The Danish Palace has revealed that Queen Margrethe II is recovering after she was forced to cancel a royal engagement and was hospitalised.
The 85-year-old was initially rushed to hospital on May 8.
“As a result of the cold HM Queen Margrethe has contracted, it has been decided that the Queen will be admitted to Rigshospitalet for observation as a precaution,” the statement read at the time.
She was meant to go to the celebrations for the 125th anniversary of the Sankt Lukas Foundation in Hellerup. The foundation provides health and welfare services through its adult, children’s and youth hospices, its outpatient hospice team, its daycare centre, and its specialised crisis centre for women.
A day later, the Danish Palace then revealed that she was still in hospital on Friday morning, but was since in recovery.
“Her Majesty is recovering and in good spirits. Queen Margrethe is therefore expected to be discharged from Rigshospitalet and return to Fredensborg Palace during the weekend,” another statement said.
So far, no other members of the Danish royal family have commented on Margrethe’s health.
Queen Margrethe’s 2024 recovery
This news follows Queen Mary’s update on her mother-in-law in September 2024, after she was hospitalised following a fall at Fredensborg Castle.
During an event at the time, she was asked about her mother-in-law: “Under the circumstances, she is doing very well,” Queen Mary told Danish magazine Billed Bladet. “I have had the opportunity to visit her a few times since she came home.”
Queen Margrethe was admitted to Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen’s largest public hospital, and then recovered at Fredensborg Palace.
The news was first confirmed by a Danish royal spokesperson, informing the local press that the 85-year-old had been admitted to Denmark’s university hospital to be monitored.
“According to the circumstances, the Queen is doing well but was admitted for observation for the time being,” the head of communications, Lene Balleby, said at the time.
Details of the fall were not provided, and no further comments were made. It was later revealed that the queen had damaged vertebrae in her neck and suffered a fracture in her left hand.
Margrethe was set to attend a special event honouring the 75th anniversary of the Department of Archaeology at Aarhus University on the Friday following her fall, however, this royal engagement was cancelled.
Queen Margrethe then recovered at home and wore a neck collar and had her left hand in a plaster cast while her injuries healed.
A shock abdication
Queen Margrethe abdicated the throne on January 14, 2024. Citing age and health issues, the Queen explained that she made the decision to abdicate after having back surgery in early 2023.
“The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future — whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” she said at the time.
Margrethe was Queen of Denmark for 52 years, making her Denmark’s longest-serving monarch. However, following her abdication, Aussie-born Princess Mary became Queen Mary of Denmark.
Margrethe continued to bear the title of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe.
