AEven though Denmark's Queen Margrethe II has announced a change of throne – a throne will not play a role on Sunday, when Crown Prince Frederik becomes the new King Frederik X of Denmark. The new monarch is also not anointed. He won't even wear a crown. In Denmark the monarchs change without too much pomp.
But a carriage is used. The current Queen Margrethe herself climbs it first. The path runs from her residence, the Palais Christian IX. at Amalienborg Palace, to Christiansborg Palace. That's less than ten blocks. According to the ceremony program announced by the royal family, the Crown Prince and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, as well as Prince Christian, the eldest of their children, will arrive by car, their starting point also being Amalienborg Palace.
At 2 p.m. the meeting of the State Council will take place at Christiansborg Palace, attended by the Queen, the Crown Prince and the Prince. During the meeting, Queen Margrethe II signs her declaration of abdication, making her son the new King of Denmark, his wife Mary the Queen, and her son Christian the Crown Prince. Queen Margrethe, who will retain her title, then drives back in the car. The carriage will later take the new royal couple away.
Use of the “Golden Wedding Carriage”
Together with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, King Frederik then steps onto the balcony of Christiansborg Palace and Frederiksen proclaims him the new king. Frederik X. will give a short speech on the balcony in front of probably thousands of onlookers and end it by announcing his motto. What this will be is not yet known. The one from his mother read: “God’s help, people’s love, Denmark’s strength”.
Afterwards, a gun salute is fired and at the same time the royal standard is raised in the Palais Christian IX. lowered at Amalienborg Castle and raised in Frederik VIII's Palace in Amalienborg, the seat of the new king. The new royal couple then travels by carriage from Christiansborg Palace to Frederik VIII Palace.
According to the royal family, the vehicle is the “Golden Wedding Coach”, built in Copenhagen between 1891 and 1892. It was given to the then regent and his wife, Christian IX. and Queen Louise, given to the city by craftsmen on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary. It is the newest carriage in the royal family's fleet. It was built at the king's request in a light and elegant style and was the first carriage to have electric lights inside and out. The upholstery in the interior is made of white satin and has monograms of King Christian IX on it. and Queen Louise as well as the Danish royal coat of arms.
So far he has not been considered a great orator
The new king will appear in parliament on Monday. There is a ceremony there to mark the change of throne, in which the royal family takes part. The new monarch meets the MPs, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister and gives a speech. This is likely to be longer than the proclamation and is eagerly awaited – Crown Prince Frederik has not previously been considered a great orator. A solemn service will then take place in Aarhus Cathedral on January 21st.
With Frederik's proclamation as king, Margrethe still remains head of state, even if she steps down two ranks. The royal family announced this on Wednesday. Accordingly, if the first two heads of state, i.e. the king and the crown prince, are unable to do so due to stays abroad, she can take over the duties of the head of state.
Frederik's wife, Crown Princess Mary, will also be queen from Sunday. She had already made Margrethe head of state. Queen Margrethe's husband, Prince Henrik, was never head of state. Margrethe's relationship with her daughter-in-law Mary, a native Australian, is considered to be extremely trusting. Mary is even slightly more popular with the people than her husband.
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