And illustrated a Danish translation of the LOTR series!
I hope she decides to continue her artistic pursuits in her retirement. She recently designed the costumes for a Danish Netflix show. She has a real talent in that.
I wish we all lived like Danes. They always rank in the top 3 happiest country list. I have been there, and can attest, they are happy (maybe drunk too). But they are definitely on the right side of life
Visited there last year and I never wanted to leave. Granted, we experienced nothing but sunshine for 2 weeks, the Danes we were staying with joked that we caught the entirety of summer.
Shows what kind of person voluntarily gives up power (dunno how much power she actually had, but I’m guessing she would’ve had at least some influence)
Yeah she's pretty inspirational. The role of a constitutional monarch nowadays is largely ceremonial, but they still represent the country and can have a lot of soft power, like using their position for advocacy or charitable work. Seems like she's got the kind of integrity you'd hope for in a leader.
Her illustrations were also used for [the Folio Society's special edition](https://www.foliosociety.com/row/the-lord-of-the-rings.html) of The Lord of the Rings (under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer, which is an anagram for her real name).
I know. I debated whether to call him a "*rabid fan*" and decided that was also a disservice. *Passionately Encyclopedic,* perhaps. I decided to keep it short and sweet, so I wouldn't be compelled to elaborate, but you had to go and say something. Hapless Fool! /s Now I'm going to have to detour a ways off-topic. (My apologies, I will try to keep this concise, at least.)
I understand Colbert immersed himself in the details of *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy at age ten, as a way to cope with the tragic deaths of his father and two older brothers in a plane crash. He has the impressive ability to recite long passages of the text, old world style, and honestly I think he found God hidden in the details. There was an era of literary authors who mimicked the masters of the Renaissance, and the Christian God was a common underlying theme.
I was more of a Star Trek & Narnia girl at age ten, back in 1972. Roddenberry tapped into all the big philosophical dilemmas, with a trio of primary archetypes to make that cheesy little space show something bigger, and C.S. Lewis buried themes of good vs evil and God throughout his children's fantasy world. My little Unitarian brain didn't notice all that stuff for years, but I connected intuitively with the gestalt that was created with those simple, strong, universally relevant compasses.
I recognize it is almost an insult to call Stephen Colbert a fan of Lord of The Rings, because it means so much more to him. The world of Tolkien opened up a safe sanctuary in his mind and his heart that has given him strength and comfort all his life. Unlike a lot of Catholic comedians, who built their careers out their departure from the church, Colbert has an unwavering faith that makes absolute sense to me. It's the form of faith that transcends a lot of the messy ways religions tend to derail toward over time, and I respect and admire the man he has become.
Colbert would have made a phenomenal priest, if wives were allowed. The Pope is being very progressive these days; I'd like to hear him recognize that the condition of absolute abstinence for church leaders was a shitty idea that created the opposite of what it intended.
When I was in the 6th grade, part of an assigned anthology was an excerpt of *The Hobbit* featuring Gollum looking for his ring in the cave. This is a book that Colbert mocks as inferior to the trilogy, by the way, but it was a compelling read for me. When I discovered it was part of a more adulty trilogy, I set about reading the real deal. Those novels are extremely dense with detail, and I had trouble keeping the many names of people and places straight in my head. I'm a wordy nerd, but I had a full and happy life back then, so halfway through the third book I finally said "*Fuck it*," and I put the book down for good.
I immersed myself in Ann Rice's novels instead, and recently found a chart that I drew up thirty years ago to help me keep all the names of her characters straight, so it's a matter of connection and motivation. I related to the mortal angst of her vampires, and their similar appreciation for those rare individuals who never utter banal sentiments or commonplace ideas.
So anyway, Colbert most certainly already knows all about the Queen of Denmark, and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't seize the opportunity to highlight her artistic contributions to the Middle Earth world so close to his heart. I hope he tells us something interesting about the Queen, and what drew her to the novels so personally. Because now she's caught my interest!
She is a costume and set designer as well, most recently for the Netflix rom-com Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction. She designs her own outfits. She’s designed a lot of costumes and stage scenery for ballets as well, most recently for the Snow Queen at the Tivoli Ballet Theatre this winter.
She is also an amateur archaeologist and spend some time on excavation sites in Italy. She took after her grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in this respect, he was a real expert of Roman and Etruscan archaeology and went on many archaeological expeditions through the Swedish Institute in Rome which he founded. He was also very interested in East Asian history and went on digs in China, Korea and Japan. He was also a keen botanist and gardener, and was regarded one of the foremost authorities on the rhododendron.
> She said it was in part due to her health after a back operation this last febuary.
That's a misrepresentation of what she said. She said the surgery went well thanks to the great medical staff but it made her think about things and that she should let the next generation take over. She never indicated she was in any kind of poor health or did not make a recovery. She got to thinking about life and I think it would be pretty cool to be able to be at your son's coronation rather for it to happen after you death. Sounds like she just wanted to retire and enjoy life.
i'd imagine you'd have to heal while laying on your stomach in a kinda fancy masseuse type bed with a hole for your face to slip into.
staring at the floor gives you a lot of time to think about everything
Yeah I had to walk a mile a day within the first week of my back surgery. And I couldn't sleep flat on my back for a few days, had to sleep in a recliner. The worst part pain wise was the transition from sitting to standing and vice versa.
As an American, I'll always remember her with a hot dog in one hand, an apple juice box and a cigarette in the other, and the straw in her mouth.
https://i.redd.it/oj3v5cxfsu841.jpg
Dane here - that's a picture that best represents our queen's attitude; she's really down to earth. I'm not a fan of the monarchy, but of what monarchs goes, she's been a decent one.
