COPENHAGEN – Denmark’s King Frederik X ascended the throne on Jan 14, succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who formally abdicated after 52 years as monarch, with big crowds gathered in the capital to witness history.
Queen Margrethe, 83, stunned the nation on New Year’s Eve when she announced that she planned to voluntarily relinquish the throne, becoming the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to do so.
The succession was formalised the moment Queen Margrethe signed the declaration of her abdication during a meeting of the Council of State at Parliament, the royal palace said.
Denmark, one of the oldest monarchies in the world, does not have a coronation.
The new king was later proclaimed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the balcony of the Parliament, Christiansborg castle, with the words “Long live King Frederik the 10th.”
From the balcony overlooking large crowds of cheerful people, King Frederik said in his first speech as king: “My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow. It is a task I have approached all my life. It is a task I take on with pride, respect and joy.”
Moments later, King Frederik, 55, was joined on the balcony by his Australia-born wife, Mary, 51, who is now queen, their children, Christian, 18, who is the heir to the throne, Princess Isabelle, 16, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, both 13.
In close to freezing temperatures, tens of thousands of people from all over Denmark converged on the capital to witness events, in a sign of the huge popularity the monarchy is enjoying in the nation of nearly six million.
“It brought tears in a joyful way to see him do so well up on the balcony, both with his speech and when Mary came out and held his hands and finishing with a kiss,” said Mr Kasper Wiigh Larsen, 45.
“It has really been worth it to stand here and wait all day,” he said.
The new king and queen later rode by horse carriage through packed crowds in the streets of Copenhagen back to their residence, Amalienborg, a royal complex built in the 1750s and located in central Copenhagen.
The couple will continue to reside with Queen Margrethe, who will retain her title as queen, in Amalienborg, albeit in their respective palaces in the octagonal complex.
The new king and queen take the throne at a time of huge public support and enthusiasm for the monarchy.
The most recent survey done after Queen Margrethe announced her abdication indicated that 82 per cent of Danes expect King Frederik to do well or very well in his new role, while 86 per cent said the same about Queen Mary.
The Queen, 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 2023 had made her consider her future. REUTERS
