Margrethe, 83, is the first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years since King Erik III Lam stepped down to enter a monastery in 1146.
The royalties of northern Europe is just like your other celebrity families, like the Smith's, the Kardasian's, the Kennedy's, the Bush's, etc, in that the money is really in the tabloid material generated thereof. Keep eyeballs on screen and generate ad revenue, so you can get paid for the meet and greets, speaking engagements, productization, etc. That's why I call the monarchies government mandated celebrities.
No lie though, as a mountain monkey, I love the Norwegian king and queen. I'm at bit ambivalent wether or not it should continue after.
But hey, as long as the king delivers heartwarming morale and the queen is putting money into cultural preservation, both being more progressive than most US politician, while having none of the political power, then it's grawl gravy.
American here, and if I may comment about one point you made
both being more progressive than most US politician(s)
We don’t really have progressive politicians, (Bernie Sanders may be the exception?) only some less conservative than the others. It’s eventually going to fall like Rome, probably in my lifetime. I just hope that some other place is willing to take me in when it does, and that I also have the means to get there. That is, if Mother Earth doesn’t decide to exorcize all of us first.
About an hour later, her 55-year-old son and crown prince will be proclaimed King Frederik X on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in the heart of the Danish capital.
Citing health issues, Margrethe announced on New Year’s Eve that she would step down, stunning a nation that had expected her to live out her days on the throne, as is tradition in the Danish monarchy.
Margrethe had informed Frederik and his younger brother Joachim just three days earlier, the Berlingske newspaper wrote, citing the royal palace.
And she is an extremely respected and popular figure, so people hadn’t expected this and they were in shock,” Danish royal expert Thomas Larsen said.
Local media said hundreds were heading to the Danish capital from across the country and others were following the live TV broadcast to witness the monumental event.
The new king and queen will leave Christiansborg Palace in a horse-drawn coach and return to the royal residence, Amalienborg, where Margrethe also lives but in a separate building.
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