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Denmark's King Frederik X appears

before huge crowds after taking the
throne
Reuters
January 14, 2024 4:13 PM GMT+1 · Updated an hour ago

[3/15] Denmark's newly proclaimed King Frederik and

Queen Mary appear on the balcony of Christiansborg
Palace, following the abdication of former Queen
Margrethe who reigned for 52 years, in Copenhagen,...
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Summary Companies

Historic succession of the throne in Denmark

Queen Margrethe II passes the throne to her oldest son
New monarch is King Frederik X
Tens of thousands gather in close to freezing
temperatures

COPENHAGEN, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Denmark's King

Frederik X ascended the throne on Sunday, succeeding
his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who formally abdicated
after 52 years as monarch, with big crowds gathered in
the capital to witness history.

Margrethe, 83, stunned the nation on New Year's Eve

when she announced she planned to become the first
Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to voluntarily
relinquish the throne.

The succession was formalized the moment Margrethe

signed the declaration of her abdication during a
meeting of the Council of State at parliament. 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."

"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," Frederik said in his first
speech as king from the balcony overlooking large
crowds of cheerful people.

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Moments later, Frederik, 55, was joined on the balcony

by his Australian-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, 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.

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"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 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.

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The couple will continue to reside with 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 Margrethe 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.

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Margrethe, who had previously said she would remain on

the throne for life, did not give a 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.

Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek, Louise Rasmussen, Stine

Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Editing
by Frances Kerry and Christina Fincher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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