Queen Margrethe II, Denmark’s longest reigning monarch, is due to pass the throne to her first-born son Frederik and tens of thousands of Danes are expected to gather in the streets of Copenhagen to witness the historic succession.
Margrethe stunned the nation of nearly six million on New Year’s Eve when she announced her decision to abdicate after 52 years as queen, becoming the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to relinquish the throne.
People from all over Denmark are expected to crowd Copenhagen in a sign of the huge popularity the monarchy is enjoying.
The crown prince, 55, and his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, who will become queen, are scheduled to leave the royal palace at 12:35pm Irish time in a 1958 Rolls-Royce.
Margrethe, 83, will be followed by horse carriage a few minutes later to take her final ride as a monarch through the streets of the capital.
There will be no coronation as in Britain, but the succession itself will take place when Margrethe signs the declaration of her abdication.
This will take place during a meeting of the Council of State at parliament where the government, Frederik and his oldest son Christian, 18 years old and the new heir to the throne, will participate.
Roughly one hour later, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will proclaim the new king on the balcony of the parliament and Frederik will give a short speech, before the new king and his wife ride by carriage back to the Amalienborg palace.
Royal Power Couple
Margrethe, who in the past had said she would remain on the throne for life, did not give an exact reason for her decision to step down but said that a major back surgery she underwent in February last year had made her consider her future.
“It could be that she thinks Prince Frederik is prepared to take over now,” said Lars Hovbakke Sorensen, a historian and associate professor at University College Absalon in Denmark.
“He’s 55, and maybe the queen wanted to avoid a situation where you would have a very, very old king, as you saw with Prince Charles.”
Charles was 73 when he ascended the throne after his mother Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022 aged 96.
The new Danish royal couple will take the throne at a time of huge public support and enthusiasm for the monarchy.
The most recent survey done after the queen announced she would abdicate indicated that 82% of Danes expect Frederik to do well or very well in his new role, while 86% said the same about Mary.
