2024-01-13 06:56:00
(CNN) — Since the age of three he has been known as Crown Prince of Denmark, but on Sunday he will leave Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen as King Frederick X, sovereign of the oldest monarchy in Europe.
The royal transition in Denmark was triggered just a few weeks ago with Queen Margaret II’s announcement on New Year’s Eve, when she revealed her intention to abdicate in early 2024. The news that Frederick’s hugely popular mother, the world’s only reigning queen, would abandon the throne shocked Danes throughout the country.
Margaret had become Europe’s longest-serving monarch following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The couple had a reputation for being very close, and it was taken for granted that the Danish head of state, like her distant cousin, He considered his role to be a job for life.
However, it appears the 83-year-old monarch has changed her mind and will step aside exactly 52 years following ascending the throne. So who is the future king of Denmark and what kind of monarch will she be?
Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederick will take over from his mother, Queen Margaret II, when she formally steps down as monarch on Sunday.
(Credit: Hasse Nielsen)
A rebellious teenager
Although the Danish monarchy dates back more than 1,000 years, its members currently have a limited role under the country’s Constitution. The Danes are immensely proud of their royal family and the monarchs play an important ambassadorial role.
“It’s extremely popular. Polls show very convincing support from the Danish people,” Birgitte Borup, culture editor for the Danish newspaper Berlingske, told CNN. “Queen Margaret is serving her the monarchy on a silver platter.”
Borup said Frederick will be “a different kind of king,” who is “down to earth and interested in sports, while his mother is more culturally distinguished.” He added that “his main challenge might be his ability with words,” since he is “not known for his style in front of crowds.”
Born in 1968, Frederick is the first child of Margaret and her late husband, Prince Henry, who died in 2018. His given name was chosen in accordance with the Danish royal custom of the heir apparent being called Frederick or Christian. His only brother, Prince Joachim, was born in 1969.
Growing up in the public eye was not easy for the shy young prince. His primary education took place at Krebs’ Skole, an elite private school in Copenhagen, and then he went to a boarding school in Normandy, France. Federico felt uncomfortable with the media attention and worried regarding his fate. In the early 90s, many saw him as a “party prince” with a penchant for fast cars.
His time at Aarhus University helped rehabilitate his reputation and in 1995 he became the first member of Danish royalty to obtain a master’s degree. His political science studies included a year abroad at Harvard, where he enrolled under the pseudonym Frederik Henriksen, a nod to his father.
While in the United States, Federico—who also speaks fluent French, English, and German—earned his diplomatic stripes by serving in Denmark’s mission to the UN for several months in 1994. He was later posted to Paris for a year, as first secretary of the Danish embassy in 1998.
Frederick of Denmark, an accomplished athlete
Federico has also received extensive military training in all three branches of the Danish military, most notably in the elite Frogman Navy Corps, where he received the nickname “Pingo” (Penguin).
In addition to being a decorated military man, he has proven to be an enthusiastic and extremely capable athlete. Over the years, he has run multiple marathons—in Copenhagen, Paris and New York—and in 2013 he became the first royal to compete in an Ironman, finishing with a time of 10:45:32. .
He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee between 2009 and 2021 and, in 2000, he participated in a four-month, 2,795 km dog sled expedition through northern Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Federico also gained popularity in his country through his Royal Run initiative. Launched in 2018 to mark his 50th birthday, the sporting challenge has since become one of the largest running events in the country, with more than 80,000 participants each year.
Like his British counterpart, King Charles III, he has also become a great environmentalist. Since Copenhagen hosted the COP15 climate talks in 2009, he has been strongly committed to highlighting the dangers of climate change and promoting Denmark’s role in a greener future.
Experts on Danish royalty say that although Frederick is popular with the public, he will face challenges following his accession to the throne, which will make him king and head of state of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
“Crown Prince Frederick is a much more informal person than his mother,” says historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen. “In the future he needs to appeal more also to Danes who are not interested in sport, by showing interest in other topics, if he wants to maintain broad support for the monarchy.”
Likewise, Danish royal writer Trine Villemann told CNN that “first and foremost, Federico will have to prove that he can do more than just sport.”
The former royal correspondent and author of “1015 Copenhagen K”, an unauthorized biography of the family, explained that “although he has been saying publicly for years that he already feels comfortable with his future role, deep down there is still a lingering doubt among many Danes and has to overcome it, no matter how popular it is.
chance meeting
Federico left his single days behind when he met Australian sales executive Mary Elizabeth Donaldson. The couple met in a bustling Sydney pub in 2000, while the crown prince was in Australia to attend the 2000 Summer Olympics. As the story goes, Mary did not realize that night was being held. seduced by a member of royalty.
Four years later, the couple married in a lavish ceremony in Copenhagen Cathedral before a congregation of kings, queens and honored guests, followed by millions of people around the world.
They now have four children: Christian, 18, who will become the new crown prince of Denmark with the arrival of his father to the throne, Isabella, 16, and twins Vincent and Josephine, 13. The couple has tried to give their children a more informal education than Federico had, sending them to normal public schools.
Speaking to CNN before her Ruby Jubilee in 2012, marking her 40 years on the Danish throne, Queen Margaret expressed her admiration for her daughter-in-law: “I have a lot of trust in her. We have a very good relationship, a warm relationship. “.
And ordinary Danes have also embraced the future Queen Mary, who has been praised for her poise and commitment to social causes.
Villemann describes her as “the power behind Frederick” and calls her transition from commoner to beloved royal “remarkable and impressive.”
Frederick and Mary appeared on the balcony of Christian VII’s Palace following their wedding in 2004. The couple was accompanied by the queen and her late husband, Prince Henry, as well as the crown princess’s father, John Donaldson, and his wife Susan Moody. (Credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
The royal expert points out several of the future queen’s priorities over the years, such as her work in mental health and the fight once morest bullying and loneliness through her foundation. She explained: “I would go so far as to say that Mary has led the way for people like the Princess of Wales to follow in choosing causes and spreading awareness in the way she has used her royal platform.”
According to Borup, he will be the “greatest asset for the monarchy” in the coming years.
“She was not born into royalty, but one would say she was. She carries herself with great elegance and is a magnificent representative of the Danish nation,” he said. “She is known for always being well prepared and has taken on very important tasks, such as shedding light on domestic violence.”
“When Mary and Frederick met in Australia, it was often said that she had been lucky to meet a fairytale prince. I think time has shown that he was even luckier.”
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