Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II Announces Surprise Abdication on Live TV

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II Announces Surprise Abdication on Live TV
Queen Margrethe II gives a New Year's speech and announces her abdication from Christian IX's Palace, Amalienborg Castle, in Copenhagen on Dec. 31 2023. Keld Navntoft/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
Reuters
Updated:
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COPENHAGEN—Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, will abdicate on Jan. 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she announced on Sunday.

The 83-year-old queen, who ascended the throne in 1972, made the surprise announcement on live TV during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech, which is viewed by many in the country of 5.9 million people.