The abdication of Denmark's Queen Margrethe leaves Europe without a female monarch, but not for long. A young generation of princesses born in the 21st century will be ascending to thrones across the continent in the coming years.
With Belgium's Princess Elisabeth, born in 2001, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (2003), Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (2004), Leonor of Spain (2005) and Estelle of Sweden (2012), half of the monarchies on the continent are likely to be led by a queen before too long.
Many will be the first to take the throne after changes to succession laws in their countries made it possible for firstborn daughters to become monarchs ahead of their younger brothers.
Previous queens, such as Elizabeth II of Britain, who died in 2022, had no brothers to inherit the throne.
“Sweden was the first country in the world to adopt a gender-neutral order of succession, in 1980, when Princess Victoria bumped her younger brother down and she became crown princess”, Swedish royal expert Roger Lundgren told AFP.
Modern monarchs
Several experts said gender was unlikely to have much of an impact as the future queens embrace their new roles.
“Much of what kings and queens do today, and what they will do in 25 years, is what kings did 200 years ago too – state visits, receiving ambassadors, ceremonial things,” Mr Lundgren said.
He also noted that unlike earlier generations of queens, many of the current princesses have undergone some form of military service in their country.
In December, for example, Spain's Hola! magazine showed Princess Leonor in camouflage taking part in ski drills with her unit in the Pyrenees.
Other princesses have studied in elite schools at home or abroad – both Leonor and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium studied at Atlantic College in Wales – exposing them more to global affairs and concerns, such as feminist causes and the risks of climate change.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark delivers her New Year's speech and announces her abdication in Copenhagen on December 31, 2023. EPA -
Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary during a New Year reception at Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, in January 2024. AFP -
Queen Margreth visits Fredericia Municipality, Denmark, in September 2023. AFP -
Queen Margrethe receives Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska at Christiansborg in August 2023. EPA -
Queen Margrethe at the Royal Theatre in the Danish capital before a gala performance during the celebration of her 50th anniversary on the throne in September 2022. EPA -
Crown Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe wave from the balcony at Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen on the Crown Prince's 50th birthday in May 2018. EPA -
Queen Margrethe looks at Crown Prince Frederik during Prince Henrik's funeral at Christianborg Palace Church in February 2018. EPA -
Queen Margrethe visiting the Sandoe on the Faroe Islands in 2016. EPA -
Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik on their silver wedding anniversary at Fredensborg Castle, 1992. EPA -
Britain's Prince Philip, Queen Margrethe, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Henrik wave from the balcony of Amalienborg Castle during the British royal couple's visit in 1979. EPA -
Queen Margrethe during her first televised New Year's speech, in Amalienborg Castle, 1972. EPA -
Princess Margrethe is proclaimed Queen of Denmark by Danish prime minister Jens Otto Krag on the balcony of Christiansborg Castle in 1972. EPA -
Crown Princess Margrethe with Prince Frederik during his baptism at Holmens Church in Copenhagen, 1968. EPA -
Crown Princess Margrethe with Prince Frederik in Copenhagen, 1968. EPA -
Denmark's King Frederik IX, Prince Frederik and Princess Margrethe in Copenhagen, 1967. EPA -
Princess Margrethe and Henri Laborde de Monpezat wave on their wedding day from the balcony at Amalienborg Castle in 1967. EPA -
Princess Margrethe and Prince Henrik ride in a carriage through the streets of Copenhagen after their wedding in 1967. EPA -
Princess Margrethe in Rio de Janeiro in 1966. EPA -
Princess Margrethe and Henri de Monpezat in France in 1966. EPA -
The three princesses, Margrethe, Benedikte and Anne Marie of Denmark, in Faroese national costumes in Klaksvig, Faroe Islands, 1963. EPA -
Princess Margrethe on her first visit to Greenland in 1960. EPA -
King Frederik with his three daughters, Princess Anne-Marie, Princess Benedikte and Princess Margrethe, in 1949. EPA
“A clearer, firmer footing in the everyday life of the people, in combination with the pomp, castles, jewels and the fairy tale, is the winning concept to keep the monarchy,” said Ebba Kleberg von Sydow, a Swedish influencer and royal expert.
She said future queens were likely to prove more media-savvy as well, if only to show that monarchies remain grounded and relevant in modern society.
Mr Lundgren noted that while Queen Margrethe “doesn't even own a smartphone, and is proud of it”, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Norway's Crown Prince Haakon have their own WhatsApp group.
“You need to be on more platforms, have your message reach people in a completely different way, now that traditional media channels that previous generations of royals used no longer reach everyone,” Ms von Sydow said.
New challenges
In many ways, Europe's future queens will be wrestling with new iterations of the question that has often confronted their ancestors.
“Each new generation of monarchs has had to face one main challenge, and not the least: the questioning of what is the use of a monarchy,” said Lisa Castro, a royal historian at the University of Toulouse – Jean Jaures in southern France.
In this regard, she said, being tuned in on issues like women's and LGBTQ causes or environmental concerns will be a tool for ensuring the public's backing.
But the next generation appears “the best placed to respond to expectations on these subjects – they understand the needs and the challenges of their time”, Ms Castro said, pointing to the embrace of climate causes by Scandinavian royal families.
“It's inevitable that modern times will have an influence on the institution of the monarchy,” said Spanish journalist Pilar Eyre, noting in particular the polished image management by Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine.
His brother Prince Harry, meanwhile, has moved to California with his American-born wife, Meghan, previously an actress – the latest of several examples of modern royals tying the knot with commoners.
There is already a precedent for embracing more contemporary causes. Spain's Queen Letizia, who was a journalist when she met her future husband, King Felipe, recently visited an aid association for female prostitutes, “which would have been unheard of for preceding generations”, Ms Eyre said.
And in 2021, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister at the time, said that if she wanted, Princess Catharina-Amalia could marry a woman under the country's same-sex marriage laws and still ascend to the throne.
“It's with these types of gestures that you earn the affection and respect of citizens – not with grand ceremonies and magnificent outfits,” Ms Eyre said.
