Like most Britons, many Danes have additionally recognized just one queen all through their lifetime: one which was extraordinarily well-liked, recognized for her sense of accountability, propriety, and dedication to her duties.
On Sunday, the Danish queen, Margrethe, said that she would step down this month. That paves for the way in which for her son Prince Frederik, 55, to ascend to the throne.
Like King Charles III of Britain, who took over after the loss of life of his mom, Elizabeth, Frederik is a part of a youthful era of royals who’ve had their lives relentlessly documented within the media and who’ve embraced up to date stances, mainly the fight against climate change.
Whereas Queen Margrethe as soon as upset scientists for saying she was not satisfied that local weather change was instantly brought on by people, her son is understood for his preoccupation with environmental points.
Prince Frederik has described how a visit to the Arctic completely modified his perspective on the local weather disaster, convincing him that it was his private responsibility to talk out. He has attended United Nations local weather summits and has given numerous speeches and interviews on environmental issues, underlining the urgency to behave and pressuring traders to make use of their capital in ways in which handle world warming.
Pernille Almlund, a communication professor at Roskilde College in Denmark, stated that, like most companies, a contemporary royal household couldn’t chorus from being concerned in local weather points. “In addition they have a model,” she stated.
However Prince Frederik’s dedication to the surroundings has additionally raised some doubts amongst those that say that having royal members of the family name for emissions reductions whereas residing in castles and touring on personal planes may backfire.
“The crown prince should strike a stability,” Marie Ronde, a Danish reporter who covers the royals, said in an article on the web site of the broadcaster TV2. “There’s a discrepancy between being climate-friendly and exhibiting grandeur and splendor.”
The latest coronation of Charles got here as polls confirmed that Britons, notably the younger, really feel a growing fatigue with the hoary rituals and elaborate trappings of the monarchy.
However royal watchers in Denmark say that Prince Frederik has proven a propensity for modernizing the monarchy, no less than in its tone. Lars Hovbakke Sorensen, an professional on the Danish royal household, stated that Prince Fredrik was recognized for talking with an open thoughts, with out putting a lot emphasis on formality and titles.
“When completely different Danes have met him and spoken with him, afterward they at all times felt that they’ve simply spoken with Frederik,” Mr. Hovbakke Sorensen stated. “And that’s one thing that matches effectively with the time and the significance of the royal home renewing itself and regularly turning into extra casual.”
Mr. Hovbakke Sorensen added that the Danish monarchy had already developed way more rapidly than the British crown and turn out to be much less conventional. It was additionally a lot much less luxurious: Prince Frederik’s coronation on Jan. 14 won’t be an hourslong pageantry with a gold-trimmed stage coach and acrobatic jets — as was the case with Charles’s elevation — however would contain a easy proclamation by the prime minister on the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
The monarchy in Denmark can also be much less galvanizing. Debates across the royals sometimes flare up within the information media however the Danish monarchy doesn’t face the identical stage of scandal, scrutiny and criticism as its British counterpart. Greater than 75 p.c of the Danish inhabitants helps a type of authorities with a royal head. Compared, about 62 p.c of Britons help retaining the monarchy, according to a recent YouGov poll.
Nonetheless, the information media has watched the royals’ lives up shut. In 1988, Danish reporters extensively coated a automobile accident that Prince Frederik was concerned in whereas in France after his youthful brother misplaced management of their small Peugeot. 4 years later, the prince was a passenger when the police stopped a automobile his girlfriend was driving; she was subsequently fined for driving whereas intoxicated and for not having a license.
In a biography of the prince written by Jens Andersen, Frederik was quoted as saying that in his youth, the prospect of turning into king was “a downside” that made him insecure, shy and awkward.
Over time although, the prince would earn a level from Aarhus College in Denmark and embark on an intensive navy profession, serving within the military, the air drive and the navy, the place he was a part of the maritime elite unit, the Frogman Corps.
As he grew to become extra accustomed to his royal obligations, he stated, the prospect of turning into a king “has shifted from a sure type of concern to awe.”
Prince Frederik has additionally come to be recognized for his dedication to health, having run marathons and accomplished an Ironman competitors, and he has publicly promoted wholesome residing and private well-being.
On Monday evening, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, made a last-minute change to the subject of her New Yr speech to concentrate on the royal succession.
“The queen has stated it in her personal method: ‘I’ve a son whom I’ve nice confidence in,’” Ms. Frederiksen stated.
“I can add that we even have that confidence,” she added. “As a result of we all know our future king.”