She is to Denmark what Queen Elizabeth II is to the United Kingdom. Queen Margrethe II, who is celebrating her 50 years of reign, once again broke television audience records, during her traditional speech for the new year, live and without teleprompter.
Its popularity is immense. As often, it was an invitation to courage, to overcome common challenges: resurgence of cases of coronavirus, energy transition, respect for difference, consideration of vulnerabilities, disability … “We have to give each other time, not only to help each other, but also to learn from each other”, she declaimed in this speech immediately deciphered by a group of exegetes, not to mention the comments sweeping the political spectrum.
Gathering figure
For this year 2022, a new 20 crown coin has just been minted with the effigy of the monarch, and a 163e stamp represents her at 81, in the same pose as her first official photograph of a queen, at 31, in 1972. “I find it hard to understand where these many years have gone. It went so fast. A lot has changed during this time, but not the love of my country ”, she declared. Over the course of a lifetime, the country’s population has grown from 4 to 6 million inhabitants.
The sovereign, who also reigns over Greenland and the Faroe Islands, has essentially a ceremonial role. But the importance of this unifying figure should not be underestimated. The possible parallels with Elizabeth II are multiple beyond her longevity. She represents her country abroad, and meets every Wednesday with the Prime Minister on current affairs. In the event of political alternation, it is she who consults the party leaders, on the occasion of a “meeting of the queen” (Queen’s round), in order to designate the person who will form the government.
For its Golden Jubilee, big events could not be sustained, due to the surge in cases of the Omicron variant. No mass in Copenhagen Cathedral. No carriage rides in the streets. The big celebrations have been postponed until good weather. On the other hand, the meeting with the Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was maintained, as was the laying of a wreath on the tomb of her parents, King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid, in Roskilde Cathedral at around twenty kilometers from the capital.
Danish mirror
In half a century, the speeches of Margrethe II have reflected the concerns of a people, setting a course: energy supply crisis in 1973, pollution in 1986, democracy in Europe in 1991, climate change from 1997, terrorism in 2001… She who praised the ability and confidence to welcome migrants and refugees in 1984, gradually hardened her discourse on integration and Islam.
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Even if she does not intend to abdicate, Margrethe II has started to prepare for her succession. The weekly meetings with the head of government are now in the presence of Crown Prince Frederik, 53. The latter also accompanies him in some of his trips abroad. Because the media often point out: the Danes do not refuse to have their country compared to the British Crown, but they do not want a second Prince Charles.
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