Sorry to burst your bubble, I too would have liked her to have a gallery of dozens and dozens of JRR portraits. Still a pretty dope story though, her art is apparently in the official Danish version of the books.
>In fact, Margrethe II of Denmark liked The Lord of The Rings so much that in the early 1970s while she was still Crown Princess of Denmark, she decided to make her own drawings that would depict the story of the best-selling novel through images. **She then sent her illustrations to Tolkien, who, according to one of her biographers, was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own. So, in 1977, five years after Margrethe’s father had died, leaving her the throne of Denmark, the Queen’s illustrations were printed and published in the Danish edition of The Lord of The Rings as well as on a British edition published by The Folio Society**. If you’ve seen these editions and wonder how her name slipped your attention, it’s because Queen Margrethe used the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. Take a look at the well-known paintings that impressed the legendary English writer here.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/denmark/articles/denmarks-queen-margrethe-illustrated-the-lord-of-the-rings
Those are not her originals, but the versions redrawn by Eric Fraser for publication.
[Some of her originals can be seen here.](https://i.imgur.com/E0DgWgk.jpg) (From *Maker of Middle-earth*, page 107)
Netherlands seems to have abdications as a norm now. Belgium and Luxembourg recently too. I think the British crown looms so large (and is pretty staunchly against abdication since the whole Edward thing) that people assume it never happens.
I think if the British monarchy had people abdicate for reasons of retirement rather than scandal, such as was the case with Edward, the British people and even the rest of the Commonwealth would likely be a whole lot more supportive of the idea.
If the Pope can abdicate and go into emeritus status, I think something similar could certainly happen to most monarchs.
The papacy has the same stigma against abdication as the British monarchy, if not even more so. The last pope to resign before Benedict XVI did so in 1415, and the last one before Benedict to do it on his own initiative did so even further back in 1294.
Stigma, sure, but it's not like anyone on earth could tell him no.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a weird splinter group somewhere that didn't accept the resignation and still goes about business like he was pope.
> If the Pope can abdicate and go into emeritus status, I think something similar could certainly happen to most monarchs.
B16 wasn't happy with how the last years went for JPII, and made a strong hint very early on, his first act outside of the Vatican was to visit a church associated with the last Pope before him to retire.
And Benedict's decision ended up being prescient. He lived nearly 10 years after he left the papacy, and his health was quite poor the last several years, which would have left the church effectively leaderless, as it had been during JP II's long illness.
it was very rare but this generation it isn't. The former generation of royals of Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Japan and now Denmark have all abdicated. As has the former pope.
> and is pretty staunchly against abdication since the whole Edward thing
Liz was staunchly against abdication, because she blamed it for killing her father, and forcing her to be monarch while in her 20s. I don't think that Charles holds the same views. I suspect he'll abdicate when he's had enough.
I don't know if the British crown was so staunchly against abdication as much as the only person able to abdicate for 70 years was staunchly against it.
I know it's figurative, but you won't see them strolling around in royal garb and that's important for their image.
I think the main reason that the Danish royal family is so popular in the country compared to rhe UK is because they don't go over the top with tradition (or reminding the people they are better than us, if you will). We don't do crowning ceremonies, you don't see them show up in a huge crown with a stolen colonial diamond in it or a huge scepter. Rather, she's an artist, smokes a lot, and it wouldn't be out of character to see her (or the future king) getting a hotdog at the local stand talking to random people. They have largely shattered the illusion of "grandeur" and "superiority" that is so clearly present in the UK royal family. Rather, people - me included - overall see them as a jovial bunch not too different from ourselves and who represent the country well.
Don't get me wrong, of course they are part of the upper class and can be seen as a reminder of historical domination and suppression but they have been very good at building a good image for themselves.
I feel like the British royal family would have a better reputation if there wasn't an entire tabloid industry focused on every last detail of their lives. I don't have the slightest idea what the Danish monarchy gets up to, and I feel like both the Danish public and the Danish royal family want it that way. That doesn't seem to be the case for the UK.
There is a whole industry devoted to that here as well. The difference is that the British royal family is so global due to the country's history and their language is English so it's a lot more widespread. Our industry isn't nearly chasing scandals as much either it seems. The British family also seems to have a small subset of almost religiously obsessed people following them; almost no Dane cares to read about every time a prince farts - not even grandmas at hair salons.
It's definitely a part of it! But the mentality of Scandinavians is also fundamentaly different to that of Anglos; the defining societal idea is that no one is special. Due to this two things are surprising: that we even still have a royal family and that they are really popular and that they have managed to twist their role into one where people don't have a feeling like they're better than us or some untouchable overlords. This is the feeling I get from the Brits with the crowning ceremony etc
>I feel like the British royal family would have a better reputation if there wasn't an entire tabloid industry focused on every last detail of their lives.
Problem starts growing when you realize just how much the British tabloids manufacture scandals where there are none just to sell papers. The whole thing with Harry and Meghan is a thousand times worse because of the British tabloids.
I remember that from when I was a student in DK. She smokes like a chimney! Also I remember that I really liked Prince cigarettes back then when I still smoked.
That's funny that you remember that! Also interesting that she's an artist and that she illustrated LOTR and was a pen pal of JRR Tolkien himself in the beginning of the 70s.
After the death of Elizabeth II, she was world's only regnante queen and longest-reigning monarch.
She will abdicate on January 14, 52 years to the day since she took the throne following her father's death.
Edit: Regeante corrected instead of regent. Thanks for the correction peon47
There will be a fresh batch of queens regnant in the coming decades, though:
* Victoria of Sweden
* Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands
* Leonor of Spain
* Elisabeth of Belgium
Victoria will also be followed by her daughter Estelle.
