Monarchy and Gender in Denmark

Abstract

The main focus of this article is to analyse the Danish monarchy from a gender perspective. However, the article also provides a general analysis of the Danish monarchy, the formal and informal powers of the monarch and the modern legitimisation of the monarchy. The development of the Act on Succession to the Throne, finally leading to full gender equality in 2009, plays a central role in the article. The approach is primarily legal, with an interpretation of legal sources as its point of departure, but the article goes beyond this by analysing informal power, public expressions on the monarchy and gender by members of the royal house as well as present-day legitimisation of the monarchy. Moreover, it positions this analysis in the broader historical context.