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Crown Prince Frederik will become Denmark’s monarch after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, suddenly announced her abdication on New Year’s Eve.
The 83-year-old Queen, Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, will abdicate on January 14, 52 years after taking the throne following the death of her father, Frederick IX, in 1972.
At present, all eyes are on 55-year-old Crown Prince Frederick. Crown Prince Frederik was once known as the Party Prince in the early 1990s until he graduated with a master’s degree in political science in 1995, becoming the first Danish royal to earn a postgraduate degree.
Born on May 26, 1968 as the eldest son of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, the heir apparent received his primary education at Krebs Skole in Copenhagen and then attended boarding school École des Roches in Normandy, France. did.
As a child, the crown prince is said to have felt neglected and resentful of his parents, who were preoccupied with royal duties. He bridged the gap between his lonely and troubled adolescence with a passion for cars and a fast-paced lifestyle.
However, that perception quickly changed after graduating from Aarhus University in 1995 and spending a year working at Harvard University in the United States.
He adopted the name of his father, Henri de Montpezat, a French diplomat who assumed the title of Prince Henrik upon his marriage to Margrethe, and entered Harvard University under the pseudonym Frederic Henriksen.
File Queen Margrethe II of Denmark waves as she arrives at the Royal Yacht Dannebrog in Aarhus
(Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima)
The crown prince also completed a military course and received training in three Danish military branches. He earned the title of Rear Admiral of the Danish Army and Air Force and Rear Admiral of the Navy.
In the Navy’s Frogman Corps, only four out of 300 recruits passed all tests. He was reportedly given the nickname “Pingo” (Penguin) after his wetsuit filled with water during scuba diving training, causing him to walk like a bird.
In 2000, he took part in an daring four-month skiing expedition covering 3,500 km (2,175 miles) across Greenland. He was hospitalized after a sled/scooter accident and had to undergo tests. His popularity has skyrocketed over time, especially boosted by his Royal Run, an annual series of fans across Denmark that he started in 2018.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik arrive for a state dinner at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen
(From Reuters)
Prince Frederik has been involved in a variety of philanthropic and cultural causes, including his passion for the climate crisis.
“When the time is right, I will lead the ship,” he said in 2022, when Danes celebrated the queen’s half-century on the throne.
“As you followed your father, I will follow you,” he added, in moving the 1,000-year-old institution forward.
His Australian-born wife, Mary Donaldson, will be the first Australian-born monarch to assume the role of Queen Consort alongside her husband.
He met her, a lawyer by profession, at a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. The couple married in 2004 and have four children: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine.
Crown Prince Frederik will be sworn in as King of Denmark on January 14th. There will be no formal coronation ceremony like that of Britain’s King Charles and Camilla. His accession to the throne will be announced from Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen.