As Denmark’s Queen Margrethe undergoes “extensive surgery” on her back, her son Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, are keeping a devoted bedside vigil.
The 82-year-old sovereign’s admittance to Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet hospital this week was confirmed by the palace, after Margrethe withdrew from several engagements at the last minute.
WATCH: Princess Mary and Prince Frederik dance together at lavish royal event
“For quite some time, Her Majesty has been affected by problems with her back and the situation has worsened recently,”the palace explained in the official statement.
Margrethe’s calendar has been cleared indefinitely following the operation.
It’s expected that she will require a “long period” of physical rehabilitation, meaning Frederik, 54, and Mary, 51, will be stepping up more and more.
This isn’t the first time pain has forced Margrethe to go under the knife. The Queen, who suffers from osteoarthritis, had knee replacement surgery in 2007. This came after she had several smaller surgeries to remove loose cartilage from her joint in 1992, 1993 and again in 2001.
Margrethe also underwent an earlier four-hour back surgery in 2003.
While the no-nonsense sovereign might come across as tough as nails, the health scare has been a stark reminder for Fred and Mary that she won’t be around forever, and they’re inching closer to their destiny.
Like her dear friend, the late Queen Elizabeth II, Margrethe has made it clear that abdicating is a decision she won’t be making lightly.
“I intend to remain in place as long as I live. My mission is lifelong,” the Queen said in 2019. However, she admitted that she would make an exception for “serious illness”, if required.
WATCH: Crown Princess Mary & Crown Prince Frederik participate in the Royal Run
If osteoarthritis left the Queen in so much pain that she was unable to perform her duties or was left wheelchair-bound, she would consider stepping down, allowing Fred and Mary to rule in her place.
“You are ready and you will be amazing at your job,” Margrethe has already told her son and Aussie daughter-in-law during an emotional speech.
“I trust you and feel secure handing over to such a wonderful couple.”
Royal correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen also believes that the monarchy would be in safe hands with the pair.
“I don’t have any doubt [the Queen] feels Frederik is ready with Mary by his side,” he says.
“She thinks Mary is a very strong woman who brings out the best in her son. Mary is already the de facto queen in many people’s eyes.”
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