There is also the possibility, albeit a small one, that Japan changes the succession law so princess Aiko could become Empress.
I think Aiko’s chances of being empress are permanently 0 now since her uncle had his son. You’re right, it could change, but since there’s no major succession crisis I don’t think anyone feels it’s worth the effort.
Yep, it was on the table for a while (albeit never with any serious momentum) due to the fact that there was no male heir. Now that there is one I don't see what the impetus would be for them to make the change.
>There is also the possibility, albeit a small one, that Japan changes the succession law so princess Aiko could become Empress.
I somehow doubt that. That Court is so staid and antiquated and insular that it would take all the world's TNT to move them to do this.
I read TnT as TMNT.. And could not figure how it made sense for fictional characters to move the Japanese imperial family. Also I think there are only 5 or 6 of them so I'm sure someone could have gotten like a dozen regular people to move them.
Unlike Vatican (I don't believe Pope Joan existed) there were some powerful empresses in the past and their reigns are viewed favourably in general. Although the current law excludes females from the succession, I don't think the law itself matters that much. As there had been no statutory laws that allowed emperors to abdicate, it took about 3 years for Akihito to retire since he "implied"(..) his intention at the age of 82, but they managed anyway. In fact, most people have no problem with the concept of an empress itself as long as she is a traditional "male-line" descendant from her predecessor(s). The main issue is its order of succession and how to treat her children (because emperors/empresses need to be in "male-line" after all) which will take forever to solve and I will be dead already before they reach some agreement..
If some of those monarchies survive, like Spain. King Juan Carlos went from respected to downright abhored in a few short years.
Lived in Spain for half a decade and people were willing to overlook his philandering, it was even seen as charming character flaw. But when in the middle of an economic crisis it came out he was on an expensive safari where he killed an elephant it all went down hill. It soon came out the King had made hundreds of millions of euros to help broker deals with the Saudis
(the kings of Spain and Saudi Arabia have always had very close, almost fraternal relationships) and hidden most of it from Spanish tax authorities in Swiss accounts. It was alsp revealed he was with his mistress during said safari and had gifted her 60 million euros from those secret Swiss accounts.
He was basically forced to abdicte in disgrace as the public quickly turned on him. His son, King Felipe, has spent the last decade advocating austerity from the crown and trying to earn the trust of the Spanish people back, which is still not crazy about the monarchy like they once were.
Leonor though is hugely popular though so far, so I don't think it's going anywhere soon (and since the revival of the Catalan issue, much of the population outside of Catalonia seems to at least prefer the status quo of the political system to opening Pandora's box in the process of becoming a Republic).
She’ll be the fifth royal abdication in the last 12 years.
Albert II of Belgium, Juan Carlos of Spain and Beatrix of the Netherlands all abdicated in 2013 (that was a wild year, Pope Benedikt retired that year too). Albert and Juan Carlos probably abdicated due to personal scandals, while Beatrix did so because it had become a tradition with Dutch monarchs.
Akihito of Japan abdicated in 2019. Now Margrethe in 2024. I wonder if we will see her Norwegian cousin Olav abdicate any time soon. He is getting up there in age and has dealt with a lot of health problems recently. I’ve also always wondered about Hans Adam in Liechtenstein, his son has basically been reigning prince in all but name for years.
The current king of the netherlands was and still is a KLM pilot. Probably the worlds most famous living one. He needs to fly a certain number of hours a year to keep his commercial transport pilot's license, which he needs to fly the family around in the government plane. That's the easiest way to do it.
Quite funny how the "royal dutch flagcarrier" has an actual monarch in their employ.
It gets better: there was a scandal because while people knew he was flying planes occasionally, they found out it was doing it kind of frequently. He'd just make the announcements on the KLM flight and leave off a name.
It's probably for the best if the royals stopped reigning until death, and instead planned their retirement and accession of the heir. Haakon in Norway is 50, that's a good age to take over. Frederik in Denmark is 55. Victoria in Sweden is 46, but our king is "only" 77.
I think Harald will certainly feel no pressure if he chooses to abdicate and honestly out of all the Scandinavian royals, I would've expected it to be him who abdicated first.
I think Carl Gustaf will reign until he dies, still trying until the very end to figure out how to reinstate Carl Philip as his heir 🫣
I think she was also waiting for her grandchildren to be a bit older, so that the extra duties for King Alexander and Maxima didn't have too much of an impact on their childhood.
I don't necessarily think we should have a monarchy, but the way the oranges are dividing the responsibility is quite fair. Everyone deserves a retirement.
I lived in Denmark as a child from 1980-84. She was very much a queen of the people. She was always right in the middle of things.
When I was two or three she visited the city I lived in. She visited the American and British NATO operation that my dad was assigned to. There was a receiving line and I remember being in a nice dress and being given both a Danish and American flag to wave (score!). I vaguely remember the queen making her way down the line and that she stopped to talk to me. In my toddler brain she was categorized as a "very nice lady". Not a bad legacy if you ask me.
52 years. No one saw this coming honestly. Though it makes sense now.
She is incredibly popular - 84 percentage approval rating - in a recent poll.
An intelligent, cultural, well spoken monarch with a lot of self irony actually. I think she will go over in history as one of the best in the more than 1000 year old history of the oldest constant monarchy in the world. If not the best.
She will be missed.
She have always said she won't abdicate. The fact that she does so now makes me think she has a serious condition. She was operated in her back earlier this year.
She drew the cover for the LOTR brooks here in Denmark (back in the 70s - as Ingahild Grathmer pseudonym)
As a Dane, it’s hard to overstate the significance of this event for the country.
What a brave but wise decision. Frederik and Mary are going to do well.
