We haven’t talked about Denmark’s royal family in a minute, so here’s an update. Yesterday, there were celebrations for King Frederik’s 58th birthday. Fred, Queen Mary and two of their children stepped out onto the balcony and did a wave at the palace in Amalienborg. Those two kids: twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. No one knows where Princess Isabella was – possibly college or gap-year stuff, since she’s 19 – but Crown Prince Christian was absent because of his military training. All of this came during a rough moment for the Danes – former Queen Margrethe has been hospitalized twice in the past month.
Also missing from the picture was the King’s 86-year-old mother, Queen Margrethe, who the palace announced was hospitalized on May 25. On Monday, the Danish Royal House announced that Queen Margrethe was admitted to Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen’s largest hospital, after a blood clot was found in her hip area.
“Her Majesty Queen Margrethe has been admitted to Rigshospitalet and has been treated after a CT scan showed a large blood clot in the hip region as a result of a previous fall,” the court said in a statement.
“It is expected that Queen Margrethe will now be hospitalized for a number of days,” it continued. “Her Majesty is doing well under the circumstances.”
The news marked Queen Margrethe’s second hospitalization in less than two weeks, as the palace announced on May 14 that she was hospitalized after having a heart attack. A May 15 update said that the former sovereign underwent balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, a procedure that widens clogged arteries, and would remain at Rigshospitalet for a few more days, as previously planned.
She was then discharged and headed home to Fredensborg Palace on May 19, canceling a planned appearance at the Pantomime Theatre over the weekend on May 23.
King Frederik addressed his mother’s latest hospitalization while speaking to the press at the Royal Run, another annual event tied to his birthday, on May 25.
“It happened as the press release described it. I have a pretty cool mom who doesn’t have to run 10 kilometers [6.2 miles] like me,” he said when asked about Queen Margrethe’s latest admission, according to Billed Bladet, per an English translation.
The monarch added that he planned to visit his mom in the hospital, commenting, “When the opportunity arises. Maybe even tomorrow afternoon.”
I’m actually surprised that Margrethe is in such relatively good shape for her age – her first heart attack at 86? She’s a smoker! But this does sound like it’s the start of her health decline, and I’m guessing this could be the first of many hospitalizations. As for Fred and Mary… she chose to stick it out for the kids and for the sake of the monarchy. I wonder if their marriage is anything to write home about though.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
