HM Margrethe II of Denmark

Princess Margrethe was born at Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid. She was baptised on 14 May 1940 at the Naval Church. As King Christian X was also the King of Iceland at the time, as a courtesy the Princess was given an Icelandic name, Þórhildur (spelled with the Icelandic thorn character, simplified as "th").Her godparents were King Christian X of Denmark, Prince Knud of Denmark, Prince Axel of Denmark, King Gustaf V of Sweden, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, The Duke of Connaught, Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Princess Thyra of Denmark, Crown Princess Louise of Sweden, Princess Helena of Denmark, Lady Patricia Ramsay, Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, and Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma.Queen Margrethe II's official motto is: The Help of God, the Love of the People, the Strength of Denmark.Margrethe was not born to be monarch, even though she was the eldest child of a Crown Prince, later King. At the time of her birth, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark, due to the changes in succession laws enacted in the 1850s when the Glücksburg branch was chosen to succeed. As she had no brothers it was assumed that her uncle Knud would one day assume the throne.The process of changing the constitution started in 1947, when it became clear that Queen Ingrid would have no more children. At this time Margrethe's uncle Prince Knud was the Heir Presumptive, but the popularity of Frederik and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life started the complicated process of altering the constitution. That proposal had to be passed by two parliaments in succession and then by a referendum, which was held on 27 March 1953. The new Act of Succession permitted female succession to the throne of Denmark, according to male-preference primogeniture, similar to that in use in the United Kingdom. Princess Margrethe therefore became the Heiress Presumptive.She was confirmed on 1 April 1955 at Fredensborg Palace. On her eighteenth birthday, 16 April 1958, the Heiress Presumptive was given a seat in the Council of State, and the Princess subsequently chaired the meetings of the Council in the absence of the King.She studied prehistoric archaeology at Girton College, Cambridge during 1960-61, political science at Aarhus University between 1961-1962, at Sorbonne in 1963, and at the London School of Economics in 1965.On 10 June 1967, Princess Margrethe of Denmark married a French diplomat, Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, at the Naval Church. Laborde de Monpezat received the style and title of "His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark" because of his new position as the spouse of the Heiress Presumptive to the Danish Throne. Two children were produced from this union: Frederik André Henrik Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark was born on 26 May 1968; and Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian, Prince of Denmark, was born on 7 June 1969. The Queen and her husband, Prince Henrik, also have three grandsons: Prince Christian, Prince Nikolai, and Prince Felix and one granddaughter, Princess Isabella.King Frederik IX died in 1972. On the occasion of the accession to the throne on 14 January 1972, Queen Margrethe II became the first female Danish Sovereign under the new Act of Succession.In mid-1960, together with the Princesses of Sweden and Norway, she traveled to the United States, which included a visit to Los Angeles, California, and to the Paramount Studios, where they were met by several celebrities, including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and, most notably, Elvis Presley. She is an accomplished artist and costume designer. She suffers from arthritis and has had both her knees replaced as a result.The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the sovereign cannot perform political acts independently. Although the queen signs all acts of legislation before they can become law, these only come into effect when they have been countersigned by a cabinet minister. As the head of state, the queen participates in the formation of a new government.After consultation with representatives of the political parties, the leader of the party which holds the largest number of seats in the Danish parliament is invited to form a new government. Once it has been formed, the monarch formally appoints it. Additionally, it is the queen who is the real head of the government and therefore presides over the Council of State, where the acts of legislation which have been passed by parliament are signed into law.The prime minister of Denmark and the Danish foreign minister report regularly to the queen to notify and advise her on the latest political developments. The queen hosts official visits by foreign heads of state and pays state visits abroad. The queen receives every ambassador from foreign countries represented in Denmark and also formally appoints and dismisses civil servants.The queen's main tasks are to represent the Kingdom abroad and to be a unifying figurehead at home. The queen performs the latter task by accepting invitations to open exhibitions, attending anniversaries, inaugurating bridges, etc. As an unelected public official, the queen takes no part in party politics and does not express any political opinions. In addition to her roles in her own country, the queen is also the Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires), an infantry regiment of the British Army, following a tradition in her family.Queen Margrethe has a reputation for being one of Europe's most modern and progressive monarchs. She freely grants television interviews.Margrethe is a chain smoker, and she is famous for her tobacco habit. However, on November 23, 2006 the Danish newspaper B.T. reported an announcement from the Royal Court stating that the queen would never again be seen smoking in public. Still, the queen does continue to smoke but in the future she will do so only privately. The announcement is probably due to the fact that the Danish parliament recently has decided on strict rules concerning smoking.A statement in a 2005 authorized biography about the queen (entitled Margrethe) focused on Islam: "We are being challenged by Islam these years. Globally as well as locally. There is something impressive about people for whom religion imbues their existence, from dusk to dawn, from cradle to grave. There are also Christians who feel this way. There is something endearing about people who give themselves up completely to their faith. But there is likewise something frightening about such a totality, which also is a feature of Islam. A counterbalance has to be found, and one has to, at times, run the risk of having unflattering labels placed on you. For there are some things for which one should display no tolerance. And when we are tolerant, we must know whether it is because of convenience or conviction."In her 1984 annual New Year's speech, the Queen of Denmark had cautioned the Danish people to remember to be kind and hospitable towards immigrants. The topics of tolerance, immigration and freedom of speech also featured in her 2006 speech.The Queen is multilingual; she speaks Danish, French, Swedish, English, and German.