Denmark has a brand new king following the historic abdication of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Margrethe II.
Hundreds of individuals converged on central Copenhagen for the succession the place the 83-year-old handed on the throne to her eldest son with the signing of a declaration in parliament.
King Frederik X is now the top of Europe’s oldest monarchy.
Queen Margrethe II. Pic: AP
The previous crown prince, 55, shall be formally proclaimed king by the prime minister on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace within the coronary heart of the Danish capital.
Not like within the UK, there isn’t a coronation ceremony in Denmark.
Margrethe stunned the nation of practically six million on New Yr’s Eve when she introduced her determination to abdicate after 52 years as queen, changing into the primary Danish sovereign in practically 900 years to take action.
She cited well being causes having undergone main again surgical procedure final February.
Danish royal professional Thomas Larsen stated: “The queen has been right here and he or she has been on the throne for greater than 50 years. And he or she is an especially revered and well-liked determine, so folks hadn’t anticipated this and so they have been in shock.”
Karen Holk Jeppesen, 31, a communications marketing consultant who had travelled to Copenhagen for the royal event, stated: “I used to be in shock and began crying when the queen stated on New Yr’s Eve she would abdicate.
“It’s extremely uncommon to witness an actual historic second that you already know shall be written about within the historical past books.”
The abdication comes 52 years to the day after Margrethe ascended the throne following the demise of her father, King Frederik IX.
It leaves Denmark with two queens. Margrethe will preserve her title whereas Frederik’s Australian-born spouse will grow to be Queen Mary.
Frederik and Mary’s eldest son Christian, 18, will grow to be crown prince and inheritor to the throne.
The final time a Danish monarch voluntarily resigned was in 1146, when King Erik III Lam stepped right down to enter a monastery.
Learn extra:
Queen Margrethe’s reign in pictures
Who is the former ‘party prince’ and Denmark’s new monarch?
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‘I’ll step down as Denmark’s queen’
Denmark’s monarchy traces its origins to Tenth-century Viking king Gorm the {Old}, making it the oldest in Europe and one of many oldest on the earth.
At present the royal household’s duties are largely ceremonial.
The brand new King and Queen will take the throne at a time of big public help and enthusiasm for the monarchy.