When Queen Margrethe announced on New Year’s Eve that she would be abdicating in two weeks, it surprised and shocked many around the world. Not only is Margrethe currently Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, but there hasn’t been an abdication in Denmark in nearly 900 years.
Plus, as recently as 2016, Margrethe said she would never abdicate, saying, “It’s always been: you stay as long as you live. That’s what my father did and my predecessors. And the way I see it too.”
Soon after Margrethe’s abdication announcement, speculation abounded as to why she changed her mind.
Why Did Queen Margrethe Abdicate?
The Queen herself linked it to her back surgery, saying, “The operation also gave rise to thinking about the future—whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” many commentators were quick to point out the timing—specifically in the wake of the affair rumors surrounding Prince Frederik.
“It’s possible that the Queen took this action because she would have been terrified of the marriage breaking up and the royal family losing Mary. It would have caused major problems. The Queen has always seen Mary as a tremendous asset,” Phil Dampier, who has reported on the Danish royal family for the last two decades, told the Telegraph.
Dampier continues, “It just seems an extraordinary coincidence that she should make this unexpected announcement just a couple of months after stories emerged of the Crown Prince supposedly having an affair. In two weeks’, time, the Prince and Princess will be pitched together as King and Queen and they will have to get on with it. The Queen may be thinking that they will patch up their differences and it will save their marriage.”
So, did Prince Frederik have an affair? Has there been other drama?
In October 2023, the Crown Prince (soon-to-be King Frederik X) flew to Madrid for a private visit. At the same time, Princess Mary was in New York. While he was there, the Spanish tabloid Lecturas photographed Frederik with Genoveva Casanova, a Mexican socialite, and alleged he spent the night at her apartment.
Soon after, Casanova denied all speculation of a romantic entanglement. “I flatly deny the statements that suggest a romantic relationship between Prince Frederick and me,” she said, per Hola. “Any statement of this type is not only completely untrue but also distorts the facts maliciously. This is already in the hands of my lawyers, who will take care of the pertinent steps to protect my right to honor, truth and privacy.”
