As Denmark’s Margrethe abdicates throne, more queens in store for European royalty amid Gen Z rise

Belgium’s Elisabeth, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Spain’s Leonor are among the monarchs who will be ascending to thrones in the coming years

Experts say the future queens will also be wrestling with new iterations of the question that has often confronted their ancestors

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Denmark’s Queen Margrethe (left), Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary receive the diplomatic corps at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on January 3. Photo: AP

Published: 4:00pm, 14 Jan 2024

The abdication of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe leaves Europe without a woman monarch, but not for long – a young generation of princesses born in the 21st century will be ascending to thrones across the continent in the coming years.

Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth, born in 2001; Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (2003); Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (2004); Leonor of Spain (2005); and Estelle of Sweden (2012) – half of the hereditary monarchies on the continent are likely to be led by a queen before too long.

Many will be the first to take the throne after the introduction of female succession laws, a privilege previously reserved for male heirs.

Previous queens, such as Elizabeth of Britain, who died in 2022, had no brothers to inherit the throne.

“Sweden was the first country in the world to adopt a gender-neutral order of succession, in 1980, when Princess Victoria bumped her younger brother down and she became crown princess” retroactively, Swedish royals expert Roger Lundgren said.

Several experts said gender was unlikely to have much of an impact as the future queens embrace their new roles.