• A minute of silence will be observed before the gala performance on Saturday night.
• She is now Europe’s longest-reigning head of state and its sole remaining royal.
• The 82-year-old has scaled back celebrations following Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

After the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Denmark’s beloved Queen Margrethe II is now Europe’s longest-reigning head of state and its sole remaining royal.

A minute of silence will be observed before the gala performance on Saturday night at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who is celebrating her golden jubilee.

Following the death of Britain’s head of state on Thursday, the artistic and chain-smoking 82-year-old has scaled back golden jubilee celebrations this weekend. She was always immaculately coiffed with her white hair pulled back in a bun and was credited with unifying and modernizing the Danish monarchy during her 50 years on the throne.

When her father, Frederik IX, passed away in January 1972, Margrethe ascended to the throne at the age of 31, becoming the first woman to rule as queen of Denmark.

She chose the name Margrethe II to honor Margrethe I, who nominally ruled Denmark from 1375 to 1412 but never actually did so.

Only 45% of Danes supported the monarchy at the time of her ascension; the majority thought it had no place in a contemporary democracy.

Margrethe, however, has avoided scandal during her reign and contributed to the institution’s modernization by, for instance, permitting her two sons to wed commoners.

More than 80% of Danes favor the Danish monarchy, making it one of the most well-liked in the world today.

Following the passing of her third cousin, Queen Elizabeth, she is currently the queen in Europe with the longest reign at 50 years and 7 months.

Her first cousin, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who had reigned for 48 years, follows her.

Although there are crown princesses in four nations—Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden—Margrethe is also the only reigning monarch in Europe.

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