Inside Queen Elizabeth's Friendship With Queen Margrethe Of Denmark

Most of the time, Queen Elizabeth II is seen surrounded by members of the royal family. However, she does have an inner circle of friends (via PopSugar) — including distant family members such as Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. As the only two reigning queens in the world, per ITV News, the two share a lot in common, and both just so happen to be celebrating jubilees this year.

Not only are they close friends, but they're also related. As the Express reports, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe are third cousins through Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark. Fourteen years her junior, Queen Margrethe looked up to Her Majesty seeing as she would be following in her third cousin's footsteps. "[Queen Elizabeth] was 26 when she became queen," the Danish monarch told ITV News. "I hoped I wouldn't be as young as that when my father died. It made an enormous impression on me."

Watching Queen Elizabeth II take reign of a country at such a young age inspired Queen Margrethe II and prepared her for her future role. "The fact that she was dedicating her life. I understood what that meant," she told ITV News. "This is for life. That is the whole point of my life. And I know she sees that too." Her parents, King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid (via Tatler), noticed that too. They told their daughter to pay close attention to what the British monarch was doing so she could "see that it could be done and it was worthwhile and you could live a very full life with it, even with a heavy schedule and a demanding job," she explained.

While the two monarchs don't regularly visit one another, when they do meet up they get along very well. "She always invites me for lunch when I am in London, when we talk about the family, how things are going in this country and that country, and what the children are up to," Queen Margrethe revealed.

The two monarchs are so close, in fact, that they have nicknames for one another. Well, kind of. Queen Elizabeth II has been known as Lilibet within her family since she was a young girl, a name that her father, King George VI, gave her as a child (via Romper). The origin of Queen Margrethe II's nickname, Daisy, is a little more complicated. The Danish monarch was named after her grandmother, Princess Margareta of Sweden (via Royal Central). Her name is very similar to the Nordic name for the daisy flower, known as a Marguerite.

Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe have always known each other by these names, as the Danish monarch told ITV News. "That is what we call each other when we see or speak to one another," Queen Margrethe said. "We are definitely affectionate, but I don't want to splash it all over the place!"

Aside from nicknames, the two queens also share a love and pride in their duty as reigning monarchs. "Good and bad have happened in her life and she is most impressive," Queen Margrethe continued. "It is a duty, but you also have to love your duty. That is something Queen Elizabeth and I share."