When Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced this week that she would abdicate at the age of 83 in favor of her son, the news was met with surprise by many. The popular Queen is now preparing to hand over to Prince Frederick and Duchess Mary in two weeks, amid rumors that part of the motive for this decision was to strengthen her son’s marital status. .
While the timing of this news may have generated particular speculation, decisions to abdicate in recent years are now not unprecedented in European monarchies. This is normal practice in the Netherlands, where Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013 before her 75th birthday in favor of her son Willem-Alexander. In the same year, King Albert II of Belgium announced his abdication after 20 years, stating that his health was no longer good enough to fulfill his duties. And Spain’s King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014, albeit after months of scandal.
Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary days after the Queen’s surprise announcement.
Margrethe’s decision looks like it could set the tone for a pragmatic approach to future handovers in Denmark, leading many in the UK to wonder if our monarchy could start to follow suit. You may be wondering if there is. King Charles is currently 75 years old. If he rules until death and lives as long as his mother, Prince William will be in his 60s when he ascends the throne, and so on. Queen Elizabeth famously swore her own job was her “life’s work”, but is it time to reconsider her realistic expectations for this her duty?
“Denmark surprised everyone because Queen Margrethe said she would never abdicate,” said the magazine’s editor-in-chief. majesty magazine, Joe Little. “But obviously age and recovery from extensive back surgery led her to this decision. So I can’t say never. But I still think that the 1936 abdication caused Buckingham Palace does not believe that the word abdication is one that would be overused because of the damage caused.”
top page of london starcontains the story of King Edward’s abdication.
Indeed, while the Dutch may view abdication purely as a rite of passage, the British view of abdication remains tied to the events that shook the monarchy to its core. After Edward VIII abdicated, Queen Elizabeth became acutely aware of the damage her father, George VI, had to rebuild with her people. Rebranding abdication as securing the future is a stretch, as abdication is associated with instability.
Although Queen Elizabeth did not accept her abdication, the end of her own reign brought the question of what was wise to more and more into focus. She was unable to fulfill her own duties in her later years and handed over much more than her name to her son. Her death ended speculation about how long such a system would last, but no one knows how King Charles’ reign will change.
Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prince Charles in 2017.
“I think Charles follows his mother’s reasoning in many ways,” Joe Little said. “At the moment, his reign is still new and his health is good, so it makes no sense to compare him with monarchs of the same age who have been on the throne for decades.” “We don’t know what will happen if the situation worsens,” he added.
Speculation has begun as to whether the next Scandinavian monarch to abdicate will be Carl XVI Gustav, the 77-year-old King of Sweden, or Harald V, the 86-year-old King of Norway. King Harald said he would never do that. But as Queen Margrethe showed us this week, these circumstances can change.
Town & Country Contributing editor Victoria Murphy has been reporting on the British royal family since 2010. She traveled the world interviewing Prince Harry and covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to “Good Morning America.”Written by Victoria Town & Country Book “The Queen: A Life in Photographs”, Released in 2021.