50 years on the throne
15 unusual facts about Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Queen Margrethe of Denmark celebrates her 50th jubilee. To mark the occasion, we present 15 interesting and unusual facts about the queen.
© Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP / DPA
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II celebrates her 50th throne anniversary. Did you know that the Queen Regent is number 221 in the line of succession to the British throne? Or that she illustrated a “Lord of the Rings” book? 15 interesting facts about the Danish head of state.
Margrethe was 31 years old when she was still mourning the loss of her father, King Frederik IX, 50 years ago. ascended the Danish throne. Since then she has been at the top of Denmark. The 81-year-old regent celebrates her jubilee this week. Despite her old age, she is still very active. She paints or travels, like to Germany in November. But did you know, for example, that Margrethe drank lemonade to celebrate the end of World War II? Here are more interesting and unusual facts about the queen.
Margrethe II is not into technology – and likes to watch the “Olsen Bande”
- The Queen is 221 in line to the British throne as she is the granddaughter of Margaret of Connaught, later Crown Princess of Sweden.
- In the book Child of the Occupation, Queen Margrethe tells how, as a five-year-old, she celebrated the end of World War II by getting up and drinking a lemonade on Liberation Night.
- When Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik married in 1967, their parents gave them Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus as a wedding present. “My father offered us free use of Marselisborg and we were allowed to decorate the castle as we wished. I was a little skeptical, but my husband said ‘you have to say yes to that’. He could see something I couldn’t see I remembered the castle as a somewhat old-fashioned house with not very nice furniture,” she said “Århus Stiftstidende”.
- According to the book “Queen Margrethe”, the monarch wore glasses in 20 of her 47 New Year’s speeches. The first time was in 1986.
- The newspaper’s former court reporter “BT”, Bodil Cath, wrote in 2002 that Queen Margrethe’s first pets were two canaries, which she called Mr. and Mrs.
- According to Bodil Cath, Queen Margrethe’s favorite toy as a child was a collection of stuffed animals. She had a rabbit, a turtle and last but not least a bear, which she named Plys after Peter Plys (Pu the Bear in German).
- Queen Margrethe has struggled with arthritis in her knees for many years. In 2007, according to Danish Radio, she became DR operated on her knee for the fifth time, today she has two artificial knees.
- Margrethe has been a smoker since early years. In 2004, she told BT that she had never tried or considered quitting smoking. However, in 2006, the royal family announced that she would no longer smoke in public.
- In 2010, the regent revealed in an interview for the documentary series “The Royal House from the Inside” that she does not own a mobile phone and has never written an e-mail. “I’m not that into this technique. I’m not that good with buttons,” she explained.
- The Queen has illustrated a new edition of The Lord of the Rings under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer.
- Margrethe had never been on a date before meeting Prince Henrik. She says in the book Enegænger: “He invited me to lunch. I had never had lunch with anyone like this before – I was out alone with a man! And yes, that was the first date of my life.”
- Margrethe likes to watch the “Olsen Gang” films. Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim revealed this in an interview with the Danish news agency Ritzau on their 70th birthday.
- As a child, Margrethe became a member of the Danish Ornithological Society, according to Ritzau. She was a member for 15 years. Your favorite bird is therefore the raven.
- In 2010, Queen Margrethe dove in one Donald Duck booklet on – portrayed as a turkey.
- The Queen dislikes golf and hates miniature golf. “I really couldn’t think of anything worse,” she said in the book ‘Three Sisters’.
Sources: “BT”, Denmark Radio, TV2