Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announces surprise abdication

(FILES) Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her son, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, pose during an official welcoming ceremony at the presidential Bellevue Palace in Berlin on November 10, 2021. Denmark’s popular Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, said on December 31, 2023 that she would abdicate on January 14, 2024 and pass the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Denmark’s popular Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, said Sunday that she would abdicate on January 14 and pass the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik.

Margrethe, 83, has reigned for 52 years and has been Europe’s only reigning queen after the death of Britain’s Elizabeth II.

She has been hailed for subtly modernising Danish royalty in her half-century on the throne.

She made the surprise announcement during her traditional New…