Absolutely Valued Trivia Quiz

Answer: Denmark

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her third cousin, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark became Europe's longest reigning monarch (she celebrated her Golden Jubilee in January 2022). She ascended to the throne on 14 January 1972 upon the death of her father, King Frederik IX after a constitutional change in Denmark in 1953 allowed women to inherit the throne if there was no direct male heir. Margrethe Alexandrine Porlidur Ingrid was born in Copenhagen on 16 April 1940, the first born to King Frederik IX and his wife, Queen Ingrid.

After studying at various universities including a year at Oxford where she did archeaology, she met and then married the French diplomat, Henri, Comte de Laborde de Montpetzat in 1967. She and Prince Henrik of Denmark, as he was known after the marriage, had two sons together, Crown Prince Frederik born in 1968 and Prince Joachim who followed the next year. Prince Henrik died in 2018 after short illness. The only Queen Regnant to attend the funeral of Elizabeth II, Queen Margrethe was accompanied by her eldest son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik.

Answer: Japan

When Japan's Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, it was a mark of the high esteem in which she was held, as Japan's monarchs do not normally attend funerals. This was also the first trip the couple had undertaken outside Japan since Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019 upon the abdication of his father, Akihito. Naruhito became the 126th emperor of Japan in the traditional Japanese order of succession that dates back to the first emperor, Jimmu (660 BC). To pave the way for the abdication of the elderly Akihito and the ascension of his son to the throne, the Japanese Imperial Household Law was amended in 2017 to provide for succession to the throne for reasons other than the death of an emperor.

Naruhito was born in Tokyo on 21 February 1960 to the then Crown Prince Akhito and his wife, Michiko, their first born child. He was the first heir to the Japanese throne to study abroad. He became Crown Prince in 1989 when his father became Emperor. In June 1993 he married diplomat, Masako Owada. The couple have one daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi, who was born in 2001. However, under Japanese succession law, women can not inherit the throne. That role fell to Naruhito's younger brother, Fumihito.

Answer: Norway

The British royal family have close ties with their Norwegian counterparts. King Harald V of Norway shares a set of grandparents with Queen Elizabeth II in King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, making them two second cousins. Harald was born on 21 February 1937 at his parent's country estate, Skaugum, near Olso to the then Crown Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Sweden. In 1957, his father became King Olav V and Harald was elevated to the role of Crown Prince. He was a keen sportsman who represented Norway in sailing at three Olympic Games in 1964, 1968 and 1972.

In 1967 he married Sonja Haraldson, a commoner. The relationship had caused quite a stir in Norway because of Sonja's status. It took nine years before they received permission from the King to marry. They have two children, Princess Martha Louise born in 1971 and Crown Prince Haakon in 1973. The Norwegian constitution was amended in 1990 to make the sex of the oldest child irrelevant in terms of succession. However, this was not made retroactive and only applies to children born after 1990.

When he ascended to the throne upon the death of his father on 17 January 1991, he came the first Norwegian born king in 604 years (viz. King Olav IV, who died in 1387). King Harald was accompanied by Queen Sonja at the funeral of Elizabeth IIwas .

Answer: Jordan

King Abdullah II bin Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has close ties to Britain. He studied at Oxford University before doing his military training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and spent a year serving with the British army. He became king upon the death of his father, King Hussein, on 07 February 1999 and was formally crowned a few months later on 09 June 1999. He born on 30 January 1962 in Amman to King Hussein and his second wife, Princess Muna. As the eldest son, he became heir apparent, but instability in the Middle East caused Hussein to name his brother, Prince Hassam, as his heir. This remained the situation until two weeks before Hussein's death when, on 24 January 1999, he formally announced that Abdullah was his designated heir.

Abdullah is a member of the Hashemite Dynasty which the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world and which had reigned in Jordan since 1921. In 1993 he married Rania al-Yassin, the Kuwaiti born daughter of Palestinian parents. They have four children, Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. She assumed the title of Queen Rania upon her husband's ascension and accompanied him to the funeral of Elizabeth II.

Answer: The Netherlands

When the Prince of Orange, Willem-Alexander, was inaugurated as King of The Netherlands on 30 April 2013, he became the first male Dutch monarch since the death of King William III in 1890. His ascension to the throne was a result of the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix, who followed the pattern set by her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, and her mother, Queen Juliana. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht on April 27 1967 to Queen Beatrix and her husband, Prince Claus, the first of three sons. He became heir apparent when his mother took the throne on 30 April 1980. He was educated mostly in The Netherlands and served in the Royal Dutch Navy for two years before studying history at the University of Leiden obtaining an M.A. degree.

On 02 February 2012, he married the Argentinian born Maxima Zorreguita Cerruti, despite controversy caused by her father's close ties to the military dictatorship in Argentina. The couple have three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, the Princess of Orange and heir apparent, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. The king is distantly related to Queen Elizabeth through their shared lineage to Princess Carolina, daughter of King William IV of Britain. The king was attended the funeral of Elizabeth II together with Queen Maxima and his mother, Princess Beatrix, who received an invitation as a former monarch.

