Margrethe II of Denmark

Margrethe was educated at the private school N. Zahle's School in Copenhagen from which she graduated in 1959. She spent a year at North Foreland Lodge, a boarding school for girls in Hampshire, England,[6] and later studied prehistoric archaeology at Girton College, Cambridge, during 1960–1961, political science at Aarhus University between 1961 and 1962, attended the Sorbonne in 1963, and was at the London School of Economics in 1965.[7] She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.[2]

Queen Margrethe is fluent in Danish, French, English, Swedish and German, and has a limited knowledge of Faroese.[2][7]

Queen Margrethe II and her consort, Prince Henrik, in 2010.

Princess Margrethe married a French diplomat, Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, 10 June 1967, at the Holmen Church in Copenhagen. Laborde de Monpezat received the style and title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark" because of his new position as the spouse of the heir presumptive to the Danish throne.[2] They were married for over fifty years, until his death on 13 February 2018.

Margrethe gave birth to her first child on 26 May 1968. By tradition, Danish kings were alternately named either Frederik or Christian. She chose to maintain this by assuming the position of a Christian, and thus named her eldest son Frederik. A second child, named Joachim, was born on 7 June 1969.[2]

Shortly after King Frederick IX delivered his New Year's Address to the Nation at the 1971/72 turn of the year, he fell ill. At his death 14 days later, 14 January 1972, Margrethe succeeded to the throne at the age of 31, becoming the first female Danish sovereign under the new Act of Succession. She was proclaimed Queen from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace 15 January 1972 by Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag. Queen Margrethe II relinquished all the monarch's former titles except the title to Denmark, hence her style "By the Grace of God, Queen of Denmark" (Danish: Margrethe den Anden, af Guds Nåde Danmarks Dronning). The Queen chose the motto: God's help, the love of The People, Denmark's strength.[7]

In her first address to the people, Queen Margrethe II said:

My beloved father, our King, is dead. The task that my father had carried for nearly 25 years is now resting on my shoulders. I pray to God to give me help and strength to carry the heavy heritage. May the trust that was given to my father also be granted to me.[8]

The Queen's main tasks are to represent the Kingdom abroad and to be a unifying figure at home. The Queen performs the latter task by accepting invitations to open exhibitions, attending anniversaries, inaugurating bridges, etc. She receives foreign ambassadors and awards honours and medals.

As an unelected public official, the Queen takes no part in party politics and does not express any political opinions. Although she has the right to vote, she opts not to do so to avoid even the appearance of partisanship.[2]

The Queen holds a meeting with the prime minister and the foreign affairs minister every Wednesday, unless she or the prime minister is outside of the kingdom.

After an election where the incumbent prime minister does not have a majority behind him or her, the Queen holds a "Dronningerunde" (Queen's meeting) in which she meets the chairmen of each of the Danish political parties.[9]

Each party has the choice of selecting a royal investigator to lead these negotiations or alternatively, give the incumbent prime minister the mandate to continue his or her government as is. In theory each party could choose its own leader as royal investigator, the social liberal Det Radikale Venstre did so in 2006, but often only one royal investigator is chosen plus the prime minister, before each election. The leader who, at that meeting succeeds in securing a majority of the seats in the Folketing, is by royal decree charged with the task of forming a new government. (It has never happened in more modern history that any party has held a majority on its own.)

Once the government has been formed, it is formally appointed by the Queen. Officially, it is the Queen who is the head of government, and she therefore presides over the Council of State (privy council), where the acts of legislation which have been passed by the parliament are signed into law. In practice, however, nearly all of the Queen's formal powers are exercised by the Cabinet of Denmark.

In addition to her roles in her own country, the Queen is also the colonel-in-chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires), an infantry regiment of the British Army, following a tradition in her family.[2]

Queen Margrethe II celebrated her Ruby Jubilee, the 40th year on the throne, on 14 January 2012.[10] This was marked by a carriage procession, a gala banquet at Christiansborg Palace and numerous TV interviews.

