In her New Year’s speech, Queen Margrethe (83) announced her abdication. And today it happened. It is the first time in almost 900 years that a Danish monarch has voluntarily given up the throne. At exactly 1:37 p.m., Queen Margrethe drove out from Amalienborg Castle to Christiansborg to meet in the Cabinet at 2 p.m., where she was to sign the papers that made her step down as Danish head of state. It happened on the day 52 years after she became Queen of Denmark on 14 January 1972. The so-called golden wedding carriage, escorted by the Gardehusar regiment’s Horse Escort, drove through an enormous sea of people in the streets of Copenhagen. At least 100,000 Danes had turned up to thank a queen whom many hold dear, and to welcome the new king and queen. Copenhagen’s streets are full of revelers when the Queen is about to abdicate. Came as crown prince, left as king At the same time as the queen, the crown prince couple also left Amalienborg, in the royal house’s magnificent car, a Rolls-Royce from 1958 called the “Big Crown”. They too were going to Christiansborg. They arrive as a crown prince couple, and leave as a royal couple. There, Crown Prince Frederik joined the Council of State, together with his eldest son Christian (18), who was then to “move up” to become Crown Prince. With the government present, Queen Margrethe put her name on the declaration of abdication. At that moment, Crown Prince Frederik became King Frederik 10 and Denmark’s head of state. And Prince Christian became Crown Prince Christian. Queen Margrethe then stood up, and with a nod and a wave of her hand, she asked the new king to take over the place at the end of the table. With the words “God save the king” she took her cane and left the room. Here, Queen Margrethe of Denmark signs her own abdication. Exactly 15 minutes later, at 2.15 p.m., “Store krone” drove out of Christiansborg Castle. Then it was Queen Margrethe who was sitting in the car, now the departed monarch after exactly 52 years. She took over as regent on 14 January 1972 after her father, Christian IX, died on the same day. Queen Margrethe has passed away. 9 cheers for the king And at 3pm the new king came out onto the balcony at Christiansborg Castle, where he was greeted by enormous cheers from the sea of people on the ground. For the first time he appeared before the people as Denmark’s king. Clearly touched by the reception, he discreetly wiped away a tear. Frederik 10 had to wipe away a tear or two when he stepped out as the country’s new monarch and was greeted by warmth and cheers. Photo: AFP Eventually Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen came out on the balcony and proclaimed the new king. – Today, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II has abdicated. On behalf of the kingdom, I would like to give Queen Margrethe a heartfelt and devoted thank you, said the Prime Minister. – Thank you for lifting the legacy, duty and responsibility. Thank you for connecting us to the past and preparing us for the future. Thank you for making yourself uncomfortable and more. – Each queen and king is part of a more than 1,000-year-old chain – when one steps back, the next is ready. The crown prince who will now be our regent is a king we know, a king we care about and a king we trust, Fredriksen said to great cheers from the people. – Today we greet Denmark’s new head of state and wish him luck in his life and work. According to Danish state custom, I shall exclaim three times: Her Majesty Queen Margrethe 2nd has abdicated, long live His Majesty King Frederik 10th! King Frederik wiped a wet eye again and breathed heavily. Then followed 9 cheers for the new king, led by the Prime Minister as is the custom. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaims King Fredrik 10th King of Denmark. Photo: Reuters Dropped God from the election language King Frederik 10 started his declaration by thanking his mother for her long work. – My mother Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II has ruled Denmark for 52 years. She will always be remembered as a regent beyond the ordinary. New jubilation broke out among the many present when King Frederik paid tribute to his mother. – Like few, my mother has become one with her kingdom. Today, the throne passes on. My hope is to become a unifying king, he said and continued: – It is a task I have approached all my life, it is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy with the support I can get from my beloved wife, from my family and from you and from something greater than us. King Frederik of Denmark addresses the Danish people for the first time. The royal family comes out on the balcony after the speech. King Frederik then announced the election language he has chosen for his deed: – United, bound for the Kingdom of Denmark. His mother ruled according to “God’s help, People’s love, Denmark’s strength”, while his maternal grandfather had “With God for Denmark”. This marks a change in the Danish monarchy. Children have dressed up as soldiers in the Royal Life Guard on the occasion of the day. Photo: Marius Christensen / news Kissed his queen The new king looked both overwhelmed and moved at times, but eventually the smile took over. He was joined on the balcony by the new queen and their four children, including the new crown prince. The fact that the entire royal family appeared together on the balcony was extremely well received by the festive crowd on the ground. And when the king and queen – after the autumn’s