Noted Tolkien illustrator and ballet costume designer to retire
December 31, 2023 6:15 PM Subscribe
Margrethe II, the longest serving monarch of Denmark, will abdicate on January 14, 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the Danish throne. She will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik.
In the early 1970s, while still Crown Princess of Denmark, Margrethe drew a series of drawings depicting the story of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. She sent her drawings to Tolkien, who reportedly was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own. In 1977, five years she became queen, her illustrations were used for the Danish edition of The Lord of The Rings as well as on a British edition published by The Folio Society, but credited to the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer, a partial anagram of her birth name.
While serving as queen she also has been a prolific scenographer and costume designer for ballet productions in Denmark. She also did costume and set design for Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, a Danish movie released on Netflix earlier this year (a "making-of" documentary Lifting the Veil: Behind the Scenes of Ehrengard is also currently streaming on Netflix.
Margrethe became Europe's longest-serving current monarch and the world's sole current queen regnant in September 2022 following the death of her third-cousin Queen Elizabeth II. The second-longest serving current monarch in the world (51 years, 351 days as of 12/31/23), she is just ahead in seniority over her first cousin, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (50 years, 107 days).
Denmark's next king, the future Frederik X, reportedly had a reputation as a "party prince" before graduating from university and beginning his military training. Crown Prince Frederik met his future wife, Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson in a bar during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Margrethe's surprise abdication is not the only recent unexpected change to the Danish monarchy. At the end of 2022, she made a move to strip her four youngest grandchildren of their princely titles. The children of her younger son, Prince Joachim, are now known via their secondary titles of Counts and Countess of Monpezat.
In the early 1970s, while still Crown Princess of Denmark, Margrethe drew a series of drawings depicting the story of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. She sent her drawings to Tolkien, who reportedly was struck by how similar the Queen’s drawings were to his own. In 1977, five years she became queen, her illustrations were used for the Danish edition of The Lord of The Rings as well as on a British edition published by The Folio Society, but credited to the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer, a partial anagram of her birth name.
While serving as queen she also has been a prolific scenographer and costume designer for ballet productions in Denmark. She also did costume and set design for Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, a Danish movie released on Netflix earlier this year (a "making-of" documentary Lifting the Veil: Behind the Scenes of Ehrengard is also currently streaming on Netflix.
Margrethe became Europe's longest-serving current monarch and the world's sole current queen regnant in September 2022 following the death of her third-cousin Queen Elizabeth II. The second-longest serving current monarch in the world (51 years, 351 days as of 12/31/23), she is just ahead in seniority over her first cousin, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (50 years, 107 days).
Denmark's next king, the future Frederik X, reportedly had a reputation as a "party prince" before graduating from university and beginning his military training. Crown Prince Frederik met his future wife, Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson in a bar during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Margrethe's surprise abdication is not the only recent unexpected change to the Danish monarchy. At the end of 2022, she made a move to strip her four youngest grandchildren of their princely titles. The children of her younger son, Prince Joachim, are now known via their secondary titles of Counts and Countess of Monpezat.
Those LOTR illustrations are great! (You can get a nice selection by googling her pseudonym).
posted by zompist at 8:34 PM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by zompist at 8:34 PM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Some of her 'Ringes Herre' illustrations.
They're pretty good!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:35 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
They're pretty good!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:35 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ranucci, what an excellent post, thank you!
posted by ashbury at 9:54 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ashbury at 9:54 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
This PDF at page 8 has a page from the original illustrations she sent to Tolkien.
posted by lookoutbelow at 10:43 PM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by lookoutbelow at 10:43 PM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's really neat. But, can anyone tell me what this illustration (the bottom right one in ChurchHatesTucker's link) is supposed to be? Ring wraiths? King's foil? Some corn wrapped in a shower scrubby?
