My father had no sons, so I became queen. The only thing I had to do was perform the role.

I believe that it is indeed easier for a woman who follows a male monarch, as it was in my case. There was no role model I had to measure up to. It was clear from the beginning that many things would be different, and that helped. And I hope that the same thing will help my son, Crown Prince Frederik, when he becomes king one day.

I would not say Denmark is a multicultural country, but more people live here now who have different roots, backgrounds and religions, more than 30 years ago. This also applies to religions.

Luther exerted a strong influence on Denmark. Suddenly Danish theologians were preaching in Danish and translating the Bible into Danish.

I hope people will remember me as one who did her best - and who wasn't an anachronism.

I have always had a dread of becoming a passenger in life.

I believe that all the euphoria about Europe has led many of us to forget that Europe is a conglomerate of different entities and countries. But if you don't love your own entity, if you don't know your roots and can no longer relate to them, you will also have problems with the rest of Europe.