Frederik X is proclaimed the new king of Denmark after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, abdicates
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s prime minister proclaimed Frederik X as king on Sunday after his mother Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, with massive crowds turning out to rejoice in the throne passing from a beloved monarch to her popular son.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s prime minister proclaimed Frederik X as king on Sunday after his mother Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, with massive crowds turning out to rejoice in the throne passing from a beloved monarch to her popular son.
Margrethe, 83, is the first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years. Many thousands of people gathered outside the palace where the royal succession took place, the mood jubilant as the Nordic nation experienced its first royal succession in more than a half-century, and one not caused by the death of a monarch.
Wearing a magenta outfit, Margrethe signed her abdication during a meeting with the Danish Cabinet at the Christiansborg Palace, a vast complex in Copenhagen that has been the seat of Danish power for centuries. It now houses the Royal Reception Rooms and Royal Stables as well as the Danish Parliament, the prime minister’s office and the Supreme Court.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark signs a declaration of abdication as Crown Prince Frederik becomes King Frederik X.Mads Claus Rasmussen / AFP - Getty ImagesPrime Minister Mette Frederiksen next proclaimed Frederik king from the balcony of the palace before many thousands of subjects of a kingdom where the trappings of royalty are mostly symbolic in today’s modern era of constitutional democracy.
Frederiksen read the proclamation three times, which is the tradition, as Frederik stood beside her wearing a ceremonial military uniform adorned with medals. He was then joined on the balcony by the new, Australian-born Queen Mary and the couple’s four children, and the crowd spontaneously sang the national anthem.
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