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Denmark |
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Queen
Margrethe II |
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Artist
and Academic |
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Queen Margrethe II: artist and academic
She's an artist, a writer, a translator,
a clothes designer.
She's also Queen Margrethe II of Denmark,
head of Europe's oldest monarchy but
considered one of that continent's most
progressive royals.
The Danish Royal House, which has been
headed by the same family for 49 generations,
can trace its ancestry back to Gorm
the Old (died 958 AD) and his son Harald
I Bluetooth (died 987 AD), who are credited
with the first unification of the country.
Through the millennia, Denmark has evolved
from a Viking stronghold into a modern,
prosperous nation. It joined Nato in
1949 and the EU in 1973. Among its approximately
5.4 million inhabitants (about 1.4 per
cent of the total EU population), it
counts Inuit, Scandinavians, Faroese,
Germans, Turks, Iranians and Somalis.
The major religion is Evangelical Lutheran,
followed by other Protestant churches,
Roman Catholics and Muslims.
Her Majesty was not heir to the throne
when she was born, in April 1940. The
eldest of King Frederik IX's three daughters,
she could not become queen because,
according to Danish law at that time,
only males could become monarch. However,
in a major overhaul of the constitution
in 1953, a unicameral legislature was
established, and females were allowed
to ascend the throne in the absence
of male heirs.
When her future became clear, the 13-year-old
princess began her royal training, eventually
studying at various European universities,
including Copenhagen University, Cambridge,
Aarhus, the Sorbonne and London School
of Economics. Arguably the most intellectual
and educated monarch in Europe, she
holds degrees in political science,
archaeology and economics.
In January 1972, when she ascended the
throne, she became Denmark's first reigning
queen. Denmark, however, is a constitutional
monarchy and the sovereign cannot perform
political acts independently.
Although the queen signs all acts of
legislation before they can become law,
these only come into effect after being
countersigned by a cabinet minister.
The queen's main tasks are to represent
the Kingdom abroad and to be a unifying
figurehead at home. She is also the
Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of
Wales' Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal
Hampshire), an infantry regiment of
the British Army.
Despite the constraints of her position,
Her Majesty is considered a "hands-on"
queen. The prime minister and foreign
minister regularly advise her on the
political developments.
She hosts official visits by foreign
heads of state and pays state visits
abroad. She receives every ambassador
from foreign countries represented in
Denmark and also formally appoints and
dismisses civil servants.
In addition to writing her own speeches,
she holds, in the winter months, private
audiences with seven of her subjects
every fortnight, when her visitors have
the opportunity to discuss any subject
they wish to raise.
As an unelected public official, the
queen does not participate in party
politics nor expresses any political
opinions. She does, however, occasionally
give advice informally on topics of
national concern.
Her openness once caused a stir. In
an authorised biography of the Queen
published in 2005, when she addressed
the problems of fundamentalist Islam
faced by her country, the sentence,
"We have to show an alternative
to the totalitarity that is also one
of the sides of Islam" was mistranslated
as "We have to show our opposition
to Islam".
In the storm that followed, the correction
was announced and the biography was
re-published several months later with
the mistranslation amended.
According to reports, if Her Majesty
were not queen, she could make a living
as a professional artist. Under the
pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer, her illustrations
accompanied the 1977 Danish edition
(and the 2002 re-issue) of JRR Tolkien's
"Lord Of The Rings". It is
also said that she provided some of
the translations. She is also skilled
in embroidery and church textiles.
Her Majesty, married to former French
diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat,
now Royal Consort Prince Henrik, has
two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and
Prince Joachim. In the more than 30
years of her reign, Her Majesty has
enjoyed ever-increasing popularity with
her people. According to some reports,
in fact, if she were not Queen of Denmark,
she would be elected president.
Laurie Rosenthal
The Nation |
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