Queen Margrethe of Denmark has been pictured for the first time since she was admitted to hospital in Copenhagen as a consequence of a cold. The former Queen, who abdicated in 2024 in favour of her eldest son, King Frederik X, was being treated in Rigshospitalet in the Danish capital for observation as a precaution.

To mark her return to public life, a series of new images of the former monarch have been released as she received the Bible Society's 2025 Prize.

Writing in the caption, the post read: "For her many years of commitment to faith, church life and Bible dissemination, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe today received the Bible Society's 2025 Prize."

The caption continued: "The Garden Hall at Fredensborg Castle was the setting for the prize presentation, which was attended by representatives from the Bible Society, among others.

"The Bible Society's Prize was established in 2007 and is awarded to a person who is recognised for a special effort to make the Bible present in society. The prize consists of, among other things, a framed original page from an early Danish Bible edition."

The Queen wore a vibrant red skirt and a pink checked blazer to collect her new honour and was ably supported by a walking stick.

Queen Margrethe announced her abdication on New Year's Eve in 2023 and was succeeded by her eldest son, King Frederik X, two weeks later in a ceremony at the Christiansborg Palace, as he was proclaimed King alongside his wife, Queen Mary and his four children, Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

The Queen previously made headlines in 2022 when she shocked the world by announcing that she was going to strip her other four grandchildren — Nikolai, Felix, Henrik, and Athena — of their royal titles.

They have since become styled as Counts and Countess of Monpezat.