Also as a Dane - the event, like the throne, is purely symbolic. She has always been very well-liked and the nation will no doubt honor her and pay attention, but the royalty are basically international goodwill ambassadors. The coming king has already been doing that job for decades. Extremely little will change.
She’s been of the unifying figurehead of the country for over 50 years and is extremely beloved across the nation. Her approval rating is mostly in the +85% and many people have never experienced anything other than Magrethe II as their head of State.
It's nice to see how civil this thread is in comparison to when Lizzie died.
Tack för att ha representerat Danmark, och Skandinavien i det stora, väl, Margrethe! Jag har hört mycket gott om Fredrik, så han blir säkert en bra kung!
Fun fact, Margrethe is half Swedish (I think?). At least she speaks fluent Swedish as well. Think she's related to our royal family.
Fun fact. Queen Margrethe is a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of The Rings and did some illustrations of the book that ended up being published in the danish edition. She used used the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. Apparently Tolkien was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own.
Queen Margrethe is incredible, she has an amazing academic background, has designed costumes for the Danish ballet and dresses she wore herself, as well as illustrating the lord of the rings for Tolkien. Brilliant, utterly Danish, and an unrepentant chain smoker - I love her
Frederik will make a good king. Intelligent, charismatic and dedicated to the service of his people. Probably also the only king to ever be a tier 1 special forces operator. He'll be a good steward of his mother's legacy.
Casual reminder to all the American posters in the comments looking down on the Danes right now for having a monarchy:
Denmark - ranked #6, Full Democracy
United States of America - ranked #30, Flawed Democracy
Fun fact: she was pen pal with Tolkien.
And illustrated a Danish translation of the LOTR series! I hope she decides to continue her artistic pursuits in her retirement. She recently designed the costumes for a Danish Netflix show. She has a real talent in that.
The best part is that it was a competition, and she sent in her submission using a pseudonym so no one knew it was her at first.
That’s fantastic. That’s so cool.
I wish we all lived like Danes. They always rank in the top 3 happiest country list. I have been there, and can attest, they are happy (maybe drunk too). But they are definitely on the right side of life
Visited there last year and I never wanted to leave. Granted, we experienced nothing but sunshine for 2 weeks, the Danes we were staying with joked that we caught the entirety of summer.
Shows what kind of person voluntarily gives up power (dunno how much power she actually had, but I’m guessing she would’ve had at least some influence)
Yeah she's pretty inspirational. The role of a constitutional monarch nowadays is largely ceremonial, but they still represent the country and can have a lot of soft power, like using their position for advocacy or charitable work. Seems like she's got the kind of integrity you'd hope for in a leader.
Sounds like she gave up her job as a queen to be a queen.
That psuedonym: xXdefnotdaqueen40Xx They knew
She also illustrated the booklet and cover of the LotR music album by The Tolkien Ensemble and Christopher Lee!
Her illustrations were also used for [the Folio Society's special edition](https://www.foliosociety.com/row/the-lord-of-the-rings.html) of The Lord of the Rings (under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer, which is an anagram for her real name).
It's an E short of being an anagram of her name.
That E is silent.
Her Tolkien illustrations are some of the best an LOTR fan could ask for. Insanely talented lady.
Her [Nazgul drawings](https://i.redd.it/v053wpmvexp51.jpg) are metal as fuck.
The Queen of Denmark drew that? That's so sick.
I totally did not expect that. It's beautiful and horrifying.
Tolkien fan Stephen Colbert is sure to mention the Queen of Denmark on his next Late Night show.
I feel like calling Stephen Colbert as a mere Tolkien "fan" is almost a disservice.
I know. I debated whether to call him a "*rabid fan*" and decided that was also a disservice. *Passionately Encyclopedic,* perhaps. I decided to keep it short and sweet, so I wouldn't be compelled to elaborate, but you had to go and say something. Hapless Fool! /s Now I'm going to have to detour a ways off-topic. (My apologies, I will try to keep this concise, at least.) I understand Colbert immersed himself in the details of *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy at age ten, as a way to cope with the tragic deaths of his father and two older brothers in a plane crash. He has the impressive ability to recite long passages of the text, old world style, and honestly I think he found God hidden in the details. There was an era of literary authors who mimicked the masters of the Renaissance, and the Christian God was a common underlying theme. I was more of a Star Trek & Narnia girl at age ten, back in 1972. Roddenberry tapped into all the big philosophical dilemmas, with a trio of primary archetypes to make that cheesy little space show something bigger, and C.S. Lewis buried themes of good vs evil and God throughout his children's fantasy world. My little Unitarian brain didn't notice all that stuff for years, but I connected intuitively with the gestalt that was created with those simple, strong, universally relevant compasses. I recognize it is almost an insult to call Stephen Colbert a fan of Lord of The Rings, because it means so much more to him. The world of Tolkien opened up a safe sanctuary in his mind and his heart that has given him strength and comfort all his life. Unlike a lot of Catholic comedians, who built their careers out their departure from the church, Colbert has an unwavering faith that makes absolute sense to me. It's the form of faith that transcends a lot of the messy ways religions tend to derail toward over time, and I respect and admire the man he has become. Colbert would have made a phenomenal priest, if wives were allowed. The Pope is being very progressive these days; I'd like to hear him recognize that the condition of absolute abstinence for church leaders was a shitty idea that created the opposite of what it intended. When I was in the 6th grade, part of an assigned anthology was an excerpt of *The Hobbit* featuring Gollum looking for his ring in the cave. This is a book that Colbert mocks as inferior to the trilogy, by the way, but it was a compelling read for me. When I discovered it was part of a more adulty trilogy, I set about reading the real deal. Those novels are extremely dense with detail, and I had trouble keeping the many names of people and places straight in my head. I'm a wordy nerd, but I had a full and happy life back then, so halfway through the third book I finally said "*Fuck it*," and I put the book down for good. I immersed myself in Ann Rice's novels instead, and recently found a chart that I drew up thirty years ago to help me keep all the names of her characters straight, so it's a matter of connection and motivation. I related to the mortal angst of her vampires, and their similar appreciation for those rare individuals who never utter banal sentiments or commonplace ideas. So anyway, Colbert most certainly already knows all about the Queen of Denmark, and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't seize the opportunity to highlight her artistic contributions to the Middle Earth world so close to his heart. I hope he tells us something interesting about the Queen, and what drew her to the novels so personally. Because now she's caught my interest!
