Denmark’s 86-year-old monarch Queen Margrethe II announced that she is abdicating the throne during a speech on Sunday, surprising her Danish subjects.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced that she is abdicating her position in the new year after nearly 52 years on the throne.
During her New Year’s Eve speech, Margrethe II, 86, said that she plans to step down on Jan. 14. The date marks the anniversary of her own ascension to the throne in 1972, following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
