Frederick I was proclaimed King of Denmark today succeeding his mother, Queen Margaret II, who abdicated after exactly 52 years of reign, an event celebrated by large crowds in the capital Copenhagen.

The “show” was stolen by the tender kiss of the king to his Australian-born wife Mary to cheers from the crowd.

Shortly after 14:00 (local time, 15:00 Greek time), Margarita II, who was wearing an elegant pink ensemble, signed the resignation letter, a document unprecedented in the modern history of this thousand-year-old monarchy, making her 55-year-old first-born son king. Denmark, one of the oldest monarchies in the world, has no enthronement ceremony.

Denmark

The 83-year-old Margarita surprised the nation on New Year’s Eve, when she announced plans to become the first Danish monarch to abdicate.

Frederick

The succession was made official once Margarita signed her resignation statement during a meeting of the Council of State in parliament, the royal palaces announced. The meeting was attended by government representatives, Margaret, Frederick, his 51-year-old Australian-born wife Mary, who is now Queen, and their eldest son, 18-year-old Christian, who is the new heir to the throne.

About an hour after signing the abdication statement, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was to announce the new king from the floor of parliament and Frederik was to make a short speech.

Denmark

Tens of thousands of people from all over Denmarka, a country of almost six million inhabitants, gathered, despite the bitter cold, in the capital to watch closely the succession process.

Later in the afternoon, the new king and queen are to travel by horse-drawn carriage to their residence, Amalienborg Palace, built in the 1750s and located in central Copenhagen.

Frederick

The couple will continue to reside in Amalienborg with Margaret, who will retain her title as queen, albeit in their respective palaces in the octagonal palace complex.

Margaret, who had previously declared that she would remain on the throne for life, did not disclose the exact reason for her decision to resign, but she stated that a major back operation, which she underwent last year in February, made her think about her future.

Daisy