Denmark gets new king after surprise abdication

King Frederik X this weekend took the Danish throne as his mother, Queen Margrethe II, finalized her abdication on Sunday. The royals planned to omit an opulent coronation ceremony, instead opting for the king to ride in a carriage during gun salutes. A Council of State was held  Sunday afternoon at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. Frederik and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen appeared on the castle balcony, where Frederiksen publicly announced Frederik X’s accession.

Why is Margrethe stepping down? Margrethe ruled for over fifty years, inheriting the throne from her father, King Frederik IX, in 1972. Margrethe said a recent surgery made her decide it was “time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.” The 83-year-old noted that with time, “one cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past.” She was the longest-sitting monarch in Danish history and the longest-reigning current European monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2022.

Dig deeper: Read Collin Garbarino’s report in WORLD Magazine on the evangelical legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.