Another Queen

Like their British cousins across the North Sea, the Danes believe in Queens. Above all, they honor their own Queen Margrethe (1353-1412), who united the crowns of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. "When men saw the wisdom and strength that were in this royal lady," the medieval Chronicle of Lubeck said, "wonder and fear filled their hearts."

Last week, on Denmark's Grundlovsdag (Constitution Day), King Frederik IX promised his people another Queen, another Margrethe. At Christiansborg Castle, he signed a new Constitution in which the succession--for the first time--is guaranteed to the female line, and specifically to his pert, 13-year-old daughter, Margrethe.

The new Constitution, passed at a general election May 28, also provides that 1) Parliament will consist of one House, to be named the Folketing (People's Assembly), instead of two; 2) the Folketing will have the right to surrender part of its authority to international bodies, e.g., NATO, the U.N.; 3) Greenland, island key to the Arctic cold war, will emerge from colonial status to full partnership in the Danish Commonwealth.

To celebrate Gnmdlovsdag, Danes held a public holiday, and amnestied 25 criminals. As a bonus, Heiress Apparent Margrethe got a day off from high school.

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