How are Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe related? Once Europe’s only reigning queens, the royals are third cousins via Queen Victoria and Denmark’s King Christian IX – so King Charles is linked too

Jan 4 , 2024

Queen Margrethe of Denmark and the late Queen Elizabeth go back a long way. Photo: @royallerblogu/Instagram

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe will be formally stepping down from her role as the nation’s monarch on January 14, according to the royal. “I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she announced in her new year TV address on December 31.

“The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” she said, referring to a procedure she underwent on her back in early 2023.

Danish Queen Margrethe was celebrated with a folk festival and performance in Alleroed, Denmark last September. Photo: Reuters

The 83-year-old is the world’s only reigning queen, having previously shared the title with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. She took the throne in 1972, after the death of her father King Frederik, making her the longest-serving current monarch in Europe, according to the BBC.

But did you know she’s actually related to the late Queen Elizabeth? Here’s what you need to know about her extended royal family in Britain.

How are Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe related?

Queen Margrethe, who has reigned for 52 years, has said she will step down as regent on 14 January. Photo: AFP/ Denmark OUT

According to the Daily Express, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark are third cousins, with their lineages tracing back to Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark. Both women were Queen Victoria’s great granddaughters.

But it’s not just Elizabeth who’s related to Margrethe among the British royals. The same report says that Queen Margrethe is also a relative of the late Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, via ancestry through Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark – with Philip being born a Prince of Greece and Denmark himself.

Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe were good friends

Queen Margrethe announced her abdication on television in a speech from Copenhagen, Denmark on December 31, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Besides being distant relatives, the two figures were known to be good friends until Elizabeth’s death in 2022 at the age of 96. Per The Independent, their companionship went back decades and they shared a love of dogs.

They even referred to each other by their affectionate nicknames – namely “Daisy” (Margrethe) and “Lilibet” (Elizabeth).

At what age did Queen Margrethe became queen?

Thanks to their matchmaking great grandmother Queen Victoria, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe and Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth are related. Photo: EPA-EFE

Margrethe became Denmark’s monarch in 1972 when she was 31 after the death of her father King Frederik IX. Elizabeth became queen a fair bit earlier in 1952, when she was 25, following the death of her father King George VI.

How is King Charles related to Queen Margrethe?

Britain’s King Charles poses for a photo during the recording of his Christmas message at Buckingham Palace on December 7, 2023. Photo: AP

Of course Britain’s current monarch King Charles is also distantly related to Queen Margrethe via Queen Victoria, as Business Insider points out. Fittingly, Queen Margrethe was reportedly the first foreign monarch to send a letter of condolence to King Charles upon the death of his mother.

Royalty

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe will be formally stepping down from her role as the nation’s monarch on January 14 – her son, Crown Prince Frederik, will take over the throne
But did you know she’s actually related to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth? Here’s what you need to know about her extended, blue-blooded family, from King Charles to Prince Philip