Global Courant
Danish King Frederik X has ascended the throne, succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who formally abdicated after 52 years.
Margrethe, 83, stunned the nation on New Year’s Eve when she announced her intention to become the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to voluntarily abdicate the throne.
The succession was formalized when she signed the declaration of her abdication during a meeting of the Council of State in parliament on Sunday, the royal palace said.
Denmark, one of the oldest monarchies in the world, does not have a coronation.
The meeting was attended by government representatives, Margrethe, Frederik, 55, his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, who is now queen, and their eldest son Christian, 18, who is the new heir to the throne.
After the signing, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed Frederik king on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
From left to right, Princess Isabella, Prince Christian, King Frederick , 2024 (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP)
“My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow,” Frederick said in his first speech as king.
“It’s a task I’ve been approaching all my life. It is a task I take on with pride, respect and joy,” he said as he looked on in front of a large crowd of cheerful people.
Moments later, he was joined on the balcony by his wife and children, including Princess Isabelle, 16, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, both 13.
Huge public support
In near-freezing temperatures, tens of thousands of people from across Denmark converged on the capital to witness the events, in a sign of the enormous popularity the monarchy enjoys in the country of almost six million people.
“We have come here today because this is history being written before our eyes. We just had to be here,” 30-year-old Soren Kristian Bisgaard, a pilot, told Reuters.
“I am very fond of the royal family. I myself served in the Royal Life Guards and stood guard at the Royal Palace.
“I am very proud to have done that and also to be here today,” he added.
King Frederik and his wife ascend the throne at a time of great public support and enthusiasm for the monarchy.
The latest survey conducted after Margrethe announced she would step down found that 82 percent of Danes expect Frederik to do well or very well in his new role, while 86 percent said the same about Mary.
Queen Margrethe II announced she would abdicate in December (File: Keld Navntoft/Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters)
Queen Margrethe
Born in 1940, Margrethe is one of the most popular public figures in Denmark.
The 1.82 meter tall, chain-smoking monarch often walked the streets of Copenhagen almost unaccompanied, winning the admiration of Danes for her warm manners and her talents as a linguist and designer.
She was an avid skier and, as a princess, was part of a Danish women’s air force unit, where she took part in judo courses and endurance trials in the snow. Margrethe remained strong even as she grew older.
In 2011, at the age of 70, she visited Danish troops in southern Afghanistan, wearing a military jumpsuit.
As monarch, she crisscrossed the country, regularly visiting Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the two semi-independent territories that are part of the Danish Empire.
Frederik was born to Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has one sibling: younger brother Prince Joachim.
Frederick is also part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (also known as the Danish National Church), a requirement for the Danish royal family, especially for reigning monarchs.
He will rule as king over Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. However, formal power remains with the elected parliament and the Danish government.
