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 Click here to see more related photos A recent poll found that while many in Denmark adore Queen Margrethe II, they would like to see her son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik succeed her soon.
A Megafon poll revealed about 40 percent of Danes would like to see the Queen to abdicate in favor of Frederik within ten years. Another 11 percent would like to see the succession take place immediately.
“A monarch is something you are for life. The problem is that people live much longer now than previously. In the 20th century that has meant that successors accede to the throne when most other people are pensioned off,” says historian Steffen Heiberg.
Even Her Majesty, who will mark 40 years as Queen of Denmark, has no plans to retire. “My view has always been that it is an assignment that you have for life,” she told Politiken on Sunday.
The results of this poll could be a reflection of the enormous popularity of Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
“If she abdicated it would make the royal house just look like the rest of society. That would make the monarch just a job like any other job and that you retire when you are 70. The monarchy could probably not survive if it became too standard,” Heiberg says.
Despite her insistence to remain monarch until death, Queen Margrethe believes Frederik would make a good King.
“I have complete confidence in my son. He will be able to fulfil his role.”
Sources: Politiken, Herald Sun (Australia)
A recent poll found that nearly eight of ten Danes enjoy their monarchy and would rather have that than a republic.
 Click here for original source of photo The Megafon poll found 77 percent of the people support Queen Margrethe II and her family, while only 16 percent would want to abolish the institution.
“That’s a lot more than for the other European monarchies,” commented Copenhagen University lecturer Lars Hovbakke Soerensen.
According to Soerensen, those other European monarchies see about 50 – 60 percent support from their people.
That may be because the Danish royals have modernized at a reasonable pace than the British royals, whom some say have adapted to changing times too slowly. But at the same time, the Danes have not modernized as quickly as their Norwegian counterparts, whom might have done so too quickly.
In addition, the money it costs Danish taxpayers to finance their royals – between 40-54 million euros – can be considered reasonable, says Soerensen.
The poll was conducted ahead of Queen Margrethe’s 40th anniversary as head of state next month.
Sources: AFP, JV.dk
A new poll says more than half of the Swedish people want King Carl XVI Gustaf to step down in the next ten years as more stories about his extramarital affairs and shady connections continue to circulate.
 Click here for recent photos of the King The poll, conducted by Demoskop and published in the Expressen tabloid, shows 59 percent of the people want the monarch to abdicate in favor of 33 year old Crown Princess Victoria. Only 29 percent want the King to reign till his death.
At the same time, the poll says while 73 percent have strong confidence in Victoria, only 39 percent was said about her father.
The survey was done after the television station TV4 claimed to have photos of the King at a strip club. It is reported that some of his friends tried to contact a mafia boss to negotiate with the club owner to prevent the photos becoming public.
While TV4 has yet to show the photos, the Swedish royal court is demanding that they do.
“TV4 must show what it is they are talking about. Where’s the substance? For now, as far as I can tell, there is no substance to this,” court information chief Bertil Ternert said, adding the report had put him in the “impossible situation … of being asked to react to something we have not seen.”
“There needs to be some form of justice here. You cannot just attack the royal court and the king without disclosing what the substance is,” he insisted.
The King’s popularity has plummeted since last fall when an unauthorized biography was published. In it, the book went into detail if Carl Gustaf’s womanizing and hard partying.
On April 30th, King Carl Gustaf turned 65, the age of retirement in Sweden. He has said he has no intentions of stepping down for his daughter.
Source: AFP
The royal court of Jordan is denouncing an AFP report that Bedouin tribal leaders criticized Queen Rania this week.
 KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images/FILE In a palace statement released Friday, it condemned “in the strongest possible terms, the completely erroneous and defamatory statements about Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan” contained in the February 9 report.
The report, it added, “contains serious allegations against Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and the Yassin family [Rania's birth family] in which there is no truth whatsoever.”
