courtesy: ABC news
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Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced on Sunday that she will be abdicating after 52 years and will be handing the throne over to her son, Crown Prince Frederik.
The queen, who is Europe’s longest-reigning living monarch, made the announcement during her New Year’s speech that she would step down from the throne on January 14th, which is the anniversary of her crown accession to the throne at the age of 31, following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
The 83-year-old queen said that back surgery, which she underwent during the early months of 2023, made her think about the future and when to pass on the responsibilities of the crown to her son. “I have decided now is the right time,” she noted in her speech.