Danish queen has no plans to abdicate, palace says

MargretheCopenhagen - Danish Queen Margrethe has no plans to abdicate and retire next year to her private estate in France, the palace said Tuesday.

Author John Lindskog has suggested in a new book that the queen would abdicate next year when she turns 70 and let her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, succeed her.

The popular monarch has ruled since 1972.

"This has no bearing," palace spokeswoman Lene Balleby told Danish news agency Ritzau.

Lindskog noted that the queen's husband, French-born Prince Henrik, has said he wants to spend more time at their estate, Chateau de Cayx ,located in the wine district of Cahors in southern France.

Historian Jon Bloch Skipper, who has written a book on the queen and her two sisters, said he was convinced the queen had no plans to abdicate, citing her strong sense of duty. (dpa)