The Queen of Denmark announced her abdication in a live TV address on New Year’s Eve on January 14th, and her son, Crown Prince Frederik, will abdicate.
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II will abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne, leaving her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik to succeed her, she said in her annual New Year’s speech.
The 83-year-old queen, who took over the throne in 1972, becomes Europe’s longest-reigning monarch following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
In February, she underwent successful back surgery.
“After undergoing surgery, I naturally started thinking about the future. Is it time to hand over responsibility to the next generation?” she said in a speech on Sunday.
“I have decided that now is the right time. On January 14, 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark,” she said.
“I entrust the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederick,” she added.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the decision in a news release.
He paid tribute to the monarch and said: “I am deeply grateful to Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom.”
In Denmark, formal power lies with the elected parliament and its government.
The monarch is expected to transcend partisan politics and represent the country in traditional duties ranging from state visits to National Day celebrations.
Born in 1940, Margrethe is one of Denmark’s most popular celebrities.
The chain-smoking monarch, 1.82 meters (6 feet) tall, often walked the streets of Copenhagen largely unaccompanied, and his warm demeanor and talents as a linguist and designer won him admiration from Danes.
An avid skier, she participated in judo classes and snow endurance tests as a member of the Danish Women’s Air Force as a princess. Margrethe remained tough even as she grew older.
In 2011, at age 70, she wore a military jumpsuit to visit Danish troops in southern Afghanistan.
As monarch, she crisscrossed the country and regularly visited Greenland and the Faroe Islands, two semi-independent territories that are part of Denmark.