Keld Nabuntoft/Ritzau Scanpics/Reuters
On Sunday, December 31, 2023, Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication in a New Year’s speech at Christian IX Palace and Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen.
CNN
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has announced a surprise move to step down from her role in early 2024, after a reign of more than 50 years.
Margrethe, 83, said in a traditional New Year’s Eve speech broadcast on Danish television that she would hand over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik.
As for her thoughts on the future, she cited back surgery she underwent in February 2023.
“In two weeks I will have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years,” she said.
“Such an amount will leave its mark on anyone, and even on me!” Over time, the number of “diseases” increases. “We can’t do as much as we have done in the past,” she added.
“I had major back surgery in February of this year,” she said. “Everything went well thanks to the competent medical personnel who cared for me. Inevitably, this operation will determine whether now is the right time to hand over responsibility to the next generation, and whether or not the future It gave me an opportunity to think about it.
“We decided now was the right time,” she said.
“On January 14, 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik.
After the death of Frederick IX, Queen Margrethe II took over the throne on January 14, 1972.
Margrethe became Europe’s longest-reigning monarch after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II died last year.
Prince Frederik will take over the throne as His Majesty King Frederick X in January, Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
His wife, Australian-born Princess Mary, is set to become the first Australian queen.
The pair famously met in a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics, and her fans watched from afar as she joined the Danish royal family.
Princess Mary’s accession to the throne will draw a large audience to the ceremony from her former home in Hobart, Tasmania, where she worked as a property sales executive before meeting the prince.
On January 14, after a meeting of the State Council, the Prime Minister announces the change of throne at Christiansborg Castle.
Even after the handover, the Queen’s title will continue to be “Her Majesty the Queen.”
Denmark’s royal family has a limited role under the country’s constitution, with power vested in parliament. The monarch not only approves new laws, but also plays an important ambassadorial role.
According to Reuters, Margrethe has received extensive support from Danes throughout her life.