Queen Margret’s son Frederick X will become king on Sunday, AFP reports.
Denmark will turn a new page in its history when Queen Margrethe abdicates and her son becomes King Frederick X. At a meeting of the Council of State at 2pm, she will sign a declaration of abdication, ending her 52-year reign.
The queen’s abdication announcement stunned the Danes, as she had repeatedly insisted she would follow tradition and rule until her death. Even her own family had only been informed three days earlier. She attributed her decision to health problems after undergoing major back surgery last year.
In turn, her 55-year-old son Frederick, who will also attend the Council of State meeting along with his Australian-born wife Mary and their eldest child, 18-year-old Prince Christian, automatically becomes king and head of state upon Margrethe’s abdication.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will proclaim him King Frederick X on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace.
The reign will allow Frederick X to blossom into the role of monarch, gradually taking on more and more responsibilities. The Queen fully confirms her son’s readiness to take the throne.
She thinks the crown prince is totally ready to take over. And she wants to avoid a situation like in Great Britain where Prince Charles became King Charles after the age of 70, historian Hovbakke Sorensen said.
In addition, Frederik, who has been crown prince since he was three years old, has the support of more than 80 per cent of Danes, just like his mother.
Queen Margrethe II is a woman of her time and Frederik also lives in his own era. He understood that he could not copy her and has managed to define his own image, his own ties to the Danish people, another historian, Bo Lidegaard, told AFP.
In Denmark, the monarch’s role is largely ceremonial, but he signs laws, formally presides over the formation of the government and meets regularly with the cabinet.
Over 100,000 Danes are expected to attend the event.
