Margrethe II Hospitalized for Angine De Poitrine at 86

Margrethe II of Denmark was admitted to Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen on Thursday, May 14, for angine de poitrine. The palace said the former queen would remain in the hospital through the weekend for observation and additional examinations.

She is 86 and had turned 86 on April 16. The palace said, "Sa Majesté est fatiguée mais de bonne humeur."

Rigshospitalet In Copenhagen

Rigshospitalet is the university hospital in Copenhagen where she was taken for cardiac spasms. The term used by the palace was cardiac spasms, more commonly called angine de poitrine.

Her hospitalization adds another health episode to a period that has included Covid-19 in 2022, major back surgery in February 2023 and a two-day hospital stay in September 2024 after a fall that fractured her left hand and caused a cervical shock.

Margrethe II Health History

Margrethe has continued public appearances despite those episodes. In early May, she attended the 80th birthday celebration of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and she regularly uses a cane because of her back problems.

The current hospital stay is the most immediate test of how much she can still take on after abdicating following 52 years of reign. For now, the palace is treating the stay as one for observation and additional tests, not as a longer public absence.