Denmark's Queen Margrethe II hospitalised for blood clot

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II has been hospitalised for the third time this year after developing a new blood clot in the hip area and experiencing mild dehydration.

The 86-year-old former monarch was admitted to Copenhagen's Rigshospitalet on September 6 and is expected to remain there for several days for treatment and observation, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The Danish Royal House said Margrethe is in “good spirits and, given the circumstances, is doing well”.

Her hospitalisation means she will be unable to attend the funeral of Norway's King Harald V on Wednesday, despite having previously been scheduled to attend.

Margrethe, who was a heavy smoker for much of her life, has remained one of Denmark's most popular public figures despite a series of health problems in recent years.

In May, she was hospitalised after doctors found a “significant accumulation of blood in the hip area following a fall”.

The incident came just two weeks after she underwent an angioplasty, a procedure used to open blocked or narrowed blood vessels, following an episode of chest pain.

Margrethe abdicated in January 2024 after 52 years on the throne, citing a major back operation and passing the crown to her eldest son, King Frederik X.

Although she no longer reigns, Margrethe continues to play a prominent role in Danish public life.

When Margrethe abdicated, she was Europe's longest-serving reigning monarch following the death of Elizabeth II in September 2022.

Born in 1940, Margrethe has enjoyed broad public support throughout her life, with Danes particularly admiring her tactful but creative personality.

She became queen on January 15, 1972, following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.

In 1967, she married French diplomat Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat, who later became known as Prince Henrik. The couple had two sons, Frederik and Joachim. Prince Henrik, who was six years older than Margrethe, died in 2018 at the age of 83.

Margrethe also maintained a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth II. The two were third cousins and descendants of Queen Victoria, and their relationship was strengthened through decades of state visits, most recently Margrethe's visit to Windsor in 2000.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov