It is a page of half a century that the Danes are soon preparing to turn. Danish Queen Margaret II announced Sunday during her traditional New Year’s speech that she would abdicate on January 14, after 52 years of reign.
“On January 14, 2024, 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederick,” she said on the occasion of her televised wishes.
Unifying and popular, the sovereign, widowed since 2018, underwent a major back operation in February that prevented her from appearing in public until April.
“The operation (…) sparked reflections on the future, on the question of whether the time had come to transfer responsibilities to the next generation,” confided the 83-year-old queen.
The last reigning queen of Europe
On the throne since her father’s death in 1972, this polyglot intellectual contributed to progressively modernizing the monarchy.
He also caused a scandal in September 2022 by stripping four of his grandchildren of their titles to free them from the chains of the monarchy. “I underestimated the extent to which it could affect my youngest son and his family,” the sovereign reacted. “This has caused a lot of commotion and I’m sorry.”
Since the death of her distant cousin Elizabeth II, Margaret is the last queen to reign in Europe. More than 80% of Danes identify as monarchists and thousands of them came to celebrate their 50th anniversary of government last year.
“Many of us have never met another monarch. Queen Margaret is the epitome of Denmark and, over the years, she has expressed words and feelings about who we are as a people and as a nation,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reacted in a news conference. release.
Source: BFM TV
