An apprenticeship spanning more than two decades comes to an end for Hobart-born Mary Donaldson, as she becomes Queen of Denmark.
The path to her succession to the throne on Sunday (Copenhagen time) alongside husband Crown Prince Frederik can be traced to the couple’s introduction at a Sydney pub during the 2000 Olympics.
He will become King Frederik X of Denmark, two weeks after his mother — 83-year-old Queen Margrethe — announced she would be the first Danish royal to abdicate in some 900 years.
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Tens of thousands of people are expected to brave Copenhagen’s 3C forecast temperature to catch a glimpse of the new monarchs.
In Australia, there are events planned at Sydney’s Slip Inn, where the two first met, and in Mary’s home state of Tasmania, where landmarks will be lit in recognition of the popular royal.
The Danish royal succession is set to be a low-key affair, and the main event will occur about 1am AEDT when most Australians will be sleeping.
The moment Margrethe signs abdication papers at a state council meeting inside Christiansborg Palace, home to the Danish parliament, the line of succession will change.
Frederik will become Denmark’s head of state, Mary will be Queen and their eldest son Christian, 18, will become the Crown Prince.
King Frederik, 55, is scheduled to make his first public appearance on a balcony alongside the Danish prime minister, who will formally proclaim him as the country’s new regent. The public hope to also see Mary appear on the balcony.
Mary’s Hobart-based sister, Jane Stephens, has travelled to Copenhagen.
The royal couple will ride home to their residence at Amalienborg Palace in an 1891 black-lacquered mahogany horse-drawn coach, while military personnel will fire cannons across the harbour in a three-by-27-shot honorary salute.
There will be more celebratory explosions later, as Copenhagen’s famed Tivoli Gardens amusement park hosts a fireworks extravaganza — the biggest in its 180-year history.
Across town, Aussie expats on the Australian Embassy’s email database, known affectionately as the ‘Vegemite List’, will be joining Ambassador Kerin Ayyalaraju for a soirée to toast Mary’s promotion.
The royal couple married in May 2004 and have four children.
Margrethe’s abdication on Sunday will be the first time a Danish monarch has stepped down voluntarily in almost 900 years.
Before Margrethe, 83, announced she would resign, most royal watchers assumed she would live out her days on the throne, as is tradition in Denmark.
She showed no signs of wanting to retire from her largely ceremonial position and, until recently, had insisted she considered being queen a job for life.
Health issues made her reconsider after she underwent major back surgery in February and did not return to work until April.
In her speech, she said the surgery prompted “thoughts about the future” and when to pass on the responsibilities of the crown.
The prime minister was unaware of the queen’s intentions until just before the announcement.
While the monarch’s powers were once absolute, today the royal family’s duties are largely ceremonial and defined by the constitution. The monarch is Denmark’s head of state and a symbol of the nation, but political decision-making rests with the cabinet and parliament.
Even though no Danish monarch has voluntarily relinquished the throne since King Erik III Lam in 1146, the Danish Act of Succession states that the same provisions apply in an abdication as when the sovereign dies.
Few royals in European history have given up the throne voluntarily, but abdication or retirement is becoming more common.
In the Netherlands, it’s now the norm for older monarchs to hand over the crown to younger generations. Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013, following in the footsteps of her mother, Queen Juliana, and grandmother Queen Wilhelmina.
Not long after Beatrix, Belgium’s King Albert II and Spain’s King Juan Carlos I retired and were succeeded by their eldest sons.
Until Margrethe’s announcement, there was no sign their counterparts in Scandinavia would follow suit.
Norway’s 86-year-old King Harald V, who has been admitted to hospital several times recently, has not indicated he’s considering abdicating in favour of his son, Crown Prince Haakon.
Neither has Sweden’s 77-year-old King Carl XVI Gustaf, who last year celebrated 50 years on the throne, but Margrethe’s unexpected move suggests anything is possible.
Margrethe, who will retain the title of queen even after stepping down, is popular in Denmark and so is the monarchy, with a recent survey showing 70 per cent of Danes favour it.
Margrethe was 31 when she ascended the Danish throne on January 14 in 1972, just hours after her father, King Frederik IX, died following complications from a lung infection.
A talented artist, she painted and designed ballet costumes, church vestments and dinnerware and even made illustrations for a limited edition of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Margrethe’s husband, the French-born Prince Henrik, died in 2018.
The couple had two children, Frederik and Prince Joachim, and eight grandchildren.
While Margrethe’s reign has been largely free of scandal, she stirred uproar inside the family in 2022 when she stripped Joachim’s four children of their royal titles.
While her decision was in line with other European royal houses and current attitudes, Joachim said he was saddened and Margrethe later apologised but stood by her decision.
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