speculation about problems in the marriage – at the invitation gave each other a kiss, the salutes were drowned in the shout of jubilation. A total of 3 x 27 salutes were fired in honor of the new monarch. This moment caused great cheers. King Frederik 10 and Queen Mary on the balcony of Christiansborg Castle after he had been proclaimed the new king and they had greeted the people. Photo: AFP The symbolic flags The new king was transported back in the gold wedding carriage that his mother had brought as queen. At Amalienborg, the symbolic flag handover took place at 5 p.m. The royal flags are kept in the regent’s residence at all times, and were transferred by the royal bodyguard from Queen Margrethe’s palace to King Frederik’s palette. The royal banners are brought over to the new king. In the flag room in the departed queen’s residence, Queen Margrethe was to say goodbye to the flags, while King Frederik received the flags in the flag room in his residence. The day ended with a huge fireworks display in Tivoli. Greetings from the Norwegian and Swedish king King Harald has congratulated the new royal couple. – My family and I send you our warmest congratulations as Denmark’s new royal couple. You are succeeding a monarch who has fulfilled his role admirably. – With warmth, wisdom and commitment, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe has followed her country and her people through joys and sorrows, writes King Harald to the Danish royal couple. Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf sent a greeting to the Queen. He begins with: “Your Majesty, dear Cousin Daisy.” He writes that Margrethe, as Denmark’s queen, has been a guarantee for a close relationship between Denmark and Sweden. “You are now entering a changed role, but the friendship between us remains, heartfelt and constant.” he writes. This is what you need to know about the change of throne in Denmark. Will the new king, King Frederik, be crowned? No, Denmark – like Norway – no longer crowns its monarchs, unlike Great Britain. Until 1648, the kings were also crowned in Denmark. After that there was a period where the new kings were anointed but not crowned, but after Denmark got its constitution in 1849 and went from being an autocracy to a constitutional monarchy, the monarchs have neither been crowned nor anointed. Now the new monarch is proclaimed by the sitting prime minister. Nor is any later signing ceremony planned for the new Danish king, as both King Harald and his father King Olav have done in Norway. Queen Margrethe will retain the title of queen, will Denmark now have two queens? There will be two with the title of queen, but not two reigning queens. Queen Margrethe will continue to have the title Her Majesty Queen Margrethe even after she has abdicated. At the same time, Denmark has a new queen, Her Majesty Queen Mary. But there is only one “Queen” at any given time, and that will now be Mary. It will therefore be she who has the title in a specific form, Her Majesty the Queen, not Margrethe. Will Queen Margrethe now retire completely, or what will her role be in the future? When Queen Margrethe now steps down as Queen of Denmark, she becomes less visible, but she does not necessarily disappear completely from the public eye. She can be a royal guardian – someone who takes care of the monarch’s duties if both the new king, King Frederik, and the new crown prince, Crown Prince Christian, are on a private stay abroad or are on sick leave. The court also states that she will continue to represent the Danish royal house “in her own way”. Exactly what she will do will now be decided by her new court. What will the new crown prince’s role be when 18-year-old Prince Christian now becomes crown prince? Christian’s formal role will be different from Sunday, when he will “move up” and go from being prince to crown prince, but he will not immediately work visibly much more for the royal house. He is still only 18 years old and will primarily be a school student. He wants to be sheltered to give him room to be young and shape his own identity. What consequences does the change of throne have? Besides the fact that Denmark has a new royal couple and a new crown prince, there are also other changes with the change of throne. The Danish National Bank will print new coins with the image of the new king, and the Danish crown jewels will now only be used by Queen Mary and not Queen Margrethe. In addition, the change of throne has consequences for over 100 companies, from Lego and Carlsberg to Rhanders Hanskefabrikk. There have been 104 Danish businesses, as well as five foreign businesses, that have been able to call themselves royal court suppliers, a “stamp” that the businesses themselves say has been of great value to them. But the title expires with the change of throne. Whether the arrangement with the royal court supplier will continue with the new king, and who will then receive the honorable title, will only be decided later. – It gave me a lump in my stomach when I read it. It really means a lot to us, said Rina Hansen, owner of Rhanders Hanskefabrikk, to Danmarks Radio. All of Queen Margrethe’s and the new royal couple’s previous patronage also ceases. Which organizations will be cast in royal glory next, and by whom in the Danish royal family, will be decided later. The new royal couple drive back to their residence at Amalienborg Palace in the gold carriage used by the regent. Photo: AFP
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