On New Year’s Eve, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced that she would abdicate her throne after 52 years on the throne. What followed was a masterclass in carrying off a smooth transition of power.
I'm really glad Margrethe went this direction. It felt somewhat macabre watching QE2 continue to do duties even as she was clearly wasting away before our eyes. Also I feel like Charles first year would have went a lot better if she were still alive.
Agree 100%. The British coronation was over blown and I really didn't realize how anachronistic it was (and how petty they were being) until you saw "who came in robes and who wasn't allowed." And then the fact that there are no photos with the extended royal family - just the "working royals" which just makes them look old and out of touch.
Funny enough, normalizing abdication -- especially among the British Royal Family -- could be one of the best ways to preserve a monarchy.
If a modern king/queen is a symbol of national unity in *service* to their people (as opposed to a political ruler dominating the social hierarchy), then it definitely make sense to transfer that position -- with all of its privileges and obligations -- during a time of joy and celebration.
Your nail how strange it is to link a new monarch’s optimistic beginning to the grief of losing a beloved parent/public figure! It’s also genuinely weird now to spend your life preparing for a position that you can only achieve when your parent dies. There’s more dignity in a king/queen signaling that they’ve given everything they can to their particular position and deciding it’s time for the next generation to carry things on -- without holding onto the crown through the bitter end like QE2 did.
This is so superbly written. I can tell how much thought and analysis went into this comparison, and your writing style is excellently deployed. Seriously, well done.
I'm really glad Margrethe went this direction. It felt somewhat macabre watching QE2 continue to do duties even as she was clearly wasting away before our eyes. Also I feel like Charles first year would have went a lot better if she were still alive.
Agree 100%. The British coronation was over blown and I really didn't realize how anachronistic it was (and how petty they were being) until you saw "who came in robes and who wasn't allowed." And then the fact that there are no photos with the extended royal family - just the "working royals" which just makes them look old and out of touch.
Funny enough, normalizing abdication -- especially among the British Royal Family -- could be one of the best ways to preserve a monarchy.
If a modern king/queen is a symbol of national unity in *service* to their people (as opposed to a political ruler dominating the social hierarchy), then it definitely make sense to transfer that position -- with all of its privileges and obligations -- during a time of joy and celebration.
Your nail how strange it is to link a new monarch’s optimistic beginning to the grief of losing a beloved parent/public figure! It’s also genuinely weird now to spend your life preparing for a position that you can only achieve when your parent dies. There’s more dignity in a king/queen signaling that they’ve given everything they can to their particular position and deciding it’s time for the next generation to carry things on -- without holding onto the crown through the bitter end like QE2 did.
This is so superbly written. I can tell how much thought and analysis went into this comparison, and your writing style is excellently deployed. Seriously, well done.