Transformation from party prince to Yunwen Yunwu, future king of Denmark, flipping impressions
(AFP, Copenhagen, 31st) Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced her abdication on the last day of 2023 and will be succeeded by Crown Prince Frederik. He “awakened” from a rebellious boy to a loving family man, embodying Denmark’s loose and liberal monarchy.
Frederik is passionate about environmental affairs and quietly exerts influence in the shadow of his beloved mother Queen Margrethe II to support Denmark and its efforts to find solutions to the climate crisis.
In a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of Margaret II’s reign in 2022, he said: “When the time comes, I will take the helm.” He also said that in leading this thousand-year-old system, “I will follow You, just as you follow your father”.
But this measured self-confidence was very different from when Frederick was young.
Gitte Redder, an expert on the Danish royal family, told AFP, “Strictly speaking he is not rebellious, but as a child and a young man, he was very sensitive to media attention and the knowledge that he would one day be king. Uncomfortable”, it wasn’t until around the age of 25 that he “established confidence”.
Frederick was lonely and troubled as a boy, complaining that his parents neglected him while performing their royal duties.
He found solace in a life of fast cars and thrilling adventures, and in the early 1990s some considered him a spoiled party prince.
But when he graduated from Aarhus University in 1995, becoming the first member of the Danish royal family to complete a university education, people’s views began to change.
He studied at Harvard University in the United States for a period of time under the pseudonym Frederik Henriksen. The surname was derived from the name of his French diplomat father, Henri de Monpezat, who received the title Prince Consort Henrik after marrying Margaret.
Frederick can speak English, French and German. He has truly matured under the training of the Danish armed forces. He served in the Navy’s frogman unit. Among the 300 recruits who took the test in 1995, only 4, including him, passed all tests. At that time, he was nicknamed “Penguin”. In 2000, he traveled to Greenland for a four-month, 3,500-kilometer ski expedition.
His fearless side has led to him being hospitalized for sledding and motorcycle accidents, but his popularity has soared since he founded the Royal Road Run in 2018.
“He loves sports and attends concerts and football games, which makes him more approachable than his mother,” Reed said.
Frederick once said: “I don’t want to lock myself in a fortress. I want to be myself and be a person.” He vowed to stick to this principle even after he ascended the throne.
#Transformation #party #prince #Yunwen #Yunwu #future #king #Denmark #flipping #impressions
2024-01-01 08:35:02
