Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, rode through the Danish capital in a golden carriage as she wrapped up her final New Year’s celebrations before abdicating later this month.
Thousands of people braved subzero temperatures, strong winds, snow and sleet to cheer on the popular queen along the roads in her final public appearance as king on Thursday.
She will abdicate on January 14th after 52 years on the throne.
The 83-year-old will hand over the throne to her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick, in the first step in Europe’s oldest monarchy in nearly 900 years.
Margrethe rode on a so-called gold coach pulled by six white horses. The carriage will be used to transport the King from his residence at Amalienborg Palace to Christiansborg Castle during traditional New Year’s celebrations with officers of the Armed Forces. .
The monarch wore a fur coat and white gloves and rode in a 19th-century enclosed carriage covered in 24-carat gold leaf and topped with four golden crowns.
They were escorted by members of a light cavalry regiment in blue uniforms with red jackets.
Earlier this week, Queen Margrethe hosted a series of events welcoming the Danish government, parliament, top civilian and military officials, and diplomats.
Christiansborg Palace is used for official royal functions such as gala dinners and public audiences, and also houses the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Danish Supreme Court.
It is located about 800 meters from Amalienborg Palace.
The Queen will officially sign her abdication on January 14 at the Council of State, a meeting with the Danish government, making Frederick, 55, and his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, King and Queen of Denmark.
In some European countries, monarchs have abdicated to allow younger royals to take over, but Denmark has no such tradition.
For years, Margrethe insisted she would not quit.
But her health changed things.
In her annual televised New Year’s speech on December 31, Margrethe said she was “thinking about the future” following back surgery in early 2023 and when she would hand over the responsibilities of the throne to her son. He said that he started thinking about this. “We decided now was the right time,” she said.
When she took the throne in 1972, succeeding her late father Frederick IX, only 42% of Danes supported the monarchy. According to the latest survey, 84% of Danish girlfriends approve of it to some extent or to some extent.