While the grand celebration planned in the honour of Queen Margrethe of Denmark's 80th birthday stands cancelled in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Danish royal court marked the birthday week with a special portrait series.

The Danish royal court has shared several photographs of Queen Margrethe on Instagram over the past few days, ahead of her birthday on Thursday. The court shared three images in honour of her 80th birthday on Tuesday, and captioned it: "Today, the first three images are published in a new art portrait series on the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen's impending 80th birthday."

For the portraits taken by photographer Per Morten Abrahamsen in 2019, the monarch posed with her son Crown Prince Frederick, 51, and grandson Prince Christian, 14, who are first and second in the line of the succession to the Danish throne, respectively. Individual portraits of the queen have been taken as well for the art portrait series. For the pictures, the queen opted for a deep purple long-sleeve shift dress and patent black loafers, while her son and grandson wore matching suits and ties.

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I dag offentliggøres de tre første billeder i en ny kunstportrætserie i anledning af Hendes Majestæt Dronningens forestående 80-års fødselsdag. Portrætterne er taget af fotograf Per Morten Abrahamsen, og serien indeholder både generationsportrætter af Dronningen sammen med Hans Kongelige Højhed Kronprinsen og Hans Kongelige Højhed Prins Christian samt individuelle portrætter af Dronningen. Per Morten Abrahamsen er især kendt for sit iscenesatte fotografi, som ofte bryder rammen for det traditionelle portræt. Portrætserien er udformet i et samspil mellem fotografens research og forslag samt Dronningens egne ønsker. Portrætterne er taget i efteråret og vinteren 2019 i Christian IX’s Palæ på Amalienborg samt på Fredensborg Slot. 📸 Per Morten Abrahamsen©️

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"The portrait series is designed after an interaction between the photographer's research and proposals as well as the Queen's own wishes. The portraits were taken in the fall and winter of 2019 at Christian IX's Mansion at Amalienborg as well as at Fredensborg Castle," the court further said in the caption.

Earlier on Monday, the Danish royal court shared a series of portraits of the royal clicked over the years, and revealed they are the official photographs that are most often taken to mark special anniversaries in the queen's life.

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Gennem tiden er Hendes Majestæt Dronningen blevet fotograferet adskillige gange. Både af pressefotografer, men også af befolkningen, når Majestæten deltager i officielle begivenheder. En række billeder er dog noget ganske særligt. Det er de officielle portrætfotografier, som oftest bliver taget i forbindelse med særlige mærkedage i Dronningens liv. Sammen med fotografen er Dronningen involveret i processen bag portrætbillederne, og i mange år var det afdøde Rigmor Mydtskov, der tog officielle billeder af Dronningen. I dette opslag ses en række af Mydtskovs portrætter af Majestæten: fra tronbestigelsen i 1972 til 60-års fødselsdagen i 2000. Se flere billeder på Kongehuset hjemmeside. I morgen og frem til på torsdag afsløres en række nye portrætfotografier af Majestæten. Portrætterne er taget af fotograf Per Morten Abrahamsen i forbindelse med Dronningens 80-års fødselsdag den 16. april. Billederne vil kunne ses på Kongehusets hjemmeside og sociale medier. 📸 Rigmor Mydtskov, Huset Mydtskov©️

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"For many years it was the late Rigmor Mydtskov who took official pictures of the Queen. This post shows a number of Mydtskov's portraits of the Majesty: from the ascension in 1972 to the 60th birthday in 2000," the post was captioned.

"Tomorrow and until Thursday, a number of new portrait photographs will be unveiled by the Majesty. The portraits were taken by photographer Per Morten Abrahamsen in connection with the Queen's 80th birthday on April 16," the royal court stated. ️

Prince Henrik
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her husband, Prince Henrik talk to journalist during their visit at Prambanan temple on 24 October 2015 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

A huge celebration spanning over a month was planned for the queen's 80th birthday, however, she cancelled all the events after the outbreak of novel coronavirus. While the monarch usually receives flowers from her citizens on her birthday, this time, she has requested them to send flowers to elderly neighbours or relatives instead, who need their spirits lifted in times of lockdown.

Meanwhile, over 170,000 people across Denmark have joined a Facebook group pledging to virtually sing together for their queen at midday on Thursday, while following social distancing guidelines, reports Mail Online.