COPENHAGEN — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe laid a wreath on the grave of her parents Friday as she marked her 50 years on the throne of Europe’s oldest ruling monarchy.
The festivities were held in the shadow of the pandemic that has led to the postponement of some of the events to September, AP reported.
The outbreak which already stopped public celebrations for the popular monarch’s 80th birthday in 2020, meant that several guests had to cancel their participation in the two-day celebrations. They included Margrethe’s younger sister, former Queen Anne-Marie of Greece whose husband has tested positive for Covid-19. The Greek monarchy was abolished in the 1970s.
Flanked by her other sister, Princess Benedikte, her two sons — including Crown Prince Frederik, the heir to the throne — and their spouses, Margrethe laid a wreath at the grave of her parents at the Roskilde cathedral, west of Copenhagen, where Danish royals have been buried since 1559.
She also met with the government and attended a reception at Parliament.
“You are a moral compass,” Henrik Dam Kristensen, speaker of the Danish Parliament said in an address to the monarch at the 179-seat Folketing. He noted that Margrethe is the first female monarch of Denmark since her namesake Queen Margrethe I, the ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union.
While Friday’s part of the celebrations was maintained, jubilee events scheduled for Saturday have been postponed, including Margrethe being cheered by thousands from the balcony of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, a ride through the capital in a horse-drawn carriage, a gala performance at the Royal Theater and a festive banquet.
On Jan. 14, 1972, her father, King Frederik IX, died after a short illness. The following day, a red-eyed Margrethe, aged 31, stood on the balcony of the downtown Christiansborg Castle and was formally proclaimed queen before a crowd of thousands.
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