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Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II stunned her nation on New Yr’s Eve by asserting stay on tv that she was abdicating after greater than half a century on the throne, citing age- and health-related issues.
The 83-year-old queen, who made the shock announcement throughout her conventional night New Yr’s Eve speech, might be succeeded by her eldest son. She is going to step down on Jan. 14, precisely 52 years after she succeeded her father as monarch.
“I’ll hand over the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik,” stated the queen, who was seated at a desk and studying from a press release throughout a night broadcast to the nation.
Her 55-year-old son will turn into King Frederik X and his Australian-born spouse, Crown Princess Mary, might be queen.
In her handle, Margrethe stated she thought the time was proper to cross on the baton. She referenced the again surgical procedure she underwent this yr, saying that it “naturally gave rise to enthusiastic about the long run, whether or not the time had come to depart duty to the following technology. I’ve determined that now could be the correct time,” she stated.
“Time takes its toll, and the variety of ‘illnesses’ will increase. One can’t undertake as a lot as one managed up to now,” she stated.
An eloquent and common queen, Margrethe is the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the 2022 loss of life of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Margrethe is well-known for her love of archaeology — she has taken half in excavations in a number of nations and studied prehistoric archaeology on the College of Cambridge. She additionally studied at Aarhus College, the Sorbonne and the London College of Economics. She is called nicely for her creative pursuits, together with work as an illustrator and as a dressing up and manufacturing designer.
In 2022, the queen precipitated a stir when she moved to downsize the Danish royal household by stripping 4 of her grandchildren of their royal titles. She later stated she underestimated how her household would really feel about her choice, however nonetheless stated it was a “obligatory future-proofing of the monarchy.”
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked the queen for her lengthy service.
“It’s nonetheless obscure that the time has now come for a change of throne,” Frederiksen stated in a press release. “Many people have by no means identified one other monarch. Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and all through the years has put phrases and emotions into who we’re as a individuals and as a nation.”