In an interview within the 2016 book De dybeste rødder (The Deepest Roots), according to historians at the Saxo Institute of the University of Copenhagen she showed a change in attitude to immigration towards a more restrictive stance. She stated that the Danish people should have more explicitly clarified the rules and values of Danish culture in order to be able to teach them to new arrivals. She further stated that the Danes in general have underestimated the difficulties involved in successful integration of immigrants, exemplified with the rules of a democracy not being clarified to Muslim immigrants and a lack of readiness to enforce those rules. This was received as a change in line with the attitude of the Danish people.[11][12]

•  Denmark:
  • Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog (D.Ht.)[21]
  • Order of the Elephant[21]
  • Air Force Long Service Medal[21]
  • Homeguard Medal of Merit[21]
  • 25 years of Homeguard Service Medal[21]
  • Medal of Honour of the League of Civil Defence[21]
  • Medal of Honour of the Reserve Officers League[21]
  • 100th Anniversary Medal of the Birth of King Christian X[21]
  • 50th Anniversary Medal of the arrival of Queen Ingrid to Denmark[21]
  • 100th Anniversary Medal of the Birth of King Frederik IX[21]
  • Queen Ingrid Commemorative Medal[21]
•  Greenland:
  • Nersornaat Medal for Meritorious Service, 1st Class[21]

•  Argentina:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator San Martín[21]
•  Austria:
  • Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria[21][22]
•  Belgium:
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold[21]
•  Brazil:
  • Grand Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross[21]
•  Bulgaria:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Stara Planina[21]
•  Chile:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Merit of Chile[21]
•  Estonia:
  • Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana[21]
•  Egypt:
  • Collar of the Order of the Nile[21]
•  Finland:
  • Commander Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose[21]
•  France:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour[21]
•  Germany:
  • Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[21]
•  Greece
  • Greek Royal Family:
    • Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia[21]
  • Hellenic Republic:
    • Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer[21]
•  Iceland:
  • Chain with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon[21][23]
• Iranian Imperial Family:
  • Member 1st Class of the Order of the Pleiades[21]
•  Italy:
  • Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic[21]
•  Japan:
  • Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum[21]
  • Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the Order of the Precious Crown[21]
•  Jordan:
  • Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali[21]
•  Latvia:
  • Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars[21]
•  Lithuania:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great[21][24]
•  Luxembourg:
  • Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau[21]
•  Mexico:
  • Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle[21][25]
•  Morocco:
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite[21]
•  Netherlands:
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion[21]
• Nepalese Royal Family:
  • Member Grand Cross of the Order of Honour[21]
•  Norway:
  • Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St. Olav[21]
  • Recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal of King Olav V[21]
  • Recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal of King Harald V[26]
•  Poland:
  • Knight of the Order of the White Eagle[21]
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland[21]
•  Portugal:
  • Grand Collar of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword[21]
  • Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry[21]
•  Romania:
  • Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania[21]
•  Saudi Arabia:
  • Collar of the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud[21]
•  Slovakia:
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the White Double Cross[21]
•  Slovenia:
  • Member 1st Class of the Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia[21]
•  Spain:
  • 1,188th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece[21][27]
  • Dame Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Charles III[21][28]
•  Sweden:
  • Member with Collar of the Royal Order of the Seraphim[21]
  • Recipient of the 85th Birthday Badge Medal of King Gustaf VI Adolf[21]
  • Recipient of the 40th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf[21]
  • Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf[21]
•  South Africa:
  • Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Good Hope[21]
•  South Korea:
  • Grand Cross with Chain of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa[21]
•  Thailand:
  • Knight of the Order of the Rajamitrabhorn[21]
  • Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri[21]
•  United Arab Emirates:
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of Al Kamal[21]
•  United Kingdom:
  • Stranger Lady of the Order of the Garter (7th Lady since 1901; 1979)[21]
  • Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain (1974)[21]
•  Yugoslavia:
  • Great Star of the Order of the Yugoslav Star[21]

•  Slovakia: Tree of Peace Memorial Plaque. Awarded on April 16, 2020, on the occasion of her 80th birthday anniversary. Plaque presented on behalf of Servare et Manere on September 29, 2020, to Henning Fode, Private Secretary of the Queen by Miroslav Wlachovský, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Kingdom of Denmark.[29]

• 
  Royal coat of arms
• 
  Royal standard
• 
  Royal monogram of Margrethe II
• 
  Personal monogram of Margrethe II
• 
  Dual monogram of Margrethe II and husband Henrik, Prince Consort