A Queen Margrethe postcard written when she was 12 years old has been sold at auction in Denmark for DKK 6,500 (€870), well above its initial estimate.
The handwritten postcard dates from 1952 and was sold by Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen on Monday, 5 October. It had been valued at DKK 4,000 (€535) before the auction.
A holiday note from Sweden
Margrethe, then a princess, wrote the card while on a family holiday in Sweden. It was addressed to Ella Sørensen at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.
Sørensen was a chambermaid to Margrethe’s mother, Queen Ingrid. In the message, the young princess asked about Sørensen’s back and described a visit by the royal family to a cabin, where they were served coffee and waffles with cloudberries, according to DR.
The card still bears a Swedish postmark from 1952 and shows crossings-out and corrections made by the 12-year-old Margrethe, according to Bruun Rasmussen.
A postcard from before Margrethe became heir
The postcard was written at a significant moment in Danish royal history. At the time, Margrethe was not yet heir to the throne.
In 1953, Denmark changed its Act of Succession, giving women the right to inherit the throne and making Margrethe heir to her father, King Frederik IX. She became queen after his death in 1972.
Margrethe remained Denmark’s monarch for 52 years before abdicating in January 2024 in favour of her son, King Frederik X. She continues to hold the title Queen Margrethe after the succession.