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 11:00 PM on December 31, 2023
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 11:00 PM on December 31, 2023
H E Aimb not sure, but it appears on the flyleaf of The Fellowship in case that helps to decipher it?
posted by Zumbador at 2:02 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
posted by Zumbador at 2:02 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
And here it is again but apparently upside down? Or right side up?
posted by Zumbador at 2:06 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
posted by Zumbador at 2:06 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
Nice post! It was really a huge surprise, since she has always said she would never abdicate.
I bet a lot of Danes got their dinner late yesterday, because of course there were two hours of "emergency" programming on the state TV after the announcement, and in spite of it being talking heads basically inventing stuff, it was mesmerizing. This is a completely new situation.
Since it probably won't be mentioned much in international media, the rest of the speech was interesting too. She mentioned the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and encouraged the Danes to be caring and respectful towards the refugees from both conflicts, and to both Danish Palestinians and Danish Jews. She also mentioned climate change. Last year when she mentioned the climate, she appeared to be a bit of a denier, which was widely criticized. But this year she made it clear that climate change is real, and worrying.
The Crown Prince and Princess are widely popular, even among republicans. I think they will do well. It always irritates me when I see the "party prince" label. For some reason, the royalist press here were very aggressive about making him seem stupid and reckless when he was young, while his younger brother was seen as more mature and regal. Neither was was ever true. I mean, Frederik did party, exactly like other young Danish men his age, no less no more. And he tried his best to be "normal", whatever that means. You'd find him at the places other people his own age went out, not at fancy jet set clubs.
More importantly, he did the real work of going to uni, becoming a (Danish equivalent of) Special Forces officer and figuring out what his job was, in a changing age. I think he was right to understand that Denmark is a very egalitarian country, and the royals have to be accessible and do normal things, like send their kids to normal schools and ride a cargo bike with them to the kindergarten.
Obviously it is a bit of a charade, the prince and princess are very rich and have even richer friends. But they do seem to genuinely want their kids to have as normal a life as is possible, given the circumstances, something Frederik didn't have, and clearly missed.
posted by mumimor at 3:00 AM on January 1 [9 favorites]
I bet a lot of Danes got their dinner late yesterday, because of course there were two hours of "emergency" programming on the state TV after the announcement, and in spite of it being talking heads basically inventing stuff, it was mesmerizing. This is a completely new situation.
Since it probably won't be mentioned much in international media, the rest of the speech was interesting too. She mentioned the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and encouraged the Danes to be caring and respectful towards the refugees from both conflicts, and to both Danish Palestinians and Danish Jews. She also mentioned climate change. Last year when she mentioned the climate, she appeared to be a bit of a denier, which was widely criticized. But this year she made it clear that climate change is real, and worrying.
The Crown Prince and Princess are widely popular, even among republicans. I think they will do well. It always irritates me when I see the "party prince" label. For some reason, the royalist press here were very aggressive about making him seem stupid and reckless when he was young, while his younger brother was seen as more mature and regal. Neither was was ever true. I mean, Frederik did party, exactly like other young Danish men his age, no less no more. And he tried his best to be "normal", whatever that means. You'd find him at the places other people his own age went out, not at fancy jet set clubs.
More importantly, he did the real work of going to uni, becoming a (Danish equivalent of) Special Forces officer and figuring out what his job was, in a changing age. I think he was right to understand that Denmark is a very egalitarian country, and the royals have to be accessible and do normal things, like send their kids to normal schools and ride a cargo bike with them to the kindergarten.
Obviously it is a bit of a charade, the prince and princess are very rich and have even richer friends. But they do seem to genuinely want their kids to have as normal a life as is possible, given the circumstances, something Frederik didn't have, and clearly missed.
posted by mumimor at 3:00 AM on January 1 [9 favorites]
There are some good photographs here. I like the 1954 ski-ing one, and the 217 raincoat.
I didn't know about her interest in, and study of, archaeology. See this exhibition report. And she studied at the Sorbonne and LSE too (must have been at the latter at the same time as my mother, must ask if she remembers her). On the one hand - how amazing that she's been able to do all these things, and explore her interests. On the other - if only we all had these opportunities.
