Following the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has canceled some weekend celebrations to honor the 50th anniversary of her accession, the palace announced Friday. The reception and lunch at City Hall have been rescheduled. The Danish queen, Elizabeth’s third cousin, has canceled a carriage procession through Copenhagen and an appearance on the palace balcony. The royal theater in Copenhagen will nevertheless host a scaled-down gala performance in her honor on Saturday night.
On Sunday, a scaled-back grand feast at the Christiansborg Palace and a brunch with Nordic royals will go as scheduled.
Margrethe, who succeeded to the throne in January 1972, had to postpone her jubilee celebrations last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the second time she has had to do this. The entire celebration had been put off until this next weekend.
With the passing of Elizabeth, Margrethe surpassed Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who has ruled that country for 48 years, as the monarch with the longest reign in Europe. Although four nations—Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden—have crown princesses who are the next in line to the throne, Margrethe is also the only reigning monarch in Europe
