Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced in a New Year’s Eve speech that she plans to abdicate the throne, allowing her son Crown Prince Frederik to take over.
The Queen announced that she would abdicate on January 14, the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne on January 14, 1972. Queen Margrethe assumed her throne following the death of her biological father, Frederick IX. In February, the Queen underwent successful surgery on her back.
“After the surgery, I naturally started thinking about the future,” she says. “Is it time to hand over responsibility to the next generation?”
Denmark has a constitutional monarchy, and Crown Prince Frederick is the heir to the throne. His eldest son, Prince Christian, is next in rank, followed by Frederick’s three younger children.
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the news and thanked the queen in a statement on Sunday, calling her “the epitome of Denmark.”
“In the new year, Crown Prince Frederik will be proclaimed king and Crown Princess Mary will be queen,” Frederiksen said. “The kingdom will have a new regent and a new king and queen, and we can look forward to all of this knowing that they are ready to take on their responsibilities and tasks.”
Under the Danish constitution, the royal family has no political power and is prohibited from involvement in party politics.
Last year, Margarete Four of her eight grandchildren were stripped of their titles.. The official reason is to allow youngest son Prince Joachim’s four children to lead a more normal life, and to follow similar moves by other European royal families to slim down the monarchy. the palace said at the time. The Queen’s other four grandchildren with Crown Prince Frederik hold titles, but only future king Prince Christian will receive an appanage when they reach adulthood, and in 2016 It was decided in the year.
Margarete often walked the streets of Copenhagen largely unaccompanied, and her warm demeanor and talent as a linguist and designer earned her admiration among 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.
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