STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Danish queen margrethe ii He announced his intention to abdicate on Sunday. 52 years later He then handed over the throne to his son, Crown Prince Frederik.
queen of europe longest-lived monarchannounced in his New Year’s speech that he would abdicate on January 14, the anniversary of his accession to the throne at the age of 31, following the death of his father Frederick IX.
Margrethe, 83, said: back surgery She underwent surgery in early 2023, causing her to “think about the future” and when she would hand over the responsibilities of the throne to her son. “I have decided that now is the right time,” she said in a speech.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen paid tribute to her in a statement, saying: “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless work on behalf of the Kingdom.”
Frederiksen’s statement said Margrethe was “the epitome of Denmark” and “for many years her words and emotions have shaped who we are as a people and as a nation.”
Six feet tall (1.82 meters) and a chain-smoker, Margrethe is one of Denmark’s most popular public figures. role of monarch It is mainly ceremonial. She often walked the streets of Copenhagen virtually unescorted, and her warm demeanor and her talents as a linguist and designer attracted the admiration of the Danes.
An avid skier, she was part of the Danish Women’s Air Force as a princess, taking part in judo classes and snow endurance tests. 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 criss-crossed the country, regularly visiting Greenland and the Faroe Islands, two semi-independent territories that are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and was met with cheering crowds everywhere.
Denmark is home to Europe’s oldest monarchy, tracing its lineage back to the Viking King Gorm the Elder, who died in 958. Although Magrethe is the head of state, the Danish constitution strictly prohibits her involvement in party politics.
However, the Queen was clearly well versed in the law and knew the contents of the bill she was asked to sign.
She was educated in French and English from an early age, as well as Swedish by her mother. In addition to her archaeology, she studied philosophy, politics and economics at the universities of Copenhagen, Aarhus and Cambridge, the London School of Economics and the Sorbonne in Paris.
Frederic Andre Henrik Christian has been the heir to the Danish throne since his birth on May 26, 1968.
He is the eldest son of Queen Margrethe and her French-born husband Prince Henrik, who died in February 2018. Frederick, 55, has a younger brother, Prince Joachim.
From the age of 18, he served as regent whenever his mother was abroad. performed official dutiesshook hands with thousands of people and welcomed foreign dignitaries.
The Queen’s announcement consisted of just a few sentences at the end of a wide-ranging New Year’s speech that reflected on the “upheaval and upheaval of the world” amid wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. climate crisis.
But she also thanked the public for the “warmth and hospitality of the people I met everywhere in Denmark.”
While the Prime Minister lavished praise on the Queen, he also looked to the future.
“In the new year, Crown Prince Frederik will be proclaimed king. Crown Princess Mary will be proclaimed queen. The kingdom will have a new regent and a new royal couple,” he said in a statement. “We are looking forward to all of this because we know they are ready to take on the responsibility and the task.”