Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has announced her surprise abdication in a new year TV address.
She will abdicate the throne on 14 January, which will be 52 years to the day since she became queen.
“I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she announced.
The 83-year-old is the longest serving monarch in Danish history, taking the throne after the death of her father King Frederik IX in 1972.
Unlike British royal tradition, there will be no formal crowning ceremony for Crown Prince Frederik, who is 55. Instead, the palace will announce his ascension on the day.
