New Delhi: Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II on Sunday signed a declaration of abdication ending her 52-year reign. This step made her 55-year-old son Frederik automatically become king and head of state, reported news agency AFP.


Notably, this was only the second time a Danish sovereign voluntarily relinquished the throne, the last one was Erik III in 1146, almost nine centuries ago, as per the report.


Upon Margrethe's abdication, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed Frederik as King Frederik X on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.


Many thousands of people assembled outside the palace where the royal succession unfolded, as the Nordic nation experienced its first royal succession in more than a half-century, and one not caused by the death of a monarch, reported AP.


Earlier on January 1, Queen Margrethe II, Europe's longest-serving monarch, had announced her surprise abdication from the throne on live TV during her traditional New Year's Eve speech, reported Reuters.


Speaking about her abdication from the throne, the Queen had said, "I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark," she said.


"I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik," she said, the report added. 


Following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Queen Margrethe II became the longest-serving monarch in Europe. In July, she became the longest-sitting monarch in the history of Denmark. 


In Denmark, the elected parliament and its government hold the formal power, and the monarch is expected to stay above partisan politics, representing the nation with traditional duties ranging from state visits to national day celebrations.


Who Is Queen Margrethe?


Queen Margrethe was born in 1940 to Denmark's former monarch King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid and has throughout her life, enjoyed broad support from Danes, who admire her tactful and yet creative personality, the Reuters report added. 


She is also known for her love of archaeology and has participated in several excavations. 


In 1953, a constitutional amendment that allowed women to inherit the throne paved the way for her to become heir to her father at the age of 31. 


She married French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, in 1967. Her husband served as her royal consort until he died in 2018. The couple has two sons, the elder one being Crown Prince Frederik, who became King Frederik X and Prince Joachim.