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Instead, her son Frederik, who is 55, will take her place as King and head of state of the country.
After almost 52 years in the thrown, queen Margarethe II from Denmark announced this Sunday her abdication, scheduled for next January 14, 2024. The heir to the throne will be his first-born son Frederick, 55.
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In her traditional televised New Year’s Eve speech, Margarita II, the only woman at the head of a monarchy, explained that the back operation she underwent last February, made her think about the future and "if the time had not come to leave responsibility to the next generation".
"I’ve decided now is the right time," said Margarethe II, who alluded to the "wear and tear" of time and that "one can no longer cope with what she could before".
In Denmark and in the other Nordic monarchies there is no tradition of abdicating, and it is customary for monarchs to exhaust their mandate until death.
„In 14 days I will have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such long time does not pass without a trace for any human being - not even me! Time goes on, and the "diseases" increase. You no longer cope with the same things as you once could. In February this year I underwent… pic.twitter.com/aDqP0LqC0p
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) December 31, 2023
Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, thamked the queen for her years of service, "On behalf of the entire population, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Her Majesty The Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom," she said in a statement.
There will be no formal crowning ceremony for Crown Prince Frederik, unlike another Euopean monarchies. Instead, his accession will be announced from Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen on the day.
Frederik, who is 55, will take her place as King and head of state of the country, Greenland and the Faroe Islands territories.
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