Meet Europe’s new longest-reigning monarch: Denmark’s chain-smoking Queen Margrethe II

Denmark's popular Queen Margrethe II is now Europe's longest-serving monarch and also its only reigning queen after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Always impeccably coiffed with her white hair swept up in a bun, she has been hailed for unifying and modernising the Danish monarchy in her 50 years on the throne.

The artistic and chain-smoking 82-year-old came to the throne at the age of 31 in January 1972 on the death of her father, Frederik IX, becoming the first woman to hold the position of monarch in Denmark.

At the time of her accession, only 45 per cent of Danes were in favour of the monarchy, most believing it had no place in a modern democracy.

During her reign, however, Margrethe has managed to stay away from scandal and modernise the institution – allowing her two sons to marry commoners, for example.

Today, the Danish monarchy is one of the most popular in the world, enjoying the support of more than 80 per cent of Danes.

At 50 years and seven months on the throne, she is now the longest-reigning monarch in Europe following the death of her third cousin, Queen Elizabeth II.

She was due to celebrate her Golden Jubilee this weekend, but has scaled back festivities out of respect.

Margrethe was born in Copenhagen on April 16 1940, at a time when Denmark's law of succession barred women from inheriting the throne.

She has taken a similar stance to the late Queen by staying neutral at all times.

"She has managed to be a queen who has united the Danish nation in a time of large changes - globalisation, the appearance of the multicultural state, economic crises in the 1970s, 1980s and again in 2008 to 2015, and the pandemic," Lars Hovebakke Sorensen, a historian, told AFP.

"The basis of her popularity is that the queen is absolutely non-political," he said.

The queen, affectionately nicknamed "Daisy" by her family and subjects, has managed to keep the monarchy relevant without diminishing its status.

Widowed in 2018, she has repeatedly insisted that she will never step down from her duties.

"I will stay on the throne until I drop," she says.

Denmark has no tradition of abdication - and given her robust health, the question has never been raised seriously.

In May, she rode a roller-coaster at Copenhagen's famed Tivoli amusement park, her hat fastened securely on her head.

Her eldest son, 54-year-old Crown Prince Frederik, is next in line to succeed her.