AFP/Copenhagen
Crowds came out en masse in Denmark yesterday to honour Queen Margrethe II as she celebrated 40 years on the throne which saw her become one of Europe’s most popular and versatile monarchs.She acceded to the throne on January 14, 1972, when, a tall and lanky crown princess grief stricken by the death of her father, she became the first woman to take the helm of Europe’s oldest monarchy.Yesterday, the now 71-year-old queen laid a wreath at the tomb of her parents, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, at the Roskilde Cathedral, as did her two sisters Benedikte and Anne-Marie.Braving the blustery cold in a black coat and hat with a bright pink scarf, Margrethe was accompanied for the brief, solemn ceremony by most of the royal family, including her husband Prince Henrik and sons Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim.The royals then boarded a private train back to Copenhagen, where a horse-drawn carriage pulled the royal couple through the capital’s streets to City Hall for an official lunch and reception.Thousands of Danes lined the streets, waving flags and cheering as the queen, now clad in an elegant white overcoat and hat, passed by in the golden carriage.At the red-brick City Hall, a radiant Margrethe and Prince Henrik appeared on a balcony to wave to the crowd, eliciting cheers and whoops from the 5,000 or so who had gathered to catch a glimpse of her.Known affectionately as “Daisy”, the queen is widely popular, with an opinion survey last month showing that nearly eight out of 10 Danes are in favour of their monarchy.That makes the Scandinavian country’s royal court “the most popular in Europe”, according to Lars Hovbakke Soerensen, a historian at the University of Copenhagen who has studied the role of the monarchy in modern society.Margrethe has been able to “modernise an ageing monarchy and adapt it to the evolving society”, he explained.She has seen her popularity soar since the beginning of the 1980s as she began establishing herself as a talented artist.A multilingual intellectual, she has also taken part in several elaborate translation projects, including the 1981 Danish version of Simone de Beauvoir’s All Men are Mortal, which she translated under a pseudonym in co-operation with her husband.The queen, who has sparkling blue eyes and white hair always elegantly coiffed in a bun, has also designed the costumes and scenery for numerous plays, ballets and television series in Denmark.The 40th jubilee festivities were to continue in the evening with a gala concert.Today, a special changing of the guard and church service are scheduled, as well as a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace.Also marking a jubilee this year is Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who succeeded her father 60 years ago next month.