It’s official ! QUEEN MARY & QUEEN KATE

Both Mary and Kate receive the wonderful news, in a week of abdications in Denmark and the UK

For the first time in history, two royals – Duchess Kate and our very own Princess Mary – look set to become queens at the same time.

In a sensational new twist, Queen Elizabeth, 91, and Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, 77, are tipped to hand power down to the adored royal mums as both reigning monarchs face a wave of unprecedented crises.

Queen Margrethe has already temporarily handed over power to Mary’s husband Prince Fred after her husband, Henrik, gave a ‘humiliating’ interview that experts say could lead to divorce.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth is reportedly ‘weeks away’ from announcing plans to have Prince William and Kate take over all her official palace duties.

‘This is a major breakthrough in both royal families,’ a European royal historian tells New Idea.

‘We’ve never seen two abdications in two of Europe’s biggest royal families at the

same time, and then seen two popular young royal couples take the throne like this.

‘This is absolutely a royal first – our children will be talking about how Queen Mary and Queen Kate rose to power at the same time for centuries to come.’

The remarkable turn of events kickstarted in Denmark with the release of a bombshell interview by Prince Henrik, husband of Queen Margrethe, where he claimed his wife was ‘playing me for a fool’.

The unprecedented outburst came after it was revealed that Henrik was refusing to be buried next to his wife due to his outrage at never being named king.

‘If she wants to have me buried next to her, she must make me king consort, that’s it!’ Henrik told Danish newspaper DT.

‘My wife has decided that she would like to be Queen, and I’m very pleased with that. But as a person, she must know that if a man and a woman are married, then they are equal.

‘My wife hasn’t shown me the respect an ordinary wife should show her spouse.’

He adds: ‘She’s the one playing me for a fool. I didn’t marry the Queen to get buried at Roskilde.

‘It’s my wife and not me that can do anything about this matter. If she wants me buried with her, she has to make me king consort.

‘End of story – I couldn’t care less,’ he said.

The 83-year-old was hospitalised days after the shocking public attack, forcing a series of crisis meetings where Queen Margrethe announced her plan to abdicate.

‘She knows staying in power where Henrik will only damage the monarchy more is a big mistake and she’s even considering divorce,’ says a Copenhagen source.

‘Queen Margrethe is making plans to abdicate and Mary will be named Queen. An announcement is imminent.’

And it seems similar plans are afoot in London, with the Queen announcing plans to abdicate in all but name – and have Prince William and

Duchess Kate, both 35, to follow in her footsteps – leaving the Prince of Wales, 68, and his second wife, Camilla, 70, out of the picture.

While the Queen was initially planning to step down at age 95, last week she decided that she simply couldn’t keep up with her rigorous schedule and would be stepping down in the coming months.

‘Everything is up in the air because the Queen and Prince Philip have lived to such a ripe old age,’ a senior courtier exclusively tells New Idea.

‘Now that the Duke of Edinburgh has retired at 96, the Queen is having to decide what is best for the fate of the institution she has spent her life protecting.

‘The Queen knows that Charles will find it hard to cope and could ruin the monarchy. She has been looking closely at the situation and has decided it would be better for William and Kate to take over, as they are the future.’

Royal author Robert Jobson adds: ‘This is the crunch time for Team Windsor.

‘There is nothing to stop the Queen following her husband into a form of retirement.’ NI