Earlier this week, it was widely reported that the leaders of Jordan’s tribes slammed the Queen, accusing her of corruption and meddling in politics.
It came at a time of major political changes sweeping across the Middle East, in which anti-government protests took place in countries including Jordan. The Bedouin tribes are seen as the bedrock of the monarchy and for them to criticize King Abdullah II’s wife came close to criticizing the King himself.
But the royal court insists that statement from the tribal leaders never took place.
It said the 36 people who signed the statement “are not leaders of the tribes to which they belong, and they do not represent the tens of thousands of people from these proud Jordanian tribes.”
The palace statement added: “Amongst several other false allegations, the report claims that land and farms belonging to the Jordanian people were given to the Yassin family.”
According to Al-Quds, King Abdullah is threatening to sue the AFP for its report.
Source: AFP, Al-Quds
In an unprecedented move Sunday, 36 leaders of Jordan’s tribes released a statement criticizing Queen Rania and demanding political reform so the country won’t suffer the unrest seen in Egypt and Tunisia.
 YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images/FILE The Bedouin tribes make up nearly 40 percent of Jordan’s population and are seen as the bedrock of the monarchy.
In the statement, the tribal leaders criticized Rania’s “interference in executive decisions by those who have no constitutional powers,” and added that the “sycophants and the power centers that surround her” are dividing Jordanians and “stealing from the country and the people,” the letter states.
“The Queen is building centres to boost her power and serve her interests, against the will of Jordanians and Hashemites,” the leaders said, comparing her to Leila Ben Ali, wide of ousted Tunisian president.
“We refuse the squandering of public money and aid to polish her own personal image at the expense of the nation,” the figures said, referring to the Queen’s lavishness.
The tribal figures went on to say that if corruption was not prosecuted and reform was did not take place, “similar events to those in Tunisia and Egypt and other Arab countries will occur.”
Finally, the leaders called for a “trial of the corrupt who have looted the country and public funds, regardless of who they are and irrespective of their rank and importance” – which is a further attack on Queen Rania.
Criticism of the royal family is illegal in Jordan, especially that of the King, so these tribal leaders attacking the Queen is a major development in the anti-government movement hitting Jordan.
The statement was originally posted on the popular Jordanian news website, Ammon News, which claimed to have been hacked and then removed the statement.
The royal family has yet to respond the criticism by the Bedouin leaders.
Source: CNN, AFP
Over two-thirds of the Swedish people want the monarchy to continue, a new poll says. This despite a recent book on King Carl XVI Gustaf which did not portray him in a good light.
 Jonas Ekstromer / SCANPIX/ FILE A Demoskop poll published on Tuesday showed that 69 percent of respondents supported the monarchy. The survey questioned 1,381 Swedes from November 13th to 17th.
The last time such a poll was taken showed 63 percent wanted to keep the monarchy back in the spring, which means support has increased.
The results may come as a surprise to some after the scathing book, “King Carl XVI Gustaf – The Reluctant Monarch” was released earlier this month. The unofficial biography portrayed the King as a serial adulterer going to wild parties featuring scantily clad women. There was concern that the book, which was a bestseller, would bring damage to the monarchy and have calls for a republic increase. But the book appears to have not done that.
Right before Crown Princess Victoria married in June, another poll showed less than half of Sweden wanted the monarchy. But that poll was done by a republican organization.
Source: The Local
 Swedish Royal Court With only five days until the wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling, more information is coming out about Westling as he prepares to become Prince Daniel of Sweden. His coat of arms were revealed, and a poll showed many Swedes believe he would make a good royal.
The Swedish Royal Court unveiled Daniel’s coat of arms Monday. It is made up of a shield divided into four fields, with a heart shield and a crown. The four areas indicate lesser coat of arms (Box 1 and 4), Young People’s Force (Box 2) and Vastergotland weapons (box 3). The heart shield shows Daniel’s personal weapons, related to the weapon of Sindbis municipality.