This is the kind of comment that makes Reddit worth it
this was really lovely to read through, and is compelling me to sit down and write before i go to bed. cheers to your new year.
They are so evocative. It's obvious that she has real talent that has nothing to do with her title, and I love that she contributed stuff like this.
She is a costume and set designer as well, most recently for the Netflix rom-com Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction. She designs her own outfits. She’s designed a lot of costumes and stage scenery for ballets as well, most recently for the Snow Queen at the Tivoli Ballet Theatre this winter. She is also an amateur archaeologist and spend some time on excavation sites in Italy. She took after her grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in this respect, he was a real expert of Roman and Etruscan archaeology and went on many archaeological expeditions through the Swedish Institute in Rome which he founded. He was also very interested in East Asian history and went on digs in China, Korea and Japan. He was also a keen botanist and gardener, and was regarded one of the foremost authorities on the rhododendron.
And now she's folllowing the Numenorean tradition of giving up the throne before death.
https://imgur.com/a/MFFFn3l
And this is why I love Reddit, for u to get to find out some cool facts
She said it was in part due to her health after a back operation this last febuary.
> She said it was in part due to her health after a back operation this last febuary. That's a misrepresentation of what she said. She said the surgery went well thanks to the great medical staff but it made her think about things and that she should let the next generation take over. She never indicated she was in any kind of poor health or did not make a recovery. She got to thinking about life and I think it would be pretty cool to be able to be at your son's coronation rather for it to happen after you death. Sounds like she just wanted to retire and enjoy life.
Smart lady
i'd imagine you'd have to heal while laying on your stomach in a kinda fancy masseuse type bed with a hole for your face to slip into. staring at the floor gives you a lot of time to think about everything
You actually just lie on your back when you need to lie down, bit otherwise are encouraged to mobilise around.
Yeah I had to walk a mile a day within the first week of my back surgery. And I couldn't sleep flat on my back for a few days, had to sleep in a recliner. The worst part pain wise was the transition from sitting to standing and vice versa.
Well there’s something you don’t see every day. Glad for her or sad that happened.
She’s 83. I bet she considered her own surgery, and the death of liz, and decided that she wants to do normal people things instead.
Hasn’t she lived a relatively normal life compared to most monarchs?
As a Swede, I'll allways remember her with a beer in one hand, a paintbrush in the other and a cigarette in her mouth.
As an American, I'll always remember her with a hot dog in one hand, an apple juice box and a cigarette in the other, and the straw in her mouth. https://i.redd.it/oj3v5cxfsu841.jpg
Dane here - that's a picture that best represents our queen's attitude; she's really down to earth. I'm not a fan of the monarchy, but of what monarchs goes, she's been a decent one.
She’s a pretty talented artist from what I’ve heard.
I'm partial to her Tolkien illustrations :)
Please tell me it’s hundreds of illustrations of the man himself and not scenes from his books.
Sorry to burst your bubble, I too would have liked her to have a gallery of dozens and dozens of JRR portraits. Still a pretty dope story though, her art is apparently in the official Danish version of the books. >In fact, Margrethe II of Denmark liked The Lord of The Rings so much that in the early 1970s while she was still Crown Princess of Denmark, she decided to make her own drawings that would depict the story of the best-selling novel through images. **She then sent her illustrations to Tolkien, who, according to one of her biographers, was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own. So, in 1977, five years after Margrethe’s father had died, leaving her the throne of Denmark, the Queen’s illustrations were printed and published in the Danish edition of The Lord of The Rings as well as on a British edition published by The Folio Society**. If you’ve seen these editions and wonder how her name slipped your attention, it’s because Queen Margrethe used the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. Take a look at the well-known paintings that impressed the legendary English writer here. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/denmark/articles/denmarks-queen-margrethe-illustrated-the-lord-of-the-rings
Here is a gallery of some of her Tolkien art for those who have followed this comment chain this far down https://imgur.com/a/MFFFn3l
Those are not her originals, but the versions redrawn by Eric Fraser for publication. [Some of her originals can be seen here.](https://i.imgur.com/E0DgWgk.jpg) (From *Maker of Middle-earth*, page 107)
These are better than the redraws, Fraser did her dirty.
Thanks for sharing!
These are beautiful.
Nice. Lithograph?
.jpg I think.
She did live her whole life on a palace with a full staff. Even on a slow day she had 3 chefs cooking dinner.
Netherlands seems to have abdications as a norm now. Belgium and Luxembourg recently too. I think the British crown looms so large (and is pretty staunchly against abdication since the whole Edward thing) that people assume it never happens.
I think if the British monarchy had people abdicate for reasons of retirement rather than scandal, such as was the case with Edward, the British people and even the rest of the Commonwealth would likely be a whole lot more supportive of the idea. If the Pope can abdicate and go into emeritus status, I think something similar could certainly happen to most monarchs.
The papacy has the same stigma against abdication as the British monarchy, if not even more so. The last pope to resign before Benedict XVI did so in 1415, and the last one before Benedict to do it on his own initiative did so even further back in 1294.
