The 83-year-old Queen Margrethe II of Denmark unexpectedly announced her abdication on January 14, 2024 in her New Year’s speech. The Danish throne will then be taken over by her son, 55-year-old Prince Frederick.
– It is time to pass power to the next generation – said on Sunday Margaret II, the favorite of the Danes. – Time is running out and diseases are getting worse. People can’t cope the same way they did before, she explained.
The monarch underwent spine surgery in February, following the doctors’ advice she decided to quit smoking after 66 years. She returned to her duties, although she used a cane.
Queen Margrethe IIPAP/EPA/Keld Navntoft DENMARK OUT
Margaret II came to power in 1972
The date of handing over the throne, January 14, is not accidental. On this day in 1972, Margaret took power upon the death of her father, King Frederick IX. This will be the first ever Denmark act of assuming the throne after abdication.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, on behalf of the Danes, sent a letter to the Queen. “On behalf of the entire Danish people, I would like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong and tireless efforts on behalf of the Kingdom (of Denmark),” wrote Frederiksen. She called the queen “the personification of Denmark”.
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Main photo source: PAP/EPA/Keld Navntoft DENMARK OUT