Answer: Sweden

The King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, and Queen Elizabeth II shared a common ancestor in the "grandmother of Europe", Queen Victoria. When he ascended to the Swedish throne on the death of his grandfather, King Gustav VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973 at the tender age of 27, he became the 7th king from the reigning House of Bernadotte. Carl XVI Gustav was born at the Haga Palace near Stockholm on 30 April 1946, the only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sybilla. When he was nine months old, his father died in a plane crash and he was elevated to second in line to the throne. He became Crown Prince at the age of four when his grandfather succeeded to the throne. He was educated mainly in Sweden and served in the Royal Swedish Navy.

With the introduction of the 1974 Instrument of Government which removed executive powers from the monarch, the role of King of Sweden became mainly ceremonial. On 19 June 1976, he married the German/Brazilian commoner, Silvia Sommerlath, who he met at the 1972 Olympic Games where she was working as an interpreter. They have three children, Victoria, Carl-Philip and Madeleine. In 1980 Sweden introduced a policy of absolute primogeniture which means that the eldest child of the monarch, irrespective of sex, becomes the heir apparent. This role thus fell to Crown Princess Victoria. King Carl XVI Gustav was accompanied by Queen Silvia at the funeral of Elizabeth II.

Answer: Malaysia

Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been the 16th Yang di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia since his swearing in on 31 January 2019. He is both the constitutional monarch and head of state of the country. Since its independence from Britain in 1957, Malaysia has an elective monarchy with the Agong being chosen by the Conference of Rulers, a body made up of the leaders of the various states. His election to this role came only days after he had been proclaimed the 6th Sultan of Pehang on the abdication of his father due to ill health. King Abdullah, as he is styled in English, was born on 30 July 1959 to Sultan Amhed Shah of Pehang and Tengku Ampuan Afzan and was the couple's first son. He was educated in both Malaysia and Britain and, in 1979, entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst as an officer cadet. Malaysia is a member of the Commonwealth of nations and maintains close ties to Britain.

On 6 March 1986 King Abudullah married Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, the daughter of the Sultan of Johor, who became Queen Consort or Raja Permaisuri Agong upon King Abdullah's appointment. They have six children, four sons and two daughters. The Queen accompanied him to the funeral. In 1991 he also married Julia Rais, a Malaysian actress, and they have three daughters.

Answer: Belgium

King Philippe is the seventh King of the Belgians. He ascended to the throne on Belgium's National Day, 21 July 2013, after his father, King Albert II, abdicated in his favour because of ill health. Philippe was born the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola on 15 April 1960 at Belvedere Castle in Laeken, Belgium. He was educated in Belgium. He attended both Oxford University and Stanford and holds a Master's Degree in Political Science. In 1978 he joined the Belgian Royal Air Force where he qualified as jet fighter pilot. When his father ascended the throne on 09 August 1993, Philippe became Crown Prince and the heir apparent.

A few months later, on 4 December 1993, he married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz who is from one of Belgium's noble families. The marriage was very popular among both French and Flemish speakers in Belgium. The couple have four children, Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore. As Belgium made absolute primogeniture law in 1991, Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant, is the heir apparent. King Philippe was accompanied by Queen Mathilde to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who was his third cousin.

Answer: Bhutan

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk is the 5th Druk Gyalpo or "Dragon King" of the Kingdom of Bhutan. He became monarch on 09 December 2006 when his father, Jigme Sinye Wangchuk, abdicated in his favour. He was formally crowned with the Raven Crown on 6 November 2008, a date which celebrated 100 years of monarchy in Bhutan. King Khesar, as he is known, was born the eldest son of King Sinye and his third wife, Queen Ashi, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 1 February 1980. The young prince was educated in the United States before moving on to study at Oxford University. On 31 October 2004, he was installed as the 16th Trongsa Penlop. This signaled his true heritage to the Golden Throne of Bhutan and was a formal declaration of his status as Crown Prince.

On 13 October 2011, he married Jetsun Pema, who is from a noble Bhutanese family, amid great celebrations in Bhutan. The king bestowed the title of Druk Gyalseun or Queen on his wife. Their two sons were born in 2016 and 2020. Khesar is known as the "People's King" in Bhutan and oversaw the implementation of Bhutan's constitution which brought democracy to the kingdom. He was accompanied to the funeral of Elizabeth II by Queen Jetsun Pema.

Answer: Spain

King Felipe VI was proclaimed King of Spain on 19 June 2014 upon the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I. In Spain the monarch is proclaimed rather than crowned and Felipe's succession to the throne was the first such constitutional succession. Felipe was born in Madrid on 30 January 1968 as the third child and only son to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He was educated mainly in Spain and in 1985 joined the Spanish military for three years during which he qualified as a helicopter pilot. He holds a Master's Degree in International relations from Georgetown University. In May 2004, he married the Spanish television journalist, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, in Madrid's Almudena Cathedral. The couple have two daughters, Leonor, who is the heir presumptive, and Sofia.

The Spanish royal family have close ties with their British counterparts and King Felipe was accompanied to the funeral of Elizabeth II by Queen Letizia. As former monarchs, the former King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia also received an invitation and attended.