning, citing health reasons. A palace spokesperson told the Berlingske newspaper that the queen informed her sons of her own decision just three days before her announcement.
The Crown Prince, whose full name is Frédéric André Henrik Christian, was born on May 26, 1968, as the first child of Margrethe and her late husband Prince Henrik, who died in 2018. His younger brother Prince Joachim was born in 1969. .
Shy and reserved as a child, Frederick was anxious about the idea of ascending the throne and the intense attention and surveillance that came with it. He said in a 1996 interview with Berlingske Tidende that as a teenager, the crown prince sometimes wondered if he could escape his fate.
“I thought it was too unpleasant,” Frederick said. “I knew I was going to be very public, very known, very accessible to everyone, and attracting so much attention. I didn’t like that.”
As an adult, he was even more comfortable with his position as heir to the throne and prepared for it. Frederick speaks English, French and German in addition to Danish and graduated from Aarhus University with a master’s degree in political science. His academic studies included his two semesters at Harvard University.
He received military training in several branches of the Danish military, including frogmen in the navy’s elite unit. Frederic said in a 2010 interview with Denmark’s public broadcaster DR that he got the nickname “Pingo” after an episode in which he waddled around like a penguin when his wetsuit filled with water.
He learned about diplomacy while working at the Danish Embassy in Paris and the Danish Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Like King Charles III of the United Kingdom, he has shown special interest in climate change and other environmental issues.
In his homeland in Denmark, Frederick is known for being formal and down-to-earth. He attends official events wearing a medal-encrusted uniform, but is occasionally seen blending into crowds riding bicycles with bodyguards in tow, or high-fiving teenagers. is sometimes witnessed.
An avid sportsman, Frederick has completed six marathons, one Ironman triathlon, and participated in a dog sledding expedition in northern Greenland. For several years he served as a member of the International Olympic Committee in Denmark.
Some Danes feel so comfortable around the Crown Prince that they address him without his royal title.
Lars Hofbakke Sørensen, a historian and expert on the Danish royal family, said Frederick had a more modern style than his mother, and had no difficulty in casual conversations with the public, but not in formal speeches. He said that he was not as wise as the Queen in doing so.
Hofbacke-Sørensen said that while Margrethe is known as an admirer of classical music, ballet and the arts, Frederic is interested in rock music and sports, and that the younger generation can relate to her.
“People expect monarchs to be more informal and more themselves. As we’ve seen before, they don’t want to have this much distance from royal officials.” he said.
Laura Larsen, a 27-year-old public housing worker in Copenhagen, said she believed Danes would like the new king.
“Compared to what we’re seeing, he’s going to be a pretty relaxed king compared to the current monarch,” she said.
Like many of his contemporaries in European royal families, Frederick also found a spouse outside the nobility. He met Australian-born Mary Donaldson, the daughter of Scottish immigrants, in a bar during the 2000 Sydney Olympics and they married four years later.
The couple have four children. Prince Christian (18). Princess Isabella, 16 years old. and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
When Margrethe abdicates, Christian will assume the title of Crown Prince and become the first in line to succeed his father.
Mary becomes Queen of Denmark. Her unlikely journey from the island of Tasmania to the other side of the world to become the world’s first Australian-born queen captivated Danes and Australians alike.
At a reception for foreign diplomats in Copenhagen on 3 January, Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Kerin-Ann Burns Aiyararaju, said Australians had an “unbelievable reputation” for Mary, who is often featured in magazines as a fashion icon. I’m more proud than anyone else.”
“It’s incredible to see how she became such an important part of Danish society,” the ambassador said.
When Frederick turned 50, Mary praised her husband with witty and romantic speeches in fluent Danish.
“You were always pushing the boundaries, insisting on shaping the world around you to suit that person, and not allowing the structures of that world to define you,” Mary said.
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Associated Press writer Anders Garde Kongshaug contributed to this report.