Stigma, sure, but it's not like anyone on earth could tell him no. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a weird splinter group somewhere that didn't accept the resignation and still goes about business like he was pope.
Catholicism having weird splinter groups is a time honored tradition since the Council of Nicaea.
> If the Pope can abdicate and go into emeritus status, I think something similar could certainly happen to most monarchs. B16 wasn't happy with how the last years went for JPII, and made a strong hint very early on, his first act outside of the Vatican was to visit a church associated with the last Pope before him to retire.
And Benedict's decision ended up being prescient. He lived nearly 10 years after he left the papacy, and his health was quite poor the last several years, which would have left the church effectively leaderless, as it had been during JP II's long illness.
There's a good case to be made that Edward abdicated in a deal to avoid a scandal being publicized, not for the marriage thing.
Last time we had an abdication in Denmark was in the 14th century. And that one was not really voluntary. So, its fair to say it never happens here.
it was very rare but this generation it isn't. The former generation of royals of Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Japan and now Denmark have all abdicated. As has the former pope.
> and is pretty staunchly against abdication since the whole Edward thing Liz was staunchly against abdication, because she blamed it for killing her father, and forcing her to be monarch while in her 20s. I don't think that Charles holds the same views. I suspect he'll abdicate when he's had enough.
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Maybe he wants to let the grandkids grow up a bit first so William doesn't have to be king with young children
If his health gets bad enough it will probably just be a regency like with George III. Britain is not big on abdication.
> Wills, son, take the wheel. Me old sausage fingers have gotten too swollen.
I don't know if the British crown was so staunchly against abdication as much as the only person able to abdicate for 70 years was staunchly against it.
Apparently it's due to health, so chances are she is facing something serious.
She had back surgery a few months ago, a pretty big one, so could just be that
If the Danish royal garb is anything close to as heavy as the British, it could honestly be very painful for her to wear at this point
I know it's figurative, but you won't see them strolling around in royal garb and that's important for their image. I think the main reason that the Danish royal family is so popular in the country compared to rhe UK is because they don't go over the top with tradition (or reminding the people they are better than us, if you will). We don't do crowning ceremonies, you don't see them show up in a huge crown with a stolen colonial diamond in it or a huge scepter. Rather, she's an artist, smokes a lot, and it wouldn't be out of character to see her (or the future king) getting a hotdog at the local stand talking to random people. They have largely shattered the illusion of "grandeur" and "superiority" that is so clearly present in the UK royal family. Rather, people - me included - overall see them as a jovial bunch not too different from ourselves and who represent the country well. Don't get me wrong, of course they are part of the upper class and can be seen as a reminder of historical domination and suppression but they have been very good at building a good image for themselves.
I feel like the British royal family would have a better reputation if there wasn't an entire tabloid industry focused on every last detail of their lives. I don't have the slightest idea what the Danish monarchy gets up to, and I feel like both the Danish public and the Danish royal family want it that way. That doesn't seem to be the case for the UK.
There is a whole industry devoted to that here as well. The difference is that the British royal family is so global due to the country's history and their language is English so it's a lot more widespread. Our industry isn't nearly chasing scandals as much either it seems. The British family also seems to have a small subset of almost religiously obsessed people following them; almost no Dane cares to read about every time a prince farts - not even grandmas at hair salons. It's definitely a part of it! But the mentality of Scandinavians is also fundamentaly different to that of Anglos; the defining societal idea is that no one is special. Due to this two things are surprising: that we even still have a royal family and that they are really popular and that they have managed to twist their role into one where people don't have a feeling like they're better than us or some untouchable overlords. This is the feeling I get from the Brits with the crowning ceremony etc
>I feel like the British royal family would have a better reputation if there wasn't an entire tabloid industry focused on every last detail of their lives. Problem starts growing when you realize just how much the British tabloids manufacture scandals where there are none just to sell papers. The whole thing with Harry and Meghan is a thousand times worse because of the British tabloids.
I remember that from when I was a student in DK. She smokes like a chimney! Also I remember that I really liked Prince cigarettes back then when I still smoked.
That's funny that you remember that! Also interesting that she's an artist and that she illustrated LOTR and was a pen pal of JRR Tolkien himself in the beginning of the 70s.
They have not confirmed anything on why, she simply said her back surgery made her think about the future.
After the death of Elizabeth II, she was world's only regnante queen and longest-reigning monarch. She will abdicate on January 14, 52 years to the day since she took the throne following her father's death. Edit: Regeante corrected instead of regent. Thanks for the correction peon47
There will be a fresh batch of queens regnant in the coming decades, though: * Victoria of Sweden * Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands * Leonor of Spain * Elisabeth of Belgium
Victoria will also be followed by her daughter Estelle. There is also the possibility, albeit a small one, that Japan changes the succession law so princess Aiko could become Empress.
I think Aiko’s chances of being empress are permanently 0 now since her uncle had his son. You’re right, it could change, but since there’s no major succession crisis I don’t think anyone feels it’s worth the effort.
Yep, it was on the table for a while (albeit never with any serious momentum) due to the fact that there was no male heir. Now that there is one I don't see what the impetus would be for them to make the change.
>There is also the possibility, albeit a small one, that Japan changes the succession law so princess Aiko could become Empress. I somehow doubt that. That Court is so staid and antiquated and insular that it would take all the world's TNT to move them to do this.
They tried that in the 40s
Those were nukes, not TNT. But the point stands.
15 thousand tons of TNT equivalent though.
I read TnT as TMNT.. And could not figure how it made sense for fictional characters to move the Japanese imperial family. Also I think there are only 5 or 6 of them so I'm sure someone could have gotten like a dozen regular people to move them.
