Queen Margrethe returns to public duties after health break, Digi Mart USA News (Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen, Denmark): Queen Margrethe, 86, has returned to public duties following a roughly two-month break for health reasons. The former Danish monarch attended her first official engagement on Tuesday, presenting the Ebbe Munck Prize 2026 at Fredensborg Palace north of Copenhagen in her capacity as patron of the Ebbe Munck Foundation.
The award went to Masaana Egede, director and editor-in-chief of the Greenlandic media house Sermitsiaq. Margrethe appeared in high spirits, wearing an elegant blue, green and red checked suit, a white blouse with a dark green bow and gold statement earrings.
The Danish court had announced only at the end of October that she would attend.
Presenting the honor has long been one of Margrethe’s regular duties, and the palace is her residence, so the event required no travel. According to the Danish photo agency Dana Press, the jury praised Egede’s independent and critical reporting for the people of Greenland, particularly his composed handling of a sensitive subject: U.S.
President Donald Trump, 80, has repeatedly said he wants to bring Greenland under American control.
Margrethe had not withdrawn entirely from public view in recent weeks. On October 7 she attended a concert marking the 300th anniversary of the palace church in Fredensborg.
However, the award ceremony was her first official engagement since her hospital stay in September.
Margrethe had suffered a fainting spell and was treated in hospital for several days, where doctors found a new blood accumulation in the hip area and a slight fluid deficiency. The blood accumulation is reportedly linked to an earlier fall.
It was already her third hospital stay this year. In mid-May she was admitted to Rigshospitalet for heart problems and received balloon angioplasty on a coronary artery.
A few days later she returned to hospital after a CT scan showed a larger blood accumulation in the hip area. While she recovered, her son King Frederik X was asked about her condition and briefly said there was no cause for concern.
Throughout the year, Margrethe has repeatedly scaled back her activities for health reasons. In early September she was unable to attend the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V, who died at 89.
After her 86th birthday celebrations in April, the court had also advised her to rest.
