This is when that will change again.
It is the end of an era: Queen Margrethe of Denmark abdicated last weekend and handed over the baton to her son Frederik. And with that, there are only male monarchs left worldwide. At least, for now. A whole new generation of female heirs to the throne is already ready!
Last female monarch
After the death of British Queen Elizabeth in 2022, Margrethe remained as the last reigning queen in the world. But after she, quite unexpectedly, decided to abdicate the throne, there are now only kings left.
Margrethe is the first Danish monarch in 900 years to abdicate prematurely. She lasted exactly 52 years. That is shorter than the late Queen Elizabeth, who wore the crown for 70 years, but a lot longer than our own Beatrix, who reigned for 33 years.
Female heirs to the throne
The monarchy has therefore become a bit of a man’s world, with, among others, the British King Charles III, the Spanish Felipe VI, our own Willem-Alexander, and now also the Danish King Frederik X.
But fortunately it won’t take centuries before that changes. There are several women at the front of the line of succession to the throne. Victoria of Sweden (44) will most likely be the first to ascend the throne, now that her father has been on the throne for 50 years. But the Belgian Princess Elisabeth (20), the Spanish Princess Leonor (18), and of course our Amalia (20) will also succeed their fathers in the future. In addition, 18-year-old Ingrid-Alexandra of Norway is second in line to the throne, after her father Haakon Magnus.
Danish throne change
Last Sunday we all watched as Margrethe passed on her role as monarch to her son Frederik. Images broadcast from the meeting room showed Margrethe standing up after signing and presenting ‘her’ chair to son Frederik with a smile. Grandson Christian then took action to bring his grandmother her walking stick, and a particularly emotional moment followed. This showed how Margrethe turned to her son and murmured ‘Gud bevare Kongen’ – ‘God protect the King’. With this one sentence, Margrethe confirmed once again that an era had really come to an end. After this, it seemed that she could no longer keep it dry, and she quickly left the meeting room.
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And so her 52 years on the throne came to an end. A period in which she managed to conquer the hearts of the Danes with her creativity and her down-to-earth, accessible attitude. So big shoes to fill, for Frederik…
Source: People Magazine | Image: Instagram @drtv_dr, NL Image
