Queen Margrethe Announces She Is Abdicating the Throne After 52 Years – Find Out Who Is Succeeding Her! | Prince Frederik, Queen Margrethe | Just Jared: Celebrity News and Gossip

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II is abdicating the throne.

The 83-year-old royal, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, will abdicate the throne on January 14, 2024 after 52 years and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she confirmed Sunday (December 31).

The surprising announcement was made on live TV during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech, during which she discussed a back operation she underwent in February.

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“The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” she said.

“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 went on to say.

The queen became the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. In July, she became the longest-sitting monarch in Denmark’s history.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked the queen in a statement.

“It is still difficult to understand that the time has now come for a change of throne,” the Prime Minister said.

“Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and throughout the years has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation,” she added.

See the updated British line of succession in the royal family.