Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who is Europe’s longest-serving monarch, on Sunday said she would abdicate the throne on January 14 and that will she be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik.
Margrethe, who ascended the throne in 1972, has reigned for 52 years and has been Europe’s only reigning queen after the death of Britain’s Elizabeth II.
She made the surprise announcement on live TV during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech which is viewed by many, according to Reuters.
“In two weeks time I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody – also on me! The time takes its toll, and the number of “ailments” increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past,” the queen said.
Referring to a successful back operation she underwent in February, she said, “The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation”.
“I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark,” she said. “I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik.”
She further thanked the people of Denmark for the “overwhelming” warmth and support.
“Thank you to the changing governments with whom the collaboration always has been rewarding, and thank you to The Parliament, who have always vested their confidence in me. Thank you to the many, many people who on special occasions and in everyday life have embraced me and my family with kind words and thoughts, turning the years into a string of pearls, ” she added.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked the queen for her life-long dedication to duty.
“It is still difficult to understand that the time has now come for a change of throne,” Frederiksen said in a statement, adding that many Danes had never known another monarch.
“Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and throughout the years has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation,” she said.
In Denmark, formal power resides with the elected parliament and its government. The monarch is expected to stay above partisan politics, representing the nation with traditional duties ranging from state visits to national day celebrations.
Who is Queen Margrethe II?
Born in 1940 to Denmark’s former monarch King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, Margrethe became Queen of Denmark in 1972.
According to Reuters, She is also known for her love of archaeology and has taken part in several excavations.
In 1967, she married French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who served as her royal consort until his death in 2018.
The couple’s two sons are Crown Prince Frederik, who will become King Frederik X, and Prince Joachim. Frederik married Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, an Australian, in 2004.
In Denmark, formal power resides with the elected parliament and its government. The monarch is expected to stay above partisan politics, representing the nation with traditional duties ranging from state visits to national day celebrations.
