NEWS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Danish Queen Margrethe II celebrates 40 years on the throne on Saturday, marking the decades-long transformation of a shy artist and heavy smoker to become Europe's most popular monarch.
Festivities are scheduled to stretch from Friday to Sunday to mark her accession to the throne on January 14, 1972, when, grief stricken by the death of her father, the 31-year-old lanky crown princess became the first woman to take the helm of Europe's oldest monarchy.
The eldest of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid's three daughters, Margrethe was at the time already married to Frenchman Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who became the Prince Consort Henrik.
Their two sons, Frederik and Joachim, were then four and three years old. Forty years on, the queen's hair, always impeccably coiffed in a bun, has turned white as snow, giving her the look of the perfect grandmother for her seven grandchildren.
And while her compulsive smoking has yellowed her teeth, Danes do not hold that vice against her, often saying tenderly of other heavy smokers that they "smoke like Queen Margrethe."
At 71, the queen with sparkling pale blue eyes remains slender and still likes to show off her figure in flashy coloured dress suits accompanied by eccentric hats.
Known affectionately as "Daisy," the queen is widely popular, with a poll last month showing that nearly eight out of 10 Danes are in favour of their monarchy.
That makes the Scandinavian country's royal court "the most popular in Europe," said Lars Hovbakke Soerensen, a historian at the University of Copenhagen who has studied the role of the monarchy in modern society.
Margrethe II has, without rushing or forcing things, been able to "modernise an ageing monarchy and adapt it to the evolving society," he enthused.
She has seen her popularity soar since the beginning of the 1980s as she began establishing herself as a talented artist.
A multilingual intellectual, she has also taken part in several elaborate translation projects, including the 1981 Danish version of Simone de Beauvoir's "All Men are Mortal," which she translated under a pseudonym in cooperation with her husband.
The queen has also designed the costumes and scenery for numerous plays and television series in Denmark.
But it is especially in the domain of drawing and painting that Margrethe II has distinguished herself, having illustrated many books, including the 2002 reissue of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings."
Her semi-abstract paintings have meanwhile become fixtures in museums and art galleries both in Denmark and abroad.
Her enthusiastic optimism and deep commitment to social issues have also boosted her support.
It has however also earned her criticism in a constitutional system where the monarch is stripped of political power and is expected to show reserve in expressing opinion.
One of her most controversial statements came in her 1984 New Year address, in which she called on Danes to be tolerant and to renounce their "stupid remarks" and their "coolness" towards immigrants.
But the queen, an expert in the art of suggestion, has always defended her right to go beyond her official royal duties.
"I can of course think what I want, just like everyone else. I simply have to refrain from saying everything I think. There are many others who should try that from time to time," she said in a 1988 interview.
While Margrethe II is popular, a majority of Danes think it will be time for her to pass the baton to Crown Prince Frederik within the next decade, according to a poll piblished at the beginning of the month.
But the queen is not so avant-garde that she is willing to consider stepping down: "I will remain on the throne until I fall off," she said
