More than 100,000 people were expected to gather outside Christiansborg Palace in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen on Sunday to witness the abdication of Queen Margrethe II.
The Queen is expected to finalize her abdication, which was first announced in a New Year’s Eve speech, at a meeting with the Danish Cabinet at around 2pm (1pm Japan time).
Her 55-year-old son, Crown Prince Frederick, will then be proclaimed king on the palace balcony.
Margrethe, 83, becomes the first Danish king in nearly 900 years to voluntarily abdicate. She has ruled the small Scandinavian country for exactly 52 years since she assumed her throne on January 14, 1972.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark: Reigned for over 50 years
She has led Denmark since 1972. The first queen in more than 500 years to rule her country, Margrethe II remained close to her people and had a surprisingly unconventional attitude.
This is how Danes know and love their queen. She is always in a good mood, smiles brightly, and wears colorful clothes. Margaret II never cared much for the customs of her court. She is a friendly and people-oriented monarch.
Image: Carsten Rehder/Photo Alliance/DPA
Cheering (pre-pandemic) crowd
On the 40th anniversary of her reign in 2012, cheering crowds gathered to wave flags and welcome the popular monarch. Although the pandemic forced the cancellation of her 50th anniversary celebrations in 2022, the queen’s popularity has not diminished.
Image: Peng Zhongmin/Xinhua/Photo Union
40th anniversary festival
On January 14, 2012, Queen Margrethe appeared before well-wishers in Copenhagen without a care in the world. With her usual bright smile, the queen appeared with her beloved husband Prince Henrik before his death in 2018. The jubilant ceremony symbolized how the shy artist and heavy smoker became Europe’s most popular monarch.
Image: Keld Navntoft/AFP/Getty Images
To commemorate the 40th anniversary, the Danish Parliament presented the Queen with a rug emblazoned with the royal coat of arms. The monarch only carries out the duties of her representative, but new laws always require her signature. Margaret’s royal motto is “God’s help, the love of the people, the strength of Denmark.”
Image: Liselotte Sabloe/dpa/picture Alliance
sculpture for the queen
For Margrethe’s 25th anniversary on the throne in 1997, she received a special gift from the Danish government. Sculptor Hans Pauli Olsen (right) created the bust of the Queen, which Margrethe II and Prince Henrik admire. Her monarch himself was keen on designing her costumes and sets, and even published children’s books about her with his own drawings of her.
Image: Politikens Presse Foto/DPA/Photo Alliance
When Margrethe Alexandrine Thorhildur Ingrid entered the world on April 16, 1940, little could she have predicted that she would one day become the reigning Queen and, by extension, the Head of State of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. At that time, it was still intended for men to be monarchs.
Image: Scanpix Denmark/Photo Alliance
Becomes official heir to the throne at the age of 13
Margrethe (r)’s childhood was happy and carefree. Along with her younger sisters Anne-Marie (left) and Benedicte, she grew up at Amalienborg Palace. Her father, Frederick IX, had no sons and had the law governing her succession to the throne changed by popular vote. After that, women were also allowed to wear the crown. In 1953, at the age of 13, Margrethe became the official heir to the throne.
Image: Polfoto Petersen Erik/dpa/picture-alliance
On her 18th birthday in 1960, Margrethe posed next to her parents and siblings on the palace balcony, already looking like a queen. She greeted the crowd outside with her usual smile.
As befits a crown princess, Margrethe studied at one of the most prestigious universities. In London, she fell in love with the French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Montpezat. The two married in 1967, and Count Henri of France became Prince Henrik of Denmark.
Image: Per Pejstrup/Scanpix Denmark/Image Alliance
The Crown Princess was proclaimed queen at the age of 31 on January 14, 1972, the day her father, King Frederik IX, died. Although there was no ceremonial accession to the throne in Europe’s oldest monarchy, it was nevertheless a very memorable day. Featured on Denmark: For the first time in more than 500 years, the country is ruled by a woman.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mydtskov Rigmor
Her role as queen placed a great strain on Margrethe and Henrik’s marriage. It was a great love, but the French aristocracy was reluctant to play second fiddle in public. However, the two always managed to reconcile and had been married for 51 years when Prince Henrik passed away in February 2018. The couple had two sons, Crown Prince Frederick and Prince Joachim.
Image: Bernard Patrick/abaca/picture Alliance
Family is very important to Margrethe. In 2014, she is happily united with her husband, her children and her grandchildren at Henrik’s Vineyard in the Château de Caix, France, fulfilling her typical duties that come with being a queen. It is far from.
Image: Patrick van Katwijk/DPP/DPA/Photography Alliance
Margaret II ruled for 50 years without scandal. Her biggest vice is smoking, reportedly smoking up to 30 cigarettes a day. For this reason, the Danes called her “Queen of the Volcanoes”. Now that she’s 81 years old, the Queen is still going strong, and despite the loss of her great love, she still seems strong and bright.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Lancelot
In memory of King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid
Early retirement was once unthinkable for Margrethe II. “As long as there are challenges, there is no time to fall into a hole,” she says. She still respects her parents. Here she is seen laying a wreath at her parents’ graves in Roskilde Cathedral with her sisters in 2012.
Amid the pandemic, the Queen reflected on her 50 years on the throne, saying: “A lot has changed in that time, but the love of our neighbors and the love of our country has not.”
Image: Ritzau Scanpix/Image Alliance
Margrethe gives way to Frederick X
Despite the winter cold, a crowd gathered before the ceremony.
Margrethe is a very popular figure in Denmark, and the news of her abdication came as a surprise to everyone, including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who was not informed of her intentions before the announcement.
The Queen said she made the decision after suffering health problems and undergoing back surgery last year.
Frederiksen becomes the person who declares himself crown prince, becoming King Frederick X.
Observers said Frederic, who is supported by 80% of Danes, was likely to be very different from his mother. He is considered an unofficial figure.
The Danish monarch has a largely ceremonial role, but is required to sign government bills into law.
