Queen of Denmark Margrethe II

Danish royal who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 1972 until her abdication in 2024. Having reigned for 52 years, she is the longest-serving female monarch in Danish history. Also an artist and archaeologist, she is immensely popular at home and abroad. During her annual New Year's Eve address on 31 December 2023, Margrethe announced that she would abdicate in favour of her son, Crown Prince Frederik, on 14 January 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession.

Her birth took place just one week after Nazi Germany's invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940. The oldest daughter of King Frederik IX who had no sons, she became heir apparent in 1953 upon her father's death on 15 January 1972, making her the Queen of Denmark at age 32. Her succession was contingent upon the vote of the citizens of Denmark to change their constitution's provision for male only succession.

Raised with the privileges of a royal childhood, Margrethe studied politics, economics and archaeology at five different colleges including The University of Copenhagen, University of Aarhus, Cambridge University and various colleges in Paris and London. After qualifying as an archaeologist, she married French diplomat Comte Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who afterward became known as Prince Henrik, in 1967. They had two sons, Frederik in 1969 and Joachim in 1970. Henrik retired from his royal duties on 1 January 2016 at the age of 81. He died at Fredensborg Palace on 13 February 2018 at age 83 after a short illness.

Though the highly educated Queen has a degree in archaeology and speaks five languages, her passion is art. Among Her Majesty's many talents are embroidery, painting on porcelain, illustrating the Danish edition of Tolkien's The Trilogy of the Rings and designing and painting sets for the Royal Danish Ballet. On a more literary note, she and Prince Henrik have translated Simone Beauvoir into Danish.