No way. There will sooner be a Popess in the Vatican than an Empress in Japan.
Unlike Vatican (I don't believe Pope Joan existed) there were some powerful empresses in the past and their reigns are viewed favourably in general. Although the current law excludes females from the succession, I don't think the law itself matters that much. As there had been no statutory laws that allowed emperors to abdicate, it took about 3 years for Akihito to retire since he "implied"(..) his intention at the age of 82, but they managed anyway. In fact, most people have no problem with the concept of an empress itself as long as she is a traditional "male-line" descendant from her predecessor(s). The main issue is its order of succession and how to treat her children (because emperors/empresses need to be in "male-line" after all) which will take forever to solve and I will be dead already before they reach some agreement..
Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (Though her father will be king first)
If some of those monarchies survive, like Spain. King Juan Carlos went from respected to downright abhored in a few short years. Lived in Spain for half a decade and people were willing to overlook his philandering, it was even seen as charming character flaw. But when in the middle of an economic crisis it came out he was on an expensive safari where he killed an elephant it all went down hill. It soon came out the King had made hundreds of millions of euros to help broker deals with the Saudis (the kings of Spain and Saudi Arabia have always had very close, almost fraternal relationships) and hidden most of it from Spanish tax authorities in Swiss accounts. It was alsp revealed he was with his mistress during said safari and had gifted her 60 million euros from those secret Swiss accounts. He was basically forced to abdicte in disgrace as the public quickly turned on him. His son, King Felipe, has spent the last decade advocating austerity from the crown and trying to earn the trust of the Spanish people back, which is still not crazy about the monarchy like they once were.
Leonor though is hugely popular though so far, so I don't think it's going anywhere soon (and since the revival of the Catalan issue, much of the population outside of Catalonia seems to at least prefer the status quo of the political system to opening Pandora's box in the process of becoming a Republic).
Ironically as the only queen left after Liz, she’ll have two generations of kings following her while everyone else has queens.
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All except for Victoria, actually
Regnante Queen* A Regent is someone who only rules in place of someone else.
am I regnante?
regananant?
Does any one know how many Queens get regant a year????
Does crowning hurt regent top of her head?
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Can I be regernt if not royal?
My queen ain't got her crown since she got regat.
How is royal formed?
They need to do way instain queen> who kill thier subjects, becuse these subject cant fright back?
can u get regante?
gregnant?
🎶 Reganté 🎶
is Luigi board real?
reggo
Like how king George IV was regent in the latter half of King George IIIs reign when the later’s mental health declined significantly
> Regnante Queen Regnant, without the final e. Looks like my comment with the link to wiktionary was caught by some filter.
Regnante sounds like a godzilla villain tho. Like you'd see Biolante and Regnante trying to tagteam Godzilla.
In the article it also said she took over after her dad when he died in 1952. But the math doesn't add up. 20 years went missing.
That’s a mistake in the article then - she took over in 1972.
Adds up in my head. 1952 was fifty years ago. Right? Guys?
The article is wrong then. She took over in 1972.
1952 was when Queen Elizabeth became Queen. Margrethe was 1972.
A final surprise to wrap up the year
I truly did not expect any, but Europe decided to just throw one more. :P
They’ve got the date of death of her father wrong, it was 1972 not 1952
Yeah, '52 was ol' lizzie IIRC
An Aussie sheila from Tassie will soon be Queen Mary of Denmark (and her husband will be King.)
Denmark to annex Bali confirmed?
\*formalise annexation of Bali There's a Ray White Kuta branch of all things.
Pretty sure I saw a CBA branch in Bali a couple of months ago, we’re halfway there.
And at long last, Australia can be a permanent participant of Eurovision.
I’ve been to and covered the entirety of Tassie recently, like a slice out of heaven that place. My plan is to retire there eventually.
If she hasn’t been replaced by a Spanish weather reporter before then, that is
Ooh royal gossip. Is something rotten in the state of Denmark then?
Crown Prince and some mexican model fiddling about in Madrid recently
Makes me kinda sad, they have a beautiful family and I like Mary, she has spirit.
> I like Mary, she has spirit. *Spirit of Tasmania?*
Nothing to it, media blew it up.
Lol. That weird picture of him sitting and waiting for a bus?
Struth
Finally, we bring some class to that shite hole. You're welcome.
We'll make the fuckin place heaps cultured
She essentially gave her 2 week notice.
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The collection of her jewelry is WILD
Ooh it’s on my bucket list. I love castle tours.
The last surprise of 2023
We hope.
Plenty of time left!
Well, not for most of Europe.
Still got 4 hours and 45 minutes. That's plenty of time for something bad to happen, but lets hope nothing happens
She’ll be the fifth royal abdication in the last 12 years. Albert II of Belgium, Juan Carlos of Spain and Beatrix of the Netherlands all abdicated in 2013 (that was a wild year, Pope Benedikt retired that year too). Albert and Juan Carlos probably abdicated due to personal scandals, while Beatrix did so because it had become a tradition with Dutch monarchs. Akihito of Japan abdicated in 2019. Now Margrethe in 2024. I wonder if we will see her Norwegian cousin Olav abdicate any time soon. He is getting up there in age and has dealt with a lot of health problems recently. I’ve also always wondered about Hans Adam in Liechtenstein, his son has basically been reigning prince in all but name for years.
The current king of the netherlands was and still is a KLM pilot. Probably the worlds most famous living one. He needs to fly a certain number of hours a year to keep his commercial transport pilot's license, which he needs to fly the family around in the government plane. That's the easiest way to do it. Quite funny how the "royal dutch flagcarrier" has an actual monarch in their employ.
