Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

Happy Birthday to Queen Margrethe of Denmark! The eldest daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden, she was born just a week after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. She is the elder sister of Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Queen Anne Marie of Greece as well as the first cousin of King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and the Haga Princesses. In 1953, her father, by then King Frederick XI, altered the constitution to allow women to succeed to the throne and appointed her Heiress Presumptive, after a referendum. In 1967, then Crown Princess Margrethe married French Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat. The couple had two children, now Crown Prince Frederick and Prince Joachim. In January 1972, she succeeded her father as Queen Margrethe of Denmark. She has many ceremonial duties as the Danish Head of State, as well as supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Defence Forces. Queen Margrethe is also an accomplished artist and designer, often designing many of her own outfits as well as costumes for theatre productions. We wish Her Majesty a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!