New Delhi:
Europe’s longest-serving monarch, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II will abdicate on Sunday, after 52 years on the throne. The 83-year-old queen, who ascended the throne in 1972, will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik.
Crown Prince Frederik will take the name Frederik X. Queen Margrethe II made the surprising announcement on live TV during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech.
Now, the 55-year-old will take the throne with Denmark’s soon-to-be queen Mary, who is an Australian-born former marketing and advertising director, by his side.
The primary task of Denmark’s soon-to-be king and queen is to keep the monarchy relevant and popular in the Nordic country, by engaging themselves in progressive causes. They have, in the past, backed causes such as environmental issues, sustainability, public health and the rights of girls and women globally.
Let us take a look at who is Crown Prince Frederik, Denmark’s king-in-waiting:
1. Born in 1968, the crown prince’s full name is Frederik André Henrik Christian. He is the first child of Queen Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, who died in 2018. Prince Frederik’s younger brother, Prince Joachim, was born in 1969.
2. As per CNN, the crown prince in 1995 became the first Danish royal to gain a master’s degree. After pursuing a master’s from Aarhus University, his political science studies included a year abroad, at Harvard, where he was enrolled under the pseudonym of Frederik Henriksen – a nod to his father.
3. Fredrik is fluent in French, English and German. As per Aljazeera, he is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (also known as the Danish National Church). It is a requirement for the Danish royal family, especially for reigning monarchs.
4. Frederik is a Frogman in the Royal Danish Navy’s special force, whose training is considered one of the world’s toughest. The crown prince has run six marathons and participated in a four-month, 2,795-km (1,737-mile) dogsled expedition in northern Greenland, which is a sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
5. Frederik has been known as the Crown Prince of Denmark since the age of three. From Sunday he will leave that title behind, taking over as King Frederik X, sovereign of Europe’s oldest monarchy.
