In a surprise move over the weekend, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II announced that she will abdicate her role later this month, as Fox News reports, with some pointing to rumors of an extramarital affair involving her son, Crown Prince Frederik, as a possible reason.
Queen Margrethe's decision will bring an unexpected end to a nearly 52-year reign marked by impressive levels of public approval and popularity.
The monarch made the impending changes known during a New Year's Eve speech, explaining, “I have decided that now is the right time” and noting that a recent surgical procedure on her back prompted her to have “thoughts about the future” and to determine that she should now “leave the responsibility to the next generation.”
Margarethe, 83, currently holds the honor of being the longest-reigning monarch in all of Europe, and throughout her tenure, she has remained immensely popular among her subjects.
She has been known to traverse Denmark without large security contingents, happily chain-smoking and integrating with everyday folks.
Her visit to Afghanistan at age 70 for the purpose of visiting Danish troops, saw her jauntily sporting a military jumpsuit, to the delight of many.
As such, there has already been an outpouring of gratitude for Margrethe's decades of service, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen publicly offering his thanks “for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom.”
Though Margrethe did not say so in her speech, speculation has begun to swirl that her abdication was prompted by recent rumors of an affair between Prince Frederik and a Mexican socialite, despite his marriage to the highly popular Princess Mary, as the Daily Mail reported.
Royal writer and expert Phil Dampier told the outlet, “I think Margrethe may have worried that their marriage was in trouble and therefore she had to act.”
Dampier added, “The Queen always thought Mary was a fantastic asset to the royal family and if she thought she might leave it would have been a disaster.”
“She will now hope that Frederik and Mary patch up any differences and work together as the new King and Queen,” he went on.
Richard Fitzwilliams, another royal commentator, opined that Margrethe is keen to protect the Danish monarchy from perceptions that it is an anachronism that needs to end, saying, “Crown Prince Frederik is 55 and Princess Mary is 51. She may well have calculated that an aging monarchy was not a good idea, especially I f she had reigned for another decade or so.”
“She has deliberately dropped a bombshell, which may well be extremely beneficial for the institution which she, born just a week after the Nazi invasion of Denmark, has done so much to preserve and which enjoys such amazing popular support in this egalitarian country,” he went on.
However, whether Princess Mary – who appeared emotional in recent photographs taken amid press rumors of Frederik's infidelity – will maintain a unified front with her husband as he takes the throne is something that still remains to be seen.
