BBC
By Jacqueline Howard
December 31, 2023
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has announced her surprise abdication in a new year TV address.
She will abdicate on 14 January, which will be 52 years to the day since she became queen.
“I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she announced.
The 83-year-old is the longest serving monarch in Danish history, taking the throne after the death of her father King Frederik IX in 1972.
She revealed the decision was made after a period of reflection following surgery on her back in early 2023.