Her sarcophagus is ready to go, apparently: unveiled in 2018. And her husband was a bit pissed off, according to the Guardian.
posted by paduasoy at 3:02 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
I didn't know about her interest in, and study of, archaeology. See this exhibition report. And she studied at the Sorbonne and LSE too (must have been at the latter at the same time as my mother, must ask if she remembers her). On the one hand - how amazing that she's been able to do all these things, and explore her interests. On the other - if only we all had these opportunities.
Her sarcophagus is ready to go, apparently: unveiled in 2018. And her husband was a bit pissed off, according to the Guardian.
posted by paduasoy at 3:02 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
Would it be fair to say that reducing the grandchildren from princely to merely ducal status is kind of a gradualist approach to reform?
posted by Phanx at 3:02 AM on January 1
posted by Phanx at 3:02 AM on January 1
At the very least, a popular costsaving measure, unless they're still working royals in some capacity.
if only we all had these opportunities.
True and even then of her class, still a rarity.
*stares at the members of the nine (nine!!) royal houses in my country*
posted by cendawanita at 4:08 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
if only we all had these opportunities.
True and even then of her class, still a rarity.
*stares at the members of the nine (nine!!) royal houses in my country*
posted by cendawanita at 4:08 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
*stares at the members of the nine (nine!!) royal houses in my country*
But they are all of them deceived.
posted by The Bellman at 8:40 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
But they are all of them deceived.
posted by The Bellman at 8:40 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
"The Crown Prince and Princess are widely popular, even among republicans."
Watching from afar, they seem to be doing it right -- low key and grounded, actively engaging with people. They're not super-remote, they are out among the people. The Crown Prince is out there running charity marathons, the Crown Princess works a sort of ambassadorial role for charities and women's causes. They can get gussied up when they need to, and *that's* what comes across as the affectation.
Of course, the family aren't regular people. Their yacht is one of the nicest things I've ever seen. They do military inspections with dachshunds running about the palace. The Queen really, really likes her jewellery. But if there is going to be such a thing as a monarchy, the Danes seem to figured an ideal way of doing it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:17 AM on January 1
Watching from afar, they seem to be doing it right -- low key and grounded, actively engaging with people. They're not super-remote, they are out among the people. The Crown Prince is out there running charity marathons, the Crown Princess works a sort of ambassadorial role for charities and women's causes. They can get gussied up when they need to, and *that's* what comes across as the affectation.
Of course, the family aren't regular people. Their yacht is one of the nicest things I've ever seen. They do military inspections with dachshunds running about the palace. The Queen really, really likes her jewellery. But if there is going to be such a thing as a monarchy, the Danes seem to figured an ideal way of doing it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:17 AM on January 1
Clearly it's a picture of a bulldog smoking a cigar. Or, wait, an old lady with a fancy hat.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 3:35 PM on January 1
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 3:35 PM on January 1
Thanks for the awesome post!
The mysterious wraith/corncob/shower scrubby illustration also appears in this post on Reddit with the caption "9 Kings of Old" which fits with the Ringwraith/Nazgûl theory. I'm not quite sure how you get nine out of that depiction, unless some are upside down or the corncob counts as one of them, but it still seems the most likely.
This one of Éowyn vs Witch-king of Angmar (or maybe just his steed?) is pretty great.
posted by Athanassiel at 4:54 PM on January 1 [1 favorite]
The mysterious wraith/corncob/shower scrubby illustration also appears in this post on Reddit with the caption "9 Kings of Old" which fits with the Ringwraith/Nazgûl theory. I'm not quite sure how you get nine out of that depiction, unless some are upside down or the corncob counts as one of them, but it still seems the most likely.
This one of Éowyn vs Witch-king of Angmar (or maybe just his steed?) is pretty great.
posted by Athanassiel at 4:54 PM on January 1 [1 favorite]
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