The new year 2024 has begun with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark handing in a shock abdication. After 52 years of monarching, the sovereign of the wealthy little kingdom in the north has called it quits.

World citizens who have never known another Danish queen – or, indeed, maybe have never known that a prosperous parliamentary social democracy in Europe had a queen at all – are now confronted with a sudden upset in the formal dinner seating. A succession is taking place – fortunately, without the formal public oiling of the new monarch, as is the British way.

Margrethe’s son Frederik now becomes king, and his wife, Mary, becomes queen, raising all manner of interesting questions that return to the theme of “dear God, how are modern democratic countries still engaging this medieval bullshit?”. And, also, perhaps provoking some fond reviews of the new Queen Mary’s public wardrobe; she really does dress with exceptional taste.

As Frederik becomes king of Denmark, and the public representation of its state, history and culture entirely because he was born the eldest child of his mum, the inevitable comparison is with the British monarch, Charles III – who, by the way, is also king of Australia – whose trajectory towards the crown was, of course, exactly the same.

For all the pomp and pageantry associated with these changeovers, it’s........

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