Queen Margrethe of Denmark is clearing her calendar after heading to the hospital.
On May 8, the Danish Royal House announced that the former Queen of Denmark, 85, was hospitalized after contracting a cold.
“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 court said in a statement.
The royal calendar showed that the Queen’s royal outing on Thursday, a visit to the Sankt Lukas Foundation’s 125th anniversary celebration, was canceled in tandem.
Queen Margrethe made the unusual move to abdicate from the throne in January 2024 on the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne. She became the first Danish sovereign to voluntarily step down in nearly 900 years and the crown passed to her eldest son and successor, who is now known as King Frederik.
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Queen Margrethe attends a church service commemorating the 80th anniversary of Denmark’s liberation on May 4, 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
His Australian-born wife became Queen Mary in the same sweep, but Queen Margrethe continues to bear her Queen title and is styled as Her Majesty.
Queen Margrethe referenced her health in the shock speech she delivered on New Year’s Eve 2023 to announce her abdication.
“In February this year I underwent extensive back surgery. Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me,” she said in part then. “Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation. I have decided that now is the right time.”
The change was made official in January 2024, but Queen Margrethe has continued to maintain an active schedule of engagements.
The former sovereign sometimes walks with a cane for support and was hospitalized after falling at her Fredensborg Castle home in September 2024.
IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty
Princess Josephine, Princess Isabella, King Frederik, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Queen Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, Crown Prince Christian and Queen Mary celebrate Queen Margrethe’s 85th birthday at Fredensborg Castle, Denmark on April 16, 2025.
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The Queen’s most recent appearance before her latest hospitalization was at a May 4 peace service at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen for the 80th anniversary of Denmark’s liberation.
The commemoration was attended by King Frederik, 56, Queen Mary, 53, Queen Margrethe’s sister Princess Benedikte and two British royals: Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended to represent the family as the rest of the working British royals appeared at the U.K.’s national celebrations for the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Before that, the Queen marked a milestone and rang in her 85th birthday with her family around her at Fredensborg Castle on April 16.
She appeared on the steps of the royal residence and blew out her candles on a cake with dozens of candles during an intimate birthday banquet at Dome Hall.
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