Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has announced her abdication in favor of her son, Prince Frederick, during her traditional televised New Year's speech. A decision that comes after the scandal of the photographs of the heir to the throne with Genoveva Casanova, Cayetano Martínez de Irujo's ex.
The 83-year-old queen, who announced this decision by surprise, has set the date of January 14 to formally leave the Danish throne. Margaret II has worn the crown of the Danish Royal House for 52 years.
«In two weeks I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. An amount like that will leave its mark on anyone, including me. Time takes its toll and the number of ailments increases. “You cannot undertake as much as was achieved in the past,” said the monarch, who thanked the “warmth and devotion” received by her family for “many years.”
Margarita II recalled that in February of this year she already underwent back surgery, an operation in which “everything went well”, but which led her to reflect on the future of the crown. “Inevitably, the operation gave rise to thoughts about the future: whether now would be the right time to hand over responsibility to the next generation,” she added.
«I have decided that now is the right time and, on January 14, 2024, 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark. “I will hand the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederick,” she revealed.
The queen continued with her thanks, also to “the changing governments” with whom collaboration has always been “gratifying”, in addition to the Danish Parliament, which “has always placed its trust” in her.
“Thank you to so many people who on special occasions and in everyday life have embraced me and my family with kind words and thoughts, turning these years into pleasant work,” said the one who is still the only sovereign woman in Europe.
«The support and assistance I have received over the years has been crucial to the success of my task. I am hopeful that the new King and Queen will receive the same trust and devotion that has come my way. “They deserve it and Denmark deserves it,” she concluded.
Margaret II also had words in her speech for those who celebrate the New Year “in the shadow of terrorism and war”, with special mention of the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.
«The year 2022 will always be associated with the attack on Ukraine. This year the war has continued with the same intensity and with enormous loss of human life. Although at this moment attention is directed to the Middle East, the struggle of Ukrainians for freedom must not be forgotten,” he noted, and then recalled that Danish support is “of great importance for the Ukrainian people.”
Danish Prince Frederick will take the throne next January. Precisely, Kings Felipe VI and Letizia have been one of the last institutional visits received by the Danish Royal House, on a state trip to Denmark last November to further strengthen the already good relations between both countries.
The visit was the first after the one carried out in 1980 by Juan Carlos I and Doña Sofía and was going to have taken place last April, but had to be postponed due to the aforementioned surgical intervention by Queen Margarita II.
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