Denmark's Queen Margrethe has angioplasty in hospital: palace

COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, 86, has undergone an angioplasty procedure after being admitted to hospital this week for chest pain, the palace said Friday in a statement.

The court said the queen had “a balloon dilation of a coronary artery” at Copenhagen’s main hospital Rigshospitalet, where she was admitted on Thursday.

The queen, who has been a chain smoker for much of her life, was in “good condition” but would remain in hospital for “a few more days,” the palace said.

Margrethe, who abdicated in 2024 and turned 86 on April 16, attended Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 80th birthday in early May.

The former sovereign reigned in the Scandinavian country for 52 years before passing the throne to her eldest son Frederik in January 2024.

Hugely popular among Danes for subtly modernising the monarchy, Margrethe has faced multiple health problems in recent years.

She had long vowed that she would never abdicate, but major back surgery in 2023 led her to change her mind.

Margrethe is known for her significant interest in the arts.

As a designer she won a Danish film award for best costume in 2024 and translated Simone de Beauvoir’s “All Men Are Mortal” under a pseudonym with her late husband, Prince Consort Henrik.

She has also illustrated several books, including JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”.