Queen Margrethe of Denmark Announces She Will Abdicate in January After 52 Years on Throne

The Queen will be succeeded by her son, Crown Prince Frederik

Queen Margrethe II, the longest-reigning monarch in the history of Denmark, has announced that she will abdicate in January 2024.

The news came during Margrethe's New Year's Eve speech on Sunday, when the Queen, 83, revealed that her son, Crown Prince Frederik, will succeed her and become the new King of Denmark.

"I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024, 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, per an English translation of the official speech transcription.

Related: Queen Margrethe Just Made History as Denmark's Longest-Reigning Monarch — See the New Record

"In 14 days I will have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years," she also shared in the speech. "Such a long time does not pass without a trace for any human being – not even me! Time wears on, and the 'diseases' increase. You no longer cope with the same things as you once could."

Her announcement comes after the Danish Royal House announced back in February that the Queen had undergone "extensive back surgery" which went “according to plan.”

As she noted in her latest televised speech, the monarch revealed that the medical procedure “gave rise to thinking about the future — whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation."

The Danish Royal House shared the following statement to Instagram: "Her Majesty the Queen has tonight, in her New Year's Address, announced that Her Majesty will step down as Queen of Denmark on 14th January, 2024 and will hand over the throne to HRH the crown prince."

In an additional post including a translation of Queen Margrethe's speech, the Danish Royal House noted that she thanked her supporters and the people of Denmark for their "overwhelming warmth and support I have received throughout the years."

"A thank you to the changing governments, with which it has always been rewarding to work, and to the Parliament, which has always met me with confidence," her statement continued. "My thanks go out to all the many, many people who, at special events, as well as everyday, have surrounded me and my family with loving words and thoughts. It has made these years a number of gems."

"The support and assistance that I have received over the years has been crucial in enabling me to lift my task," she added. "It is my hope that the new royal couple will be met with the same trust and affection that have been shared with me.
Det fortjener de! Det fortjener Danmark!"

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In July, Queen Margrethe became the Scandinavian country's longest-reigning Monarch, over five decades after she took over for her father Frederik IX in January 1972. Come January, she would have served 52 years as Denmark's queen.

Queen Margrethe was the first woman allowed to inherit the throne in Denmark following the 1953 Act of Succession. She married Prince Henrik in 1967 and the pair shared two children, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. Her decision to step down follows her late husband's 2018 death at the age of 83.

Following the September 2022 death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, she became Europe's only ruling female monarch.

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