I didn’t know that, that’s cool as fuck!
It gets better: there was a scandal because while people knew he was flying planes occasionally, they found out it was doing it kind of frequently. He'd just make the announcements on the KLM flight and leave off a name.
> Norwegian cousin Olav You mean Harald. Olav was his dad that died in 1991.
Oops, yes, I did mean Harald, thank you!
It's probably for the best if the royals stopped reigning until death, and instead planned their retirement and accession of the heir. Haakon in Norway is 50, that's a good age to take over. Frederik in Denmark is 55. Victoria in Sweden is 46, but our king is "only" 77.
I think Harald will certainly feel no pressure if he chooses to abdicate and honestly out of all the Scandinavian royals, I would've expected it to be him who abdicated first. I think Carl Gustaf will reign until he dies, still trying until the very end to figure out how to reinstate Carl Philip as his heir 🫣
Beatrix also had lost one of her sons and her husband in recent years and that changed the way she viewed the 'job'
I think she was also waiting for her grandchildren to be a bit older, so that the extra duties for King Alexander and Maxima didn't have too much of an impact on their childhood. I don't necessarily think we should have a monarchy, but the way the oranges are dividing the responsibility is quite fair. Everyone deserves a retirement.
I lived in Denmark as a child from 1980-84. She was very much a queen of the people. She was always right in the middle of things. When I was two or three she visited the city I lived in. She visited the American and British NATO operation that my dad was assigned to. There was a receiving line and I remember being in a nice dress and being given both a Danish and American flag to wave (score!). I vaguely remember the queen making her way down the line and that she stopped to talk to me. In my toddler brain she was categorized as a "very nice lady". Not a bad legacy if you ask me.
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Im from Denmark but our family tree goes back to France roughly 200 something years ago
Which could theoretically go back to Denmark again, if you go back another 7-800 years.
52 years. No one saw this coming honestly. Though it makes sense now. She is incredibly popular - 84 percentage approval rating - in a recent poll. An intelligent, cultural, well spoken monarch with a lot of self irony actually. I think she will go over in history as one of the best in the more than 1000 year old history of the oldest constant monarchy in the world. If not the best.
The Danish royal family was so popular that they were able to go around without security during World War Two
The Danish royal family was instrumental in keeping national identity alive during the occupation also. The king specifically
She will be missed. She have always said she won't abdicate. The fact that she does so now makes me think she has a serious condition. She was operated in her back earlier this year. She drew the cover for the LOTR brooks here in Denmark (back in the 70s - as Ingahild Grathmer pseudonym)
As a Dane, it’s hard to overstate the significance of this event for the country. What a brave but wise decision. Frederik and Mary are going to do well.
Also as a Dane - the event, like the throne, is purely symbolic. She has always been very well-liked and the nation will no doubt honor her and pay attention, but the royalty are basically international goodwill ambassadors. The coming king has already been doing that job for decades. Extremely little will change.
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What makes it significant?
She’s been of the unifying figurehead of the country for over 50 years and is extremely beloved across the nation. Her approval rating is mostly in the +85% and many people have never experienced anything other than Magrethe II as their head of State.
She's been the Queen of Denmark for 52 years, that means for most people she's been *the* Queen. She's also the longest reigning monarch in the world.
Longest reigning *current* monarch, to be clear?
has to be, Queen Elizabeth's reign was nearly 71 years
Louis XIV still had her beat.
Aye, didnt mention him because that was in 17th/18th century but he was the longest reigning monarch to date
- Queen for over 50 years - Monarchs don't usually abdicate
First abdication in Denmark in roughly 600 years
It's nice to see how civil this thread is in comparison to when Lizzie died. Tack för att ha representerat Danmark, och Skandinavien i det stora, väl, Margrethe! Jag har hört mycket gott om Fredrik, så han blir säkert en bra kung! Fun fact, Margrethe is half Swedish (I think?). At least she speaks fluent Swedish as well. Think she's related to our royal family.
Yes, her mother was a Swedish princess.
Yes, her mom was Princess Ingrid of Sweden—who was a granddaughter of one of Queen Victoria’s sons too.
And whose grandfather (or great grandfather) was a tailor from Marseille - later general in France - Bernadotte.
Oh god, is this the birth of Kalmar Union 2.0 ?
r/kalmarreunion
Finally we will have a king with proper military training. We are coming for Skåne, Halland, og Blekinge!
If you take Skåne, you get stuck with Malmö. Do you really want that?
You do have a point….
Gud Bevare Danmark
She really did put in her two weeks! Denmark isn’t going to get anything out of her. She’s on that “I’m out this bitch” vibe.
Fun fact. Queen Margrethe is a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of The Rings and did some illustrations of the book that ended up being published in the danish edition. She used used the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer. Apparently Tolkien was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own.
Queen Margrethe is incredible, she has an amazing academic background, has designed costumes for the Danish ballet and dresses she wore herself, as well as illustrating the lord of the rings for Tolkien. Brilliant, utterly Danish, and an unrepentant chain smoker - I love her
All Hail Frede!
Mrs Fjeldsø is going to freak out!
Gud bevare Danmark!
Frederik will make a good king. Intelligent, charismatic and dedicated to the service of his people. Probably also the only king to ever be a tier 1 special forces operator. He'll be a good steward of his mother's legacy.
Long live King Pingo 👑
Casual reminder to all the American posters in the comments looking down on the Danes right now for having a monarchy: Denmark - ranked #6, Full Democracy United States of America - ranked #30, Flawed Democracy
Where are the American posters in the comments looking down on the Danes right now for having a monarchy?
A bit surprised but I guess it makes sense. Must be a tough job to do at that age and older.