Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 80, becomes the first royal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine

Queen Margrethe of Denmark has become the first royal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

The 80-year-old was inoculated on New Year’s Day, according to a brief statement issued by the Royal Court.

It was also confirmed that the monarch would receive the second dose in around three weeks as is usual with the batch.

Margrethe II is the first European sovereign to officially announce the news of her vaccination. 

Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace refuses to say if Her Majesty or Prince Philip have been given the Covid vaccine, insisting that it’s a ‘private’ matter. 

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 80, (pictured) received her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on New Year’s Day

The statement from the Danish royal house read: ‘Her Majesty the Queen was vaccinated today against COVID-19. The Queen will be re-vaccinated in about three weeks’ time.’ 

Other world leaders to have already been vaccinated include US president-elect Joe Biden, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Czech prime minister Andrej Babis and Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.        

It comes after the mother-of-two chose to spend Christmas with her younger son, Prince Joachim, 51, along with his wife Princess Marie, 44, and his four children at Schackenborg Castle in Tønder. 

Prince Joachim is currently recovering from an emergency brain surgery carried out in France this summer after he was diagnosed with a blood clot.  

The mother-of-two is the first European sovereign to officially announce the news of her vaccination

Queen Margrethe’s other son, Crown Prince Frederik, 52, celebrated separately with his wife Princess Mary, 48 and their four children at Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg. 

The family usually reunite for the holidays at their Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus but the rules in Denmark state that only up to 10 people could mark the occasion indoors, and with both brothers having families of six, it was not be possible for both to join the Queen. 

In October, the royal family announced that the Queen had cancelled their New Year’s Gala, which usually sees officials as well as representatives of major organisations and the royal patronages flock Christiansborg Palace for a glamorous evening. 

It has been a troubled year for the Danish Royal family, with Prince Joachim undergoing emergency brain surgery in France in late July.  

It comes after Margrethe chose to spend Christmas with her younger son, Prince Joachim, 51, along with his wife Princess Marie, 44, and his four children (pictured in 2019) at Schackenborg Castle in Tønder

The Queen’s youngest had been celebrating his son’s 18th birthday in France with his current wife Princess Marie, his ex-wife Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, and the children from both his marriage: Prince Nikolai, 21, Prince Felix, 18, Prince Henrik 11 and Princess Athena, eight. 

He gave the Danish royal family a scare when he was rushed to the Toulouse University Hospital in France, where he was immediately operated on.

A statement by the Danish royal court said at the time: ‘His Royal Highness Prince Joachim was admitted to the University Hospital of Toulouse, France, late last night.

Queen Margrethe’s other son, Crown Prince Frederik, 52, celebrated separately with his wife Princess Mary, 48 and their four children (pictured together in 2018)due to coronavirus restrictions

‘The prince was operated on immediately afterwards for a blood clot in the brain and the operation was successful. The condition of His Royal Highness is stable.’

The court communicated that his doctors were confident he would suffer no effects as a result of the blood clot.

He was eventually allowed to return home to his family last month after two weeks in care.