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Plans to announce Princess Mary as Queen on New Year's Eve
Rumours are swirling that Princess Mary is set to become Queen of Denmark a lot sooner than we all thought.
The 45-year-old Australian mother-of-four, who is currently in Australia with her family to celebrate Christmas, may have to step up to the mark as soon as New Year’s Eve.
According to royal expert, Sebastian Olden-Jorgensen, all will be revealed in Queen Margrethe’s New Year’s Eve speech, which has been altered slightly this year.
Speaking to Danish magazine Kendte, Sebastian claimed the signs are all there that Princess Mary and her husband, Prince Frederik, will take over the throne in 2018.
This year there will be a break in tradition with the Queen’s royal speech, which is delivered at 6pm every New Year’s Eve and transmitted live on TV.
However, this year, the speech will reportedly be transmitted on a massive screen in the square at Amalienborg Palace and will be delivered straight from the reception room at the palace.
The news comes after it was revealed that the Danish Queen’s husband, Prince Henrik, has been diagnosed with dementia and Queen Margrethe herself had to cut short a trip to the UK due to an unknown illness.
A statement released by the Danish royal family announced the 83-year-old’s condition.
“Following a longer diagnostic process and lately a series of examinations during late summer, a specialist team ... has now concluded that his Royal Highness Prince Henrik suffers from dementia,” it said.
“The extent of the cognitive failure is ... greater than expected considering the age of The Prince.”
Just one month prior to his diagnosis, the Prince had revealed in a shocking interview that he did not want to be buried alongside his wife.
It was then reported that Princess Mary was caught up in the middle of the royal bust-up.
“Mary is trying to build bridges and help everyone calm down, but she will be taken aback like everyone else,” an insider told New Idea.
“She knows she must be ready, however, if she is needed to take over sooner rather than later.”
Indeed, Queen Maragrethe has always insisted that she will rule Denmark until the day she dies, however with her own health in limbo and her husband’s recent diagnosis, it’s thought she will abdicate sooner rather than later.
The 46-year-old - who has children Prince Christian, 10, Princess Isabella, nine, and five-year-old twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent with husband Crown Prince Frederik -has continuously taken over more and more royal tasks from her ageing mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II.
Queen Margrethe confirmed last year that her husband, Prince Henrik, was retiring, leaving many questioning when she would join him and if Princess Mary would take up a more prominent role in the royal family.
The Queen's health has also been deteriorating and it's thought that soon she will begin passing over the majority of her duties to her son Prince Frederik.
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