By Wonderwall.com Editors
3:00pm PST, Jan 15, 2024
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Europe's longest reigning monarch, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, stepped down after more than 50 years on the throne, on Jan. 14, 2024. She announced plans to abdicate in a speech on Dec. 31, 2023. Her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, has now succeeded her to become King Frederik X.
"Such a long time does not pass unnoticed for anyone — not even me. Time wears, and ailments increase," Margrethe said in her New Year's speech, noting that her recent back surgery forced her to "think about the future — whether it was time to hand over responsibility to the next generation."
The eldest daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid — and a third cousin to Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II — Margreth, 83, acceded to the throne in 1972 after King Frederik's death. She's the first monarch to abdicate the Danish throne since 1146, when King Eric III stepped down to join a monastery, according to CNN.
"I have decided that now is the right time," Margreth said in her speech. "Fifty-two years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as queen of Denmark."
This photo shows the moment power shifted from mother to son: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark signed a declaration of abdication — making Crown Prince Frederik the new King Frederik X of Denmark, center, and his son Prince Christian of Denmark, left, the new crown prince and first in line to the throne — inside the Council of State chambers at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 14, 2024.
Keep reading for more details plus more pics of Queen Margrethe II, along with Denmark's new monarch, his wife and their kids…
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King Frederik X of Denmark and his wife and consort, Queen Mary of Denmark, appeared on the palace balcony in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 14, 2024, for the first time following his mother's abdication.
Frederik and Mary, who wed in 2004 after meeting in a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics, share four children: Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 16, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 12.
When Frederik became king, his eldest son with Mary, Prince Christian, became Crown Prince Christian and the next in line for the throne. After Christian, the Danish royal succession continues with the king's daughter Isabella, followed by his twins — Vincent, then Josephine (who was born shortly after her brother).
Keep reading to see more great pics of Denmark's queens, new king and their family…
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Margrethe II of Denmark (seen here with her son and heir in September 2023) succeeded to the throne at 31 on Jan. 15, 1972, becoming queen one day after her father died following a brief illness. When she abdicated on Jan. 14, 2024, her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, became King Frederik X. His wife, Crown Princess Mary, became Queen Consort — and the country's first Australia-born queen.
After abdicating, she'll still be known as Her Majesty Queen Margrethe while her daughter-in-law will be known as Queen Mary.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has suffered numerous health problems over the years and cited some of them in her abdication announcement. She was reportedly treated for cervical cancer in 1994 and had back surgery for spinal stenosis in 2003. More recently, she contracted COVID-19 and underwent another back surgery to treat ongoing pain.
She's seen here glittering in royal jewels at a banquet in honor of her Golden Jubilee at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, in September 2022.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark gave a New Year's speech from Christian IX's Palace, Amalienborg Castle, in Copenhagen, on Dec. 31, 2023, announcing plans to abdicate on Jan. 14, 2024, after 52 years on the throne.
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Crown Prince Frederik, appearing here in an undated file photo, will become King Frederik X when his mother abdicates the throne in January 2024.
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Crown Princess Mary, seen here attending a banquet in honor of Queen Margrethe II's Golden Jubilee in Copenhagen, was born in Tasmania. When she met her future husband, Crown Prince Frederik, she was working for a property firm in Sydney, according to CNN.
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Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik arrive at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen to attend a gala performance on May 13, 2004, in honor of the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark with her son Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, attend a reception a Copenhagen City Hall, during the State visit of Emperor Akihito, and Empress Michiko of Japan to Denmark, in Copenhagen on June 3, 1998.
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A picture dated August 2002 shows Crown Prince Frederik and his then-girlfriend Mary Elizabeth Donaldson. On Sept. 24, 2003, the Danish palace said Queen Margrethe II would approve the couple's engagement.
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Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, son Prince Christian and husband Crown Prince Frederik pose with the couple's second child, Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe, at Fredensborg Palace in Copenhagen on July 1, 2007, following the baby's christening.
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Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and wife Princess Mary proudly hold their twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, outside Holmens Kirk in Copenhagen at the babies' christening on April 14, 2011.
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Denmark's future royal family — Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary and two of their children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella — arrive at the Danish Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on Sept. 10, 2022, for a gala performance marking the 50th anniversary of Queen Margrethe II's accession to the throne.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark arrives at a royal New Year's reception at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 1, 2020.
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This photo taken on May 16, 1979, shows Britain's Prince Philip, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Henrik of Denmark waving from the balcony of Amalienborg Castle during the British royal couple's visit, in Copenhagen.
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Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim and Queen Margrethe — who's the older sister of Greece's last queen, Anne-Marie — arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens to attend the funeral of Greece's last king, Constantine II, on Jan. 16, 2023.
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Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf escorted Denmark's Queen Margrethe II — they're first cousins — to the Jubilee dinner at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sept. 15, 2023, marking the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne.
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Queen Margrethe II arrives for a performance at the Royal Theatreâs Old Stage during the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne in Copenhagen, on Sept. 10, 2022.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attends a gala at Christiansborg palace in honor of her 50th anniversary of accession to the throne in Copenhagen, on Sept. 11, 2022.
Like other Golden Jubilee events scheduled for that month, the banquet was scaled back in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death on Sept. 8, 2022, as Margrethe and Elizabeth were third cousins and close friends.
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Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive at Drottningholm Palace Theatre in Stockholm for the Royal Opera's jubilee theatre performance in honor of the 50th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf's accession to the throne on Sept. 14, 2023.
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Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik attend a banquet celebrating Queen Margrethe II's 50 years on the throne in Copenhagen, on Sept. 11, 2022.
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Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary and their children, Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent arrive at a service marking the 50th anniversary of Queen Margrethe II's accession to the throne, at the Copenhagen Cathedral, on Sept. 11, 2022.
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Crown Princess Mary attends a celebration in honor of Queen Margrethe's 50 years on the throne at the Danish Royal Theatre in Copenhagan, on Sept. 10, 2022.
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Crown Prince Frederik, left, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attend the celebrations of the monarch's 83rd birthday at Christian VII Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen on April 16, 2023.
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Queen Margrethe II and members of the Danish royal family wave from a balcony during the celebrations of her 83rd birthday at Christian VII Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen on April 16, 2023.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark waves from a balcony during the celebration of her 83rd birthday at Christian VII Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen on April 16, 2023.
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Prince Christian of Denmark poses with his family — grandmother Queen Margrethe, father Crown Prince Frederik, mother Crown Princess Mary and siblings Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine — at his confirmation in Fredensborg, Denmark, on May 15, 2021.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attends grandson Prince Christian of Denmark's confirmation in Fredensborg, Denmark, on May 15, 2021.
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Crown Princess Mary attends a Golden Jubilee banquet for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in Stockholm on Sept. 15, 2023.
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Prince Vincent, Princess Isabella, Prince Christian, Princess Josephine, Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik make an appearance at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 16, 2023, to mark Queen Margrethe's 83rd birthday.
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Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark sits in the Royal Box on Centre Court on day one of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on July 1, 2019.
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Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive for a New Year's reception at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 1, 2020.
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Queen Margrethe II attends a gala marking the 18th birthday of her grandson, Prince Christian, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, on Oct. 15, 2023.
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Crown Prince Frederik, wife Crown Princess Mary and their kids — Princess Josephine, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Prince Christian — attend an event in his honor in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 27, 2018.
