Danish Queen Mother's condition worsens

King Frederik IX with Queen Ingrid

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CNN) -- The condition of Denmark's ailing Queen Mother Ingrid is deteriorating, officials said on Monday afternoon.

A statement signed by her two doctors said the 90-year-old had become increasingly weak over the past 24 hours and her dwindling strength was affecting the functioning of her heart.

Relatives have travelled from across the globe to be at the bedside of the Swedish-born Queen Mother, who is a popular figure in her adopted home country -- the grand old lady of a royal household untainted by scandal.

Crown Prince Frederik returned home from Australia on Monday, having cut short a private trip because of his grandmother's illness.

Danish television showed him entering Fredensborg Castle, north of Copenhagen, where the Queen Mother is being treated.

Queen Margrethe is by her mother's bedside

With her are her daughter's Queen Margrethe and Anne-Marie, who is married to Greece's exiled King Konstantin. Their sister Princess Benedikte left Fredensborg on Monday morning to go back to her home in Germany but she returned to Denmark on Monday afternoon.

All ten of the Queen Mother's grandchildren -- including Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Alexia of Greece -- have travelled to the castle to be near her.

Ingrid, a daughter of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 1935. Her husband became King Frederik IX in 1947. He died in 1972.

Denmark's royal family is the oldest monarchy in Europe, dating back to 950 AD.

The house of Glucksborg, which has held the throne since 1863, is closely related to the royal families of Sweden, Norway, Britain, Spain and Greece.

Reuters contributed to this report.

CNN Denmark
The Danish Royal Family

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