Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who abdicated in January, has been released from hospital after a fall and will not be able to attend her upcoming engagements, the royal household said Friday. “Queen Margrethe was hospitalized on Wednesday evening following a fall that unfortunately resulted in an injury to her cervical vertebrae and a fracture of her left hand,” the Danish court wrote in a statement. As a result of the fall, her left hand is in a cast and she will have to wear a neck brace for the next few months.
The 84-year-old former sovereign, who reigned over the Scandinavian country for 52 years before handing over the throne to her eldest son Frederik, “is doing well given the circumstances, but she will be on sick leave for an extended period,” the palace said without giving a precise timetable. Unifying and popular, Margrethe had long said that she would never abdicate. A major back operation in 2023 had made her change her mind.
“The operation has (…) given rise to reflections on the future, on the question of whether it was time to transfer responsibilities to the next generation,” she confided during her traditional New Year’s speech, during which she announced her abdication.
