People are still reeling from Queen Margrethe’s surprise announcement, on New Year’s Eve, that she would abdicate the Danish throne on January 14th. Most of us thought immediately of the most recent scandal to hit the Danish royal house – Crown Prince Frederik’s alleged affair with a woman based in Spain, an affair which was widely reported in the Spanish and British media. While I think that scandal could be a factor, let’s also remember that Margrethe had major back surgery in late February/early March, which was so significant she had to make Frederik her regent. I would guess that 2023 was the year Margrethe really began feeling her age and her mortality. Now, is the abdication also about Frederik’s wandering sceptre? Perhaps. The Daily Mail thinks so:

Queen Margrethe acted decisively to end her reign and promote her son Crown Prince Frederik in a ‘shrewd’ bid to save the Danish monarchy and avert the ‘disaster’ of his marriage to Crown Princess Mary crumbling amid rumours of his affair, royal experts told MailOnline today. The Danish monarch, 83, announced in her annual New Year’s Eve speech that she will step down on January 14 – the first abdication in the Nordic state for 500 years.

Royal commentators have told MailOnline that Margrethe ‘deliberately’ dropped a ‘massive bombshell’ at the right time to secure the future of the Danish Royal Family, and its ‘greatest asset’, Crown Princess Mary.

Less than a fortnight ago Australian-born Mary was spotted in tears and shared a cryptic post about loneliness just weeks after her husband was pictured on a night out in Madrid with a Mexican socialite, sparking rumours of an alleged affair with Genoveva Casanova.

British royal author Phil Dampier, also an expert on European monarchies, told MailOnline: ‘I think Margrethe may have worried that their marriage was in trouble and therefore she had to act. The Queen always thought Mary was a fantastic asset to the royal family and if she thought she might leave it would have been a disaster. She will now hope that Frederik and Mary patch up any differences and work together as the new King and Queen’.

Australian-born Mary is hugely popular with the Danish public, and is often compared to her good friend, Britain’s Princess of Wales.

Mr Dampier said: ‘I never thought the Queen would abdicate and this has come as a total shock to many Danes. I can’t help thinking that it has something to do with the recent rumours about Crown Prince Frederik spending a night with a Mexican socialite. Mary recently spent time home in her native Australia and she arrived with her children but Frederik only joined them after a few days. She appeared tearful at one stage and posted some poignant tweets’.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said that Queen Margrethe does not wish the Danish monarchy to be viewed as old and out of date. He said: ‘Queen Margarethe of Denmark is a shrewd operator. She has stunned the nation by announcing she will abdicate in a fortnight in favour of her son Crown Prince Frederick. Recently rumours of an affair with Mexican socialite and actress Genoveva Casanova, illustrated with what appears to be embarrassing photographic evidence which was published last November, have been extremely damaging to the royal family’.

[From The Daily Mail]

It’s interesting to think of using an abdication as a way to force the crown prince to stay with his wife. I have no idea if Princess Mary is actually all that popular – they’re lying about her “friendship” with Kate, after all – but it does feel like Mary and Fred were at some kind of crossroads in their marriage. Now they basically have to stick it out – there’s no way Frederik would seek a divorce just as he becomes king. Mary might have even gotten some guarantees that she could carve out a separate life for herself as queen, just as long as she doesn’t pursue a divorce. I’ll say this – if Margrethe made this decision partially because of Fred and Mary’s marital problems, it actually is sort of a masterstroke?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.