The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Margaret II
(Margrethe), 1940–, queen of Denmark (1972–). The oldest daughter of King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid (the daughter of King Gustavus VI of Sweden), Princess Margrethe’s right to the throne was established (1953) through a new constitution that allowed female succession. She became a member of the Council of State in 1958. In 1967 she married a Frenchman, Comte Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, and she has borne two sons. Upon the death of her father in 1972, Margrethe became Denmark’s first ruling queen since Margaret I, who had reigned in the late 14th and early 15th cent.