At the same time, the Court unveiled Daniel’s monogram, which is nothing more but the letter “D” with a crown above it.
A recent poll done by the tabloid, Expressen, says seven out of ten Swedes believe Daniel will do a good job as Prince. While females and senior citizens hold him in the highest regards, it is the younger people who are in doubt. Eight percent of those under the age of 29 think Victoria’s husband-t0-be will do his job badly.
The same survey showed more than half of Sweden believe the Crown Princess is their country’s best representative.
Source: Swedish Royal Court, The Local
A recent poll published on King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 64th birthday Friday shows a decreased support for the monarchy in Sweden. According to the Novus Opinions poll, conducted for the Swedish Republican Association, while 58 percent of Swedes still want a monarch as head of state, 28 percent would rather have a president. That percentage has doubled over the past decade.
 AP Photo/Jonas Ekstromer “People are just getting fed up with the monarchy,” Mona Abou-Jeib Broshammar, who leads the Republican Association, told AFP.
“If the development continues in the same direction as over the past decade, I think that in Sweden there will be a majority for abolishing the monarchy by 2024.”
According to Broshammar, it is the people’s tax money being used towards Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding this June that has ruffled feathers in Sweden.
“A lot has been written about how the king has asked the taxpayers to cover his daughter’s wedding expenses … A lot has been written about (the royal family’s) VIP treatment, and people are sick of it,” she said.
Previous polls have shown nearly three-fourths of the Swedish people support the royal family. It should be noted that the Republican Association was the one who conducted this poll.
Sources: AFP
Wednesday April 21st marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 84th birthday, and for her big day, she got quite a present!
 AP Photo/Ben Stansall, Pool/FILE In New Zealand, the MPs through out a referendum that was meant to abolish the monarchy. It was voted down 68 to 53 in its first read. Disgruntled republicans are pointing the finger at the Queen’s grandson, Prince William because his visit to the country likely boosted interest in the royal family.
“We think that’s down to a visit by a certain Prince William in January,” said Lewis Holden, chairman of the nation’s Republican Movement. “That’s why Buckingham Palace sent him out here.”
A poll showed that support for a republic went from 47 percent in 2008 to 37 percent just after William’s visit. At the same time, 51 percent of Kiwis wanted to keep the monarchy.
When broken down by gender, more women then men want to keep the Queen as their head of state.
Despite this defeat, many New Zealanders feel someday they will become a republic. Some say it might happen when Prince William’s father, Prince Charles, becomes King.
“The question many New Zealanders ask is: why should we have a head of state on the other side of the world who is not a citizen of our country?” said Green MP Keith Locke.
“The present Queen has been competent in the performance of her duties and she turns 84 this very day. I wish her a happy birthday.”
Sources: Express, NZ Herald
At a recent press conference, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark said she was no intentions of abdicating the throne for her son, Crown Press Frederik. This despite that she will be turning 70 this coming Friday. But that seems to be OK with the Danish people – a new poll showed half of them want her remain as their monarch.
 AP Photo/Tariq Mikkel Khan/Polfoto The poll also said one third of Danes believe Margrethe should step aside for Frederik. Another 17 percent say they are undecided.
The popular Queen, who has been reigning since 1972, said during the news conference at Fredensborg Palace that she does see any reason to slow down.
“I will stay as long as I have the energy,” she said. “As long as I have strength, I will not throttle down. There are so many things that are interesting and important to do. I welcome the duties I have.”
As for turning 70, Queen Margrethe said that “turning 70 was a special round birthday” and could be compared to an exclamation mark.
When asked how long does she think she would live, the Queen replied it would be “hard to imagine that I will be 100.”
She also discussed her health, in a tongue in cheek sort of way. “I am a smoker and that is no secret.”
Queen Margrethe also added she could see the Danish monarchy continuing with Frederik and his son, Prince Christian.
Sources: Earth Times, Billed Bladet
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