Dänemark's Queen Margrethe II has abdicated after 52 years of reign and handed over the throne to her son Frederik. The 83-year-old monarch signed her abdication declaration at a meeting with the government in Copenhagen on Sunday, footage from Christiansborg Palace showed. The previous crown prince then symbolically took his mother's place at the table. “God save the king,” Margrethe said as she left the hall, then drove back to Amalienborg Palace.
The change of throne is now formally completed and the previous Crown Prince Frederik is the new King of Denmark. At 3 p.m., the 55-year-old heir to the throne was to be officially proclaimed King Frederik X by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from the balcony of the castle. A huge crowd waited for the proclamation in front of the castle.
An extremely unusual step
Queen Margrethe unexpectedly announced in her annual New Year's speech that she wanted to pass the throne on to her eldest son. She justified the step with major back surgery, which she had to undergo in February 2023.
The operation made her think about whether it wasn't time to pass on responsibility to the next generation, the monarch said in her speech, which is traditionally followed closely by the Danish population on New Year's Eve. She then announced that she would step down as queen on her 52nd anniversary on the throne on January 14th, leaving the throne to her eldest son.
The step is extremely unusual in Denmark: unlike in the Netherlands, for example, it is generally not customary in the Scandinavian royal families to abdicate before death. According to the royal family in Copenhagen, the last time a Danish regent voluntarily renounced the throne in this way was in 1146. Margrethe herself had repeatedly emphasized that she wanted to fulfill her role until her death – until she finally announced her abdication on New Year's Eve, to the great surprise of the Danes.
#Denmark #king #Margrethe #hands #Frederik
