Denmark’s Queen Margrethe makes one last public appearance ahead of rare abdication

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on Thursday made one last public appearance ahead of her rare abdication.

Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest reigning monarch rode through Denmark’s capital Copenhagen Thursday for five hours in a gilded, horse-drawn Gold Coach as she concluded her final public New Year’s before her abdication later this month.

As reported, the 83-year-old monarch rode in Gold Coach which is pulled by six white horses – that is used when the monarch rides from the royal residence at the Amalienborg Palace to the Christiansborg Palace during the traditional New Year’s fete with officers from the Armed Forces but also former Danish prime ministers Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, among others.

 

The queen will abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her oldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, 55.

She will sign her formal abdication on January 14.

 

Queen Margrethe ascended the throne in 1972 after her late father, King Frederik IX. At that time only 42% of Danes supported the monarchy.

The most recent survey shows that 84% of Danes favour it to a high or some degree.

 

 

Denmark’s queen unexpectedly announced her abdication in her traditional New Year’s Eve speech leaving the country in shock.

Queen Margrethe who had back surgery in early 2023, said in her speech: “The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation.”

With her voice cracking, the queen added: “I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark

“I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she said.

 

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark became Europe’s current longest-serving monarch following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.