Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced that she will be abdicating her role as queen on Jan. 14 in an address given Sunday.
The Danish queen currently holds the title as the longest-serving current monarch in Europe and is the world’s only reigning queen at the moment, according to the BBC.
Following the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the Danish queen reportedly became the longest-serving monarch in Europe. In July, she became the longest-sitting monarch in Denmark’s history.
“I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she said in the televised address, according to the BBC. “I have decided that now is the right time. On Jan. 14, 2024 — 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father — I will step down as queen of Denmark.”
What will happen now?
Queen Margrethe explained that in February 2023 she underwent “extensive back surgery.”
“Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me. Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future — whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation,” the queen said, according to CNN.
Prince Frederik will reportedly take the throne as His Majesty King Frederik X and his wife, Australian-born Princess Mary, will take her place as Queen Consort and the first Australian to ever ascend to the role.
The New York Times reported that the “king-to-be” is a part of “a younger generation of royals who have had their lives relentlessly documented in the media and who have embraced contemporary stances.”
The prince reportedly has a continued commitment to fight against climate change, while his mother once upset scientists for sharing her opinion that she wasn’t sure climate change was directly caused by humans.
Princess Mary’s rise to the throne is reportedly expected to bring in a large audience from her former home in Hobart, Tasmania, before meeting the prince.
Reactions to Queen Margrethe’s abdication of the throne
The country of Denmark had 5.9 million viewers watch the announcement, made on live TV during the queen’s traditional New Year’s Eve speech, according to Reuters.
“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,” Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement thanking the queen for her service following the announcement.
Frederiksen further said, “It is still difficult to understand that the time has now come for a change of throne.”