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Denmark's Queen Margrethe II (2022): "He made us stand together"
Photo: Per Morten Abrahamsen / Royal House of Denmark / picture alliance / dpa
At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II said she had an extremely bad impression of the Kremlin chief.
She remembers thinking that Putin was not a pleasant person, the 82-year-old monarch said in an interview with the Danish weekly Weekendavisen.
"I've never seen such cold eyes in my life."
Margrethe has been on the throne in Denmark for over 51 years.
During this time she has met dozens of heads of state and government.
Putin met her during a state visit to Russia in 2011 - at that time he was Russian Prime Minister under President Dmitry Medvedev.
In 2014, she met Putin again on the sidelines of a commemoration event marking the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy during World War II.
»Putin thought he could tear apart all of Europe«
Margrethe follows the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine daily through newspaper reports, as she reported in the detailed and generally very open interview.
She was impressed by the resilience of the Ukrainians.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described her as "the right man at the right time".
She also praised Europe's response, including the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.
"Putin thought he could tear all of Europe apart, but he made us stand together," the queen said.
In the interview, Margrethe also talks about her friendly relationship with the late British Queen Elizabeth II and the Netflix series »The Crown«.
The queen, who is interested in art and culture, said she avoided watching the series.
"I know the family so well that it would irritate me beyond measure to see them say things they would never say, or speak in a way I don't think they would speak."
Another topic: She has never tried to quit smoking, said the monarch known for her cigarette consumption.
Have you ever thought about switching to nicotine gum?
"No.
And now I'm so old that it doesn't matter," said the 82-year-old.
Her mother also smoked to the end, as did her father.
The interviewing journalist reports that the cigarettes are in a silver box at Margrethe's.
They come from a Greek brand, are very strong and have no filter - the interview is accordingly entitled »Dronningen uden filter« (Queen without a filter).
wit/dpa