COPENHAGEN - Crowds came out en masse in Denmark on Saturday to honour Queen Margrethe II as she celebrated 40 years on the throne which saw her become one of Europe's most popular and versatile monarchs. She acceded to the throne on January 14, 1972, when, a tall and lanky crown princess grief stricken by the death of her father, she became the first woman to take the helm of Europe's oldest monarchy. On Saturday, the now 71-year-old queen laid a wreath at the tomb of her parents, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, at the Roskilde Cathedral, as did her two sisters Benedikte and Anne-Marie.