Denmark's Queen Margrethe II signed her historic abdication on Sunday, paving the way for her son Frederik X to immediately become king, Danish broadcaster DR reported. Margrethe, 83, is the first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years since King Erik III Lam stepped down to enter a monastery in 1146. She signed her abdication during a meeting with the Danish Cabinet at the Christiansborg Palace, a vast complex in Copenhagen that houses the Royal Reception Rooms and Royal Stables as well as the Danish Parliament, the prime minister's office, and the Supreme Court. The document was presented to her as she sat at a massive table covered in red cloth around which royals and members of the Danish government were seated. Frederik, 55, was in the room, reports the AP.
After signing the document, Margrethe rose and gestured to her son to take her place, and said "God save the king" as she left the room. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will next proclaim Frederik king on the balcony of the palace before thousands of people. Frederik's 18-year-old son, Christian, who becomes Denmark's crown prince and heir to the throne, was also in attendance. Later the royal standard will be lowered on Margrethe's home and raised on the building where Frederik and Crown Princess Mary live. The abdication will leave Denmark with two queens: Margrethe will keep her title while Frederik's Australian-born wife will become Queen Mary.
Unlike in the UK, there is no coronation ceremony in Denmark. People across Denmark gathered outside parliament, with many swarming streets decorated with red and white Danish flags. Several shops hung photos of the queen and king-to-be. Many others across the kingdom of nearly 6 million people followed a live TV broadcast of the historic event. Copenhagen resident Rene Jensen, wearing a replica of a royal robe and a bejeweled purple crown on his head, said he expects Frederik to be "a king for the nation, representing us everywhere." Margrethe will be abdicating on the same day she ascended the throne following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
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