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Why did Queen Margrethe of Denmark abdicate from the throne? Exploring her announcement on live TV
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will abdicate on January 14, after 52 years, and be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik.
Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, who ascended the throne in 1972, will abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. The surprise announcement was made on live TV during her traditional New Year's Eve speech, which is viewed by many in the country of 5.9 million people.
Queen Margrethe of Denmark will abdicate from the throne
Queen Margrethe, born in 1940 to King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, is a Danish monarch known for her tactful and creative personality. She is also passionate about archaeology and has participated in numerous excavations. 
In 1953, Queen Margrethe became heir to the throne at 13 after a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit. In 1967, she married French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who served as her royal consort until he died in 2018. Their two sons are Crown Prince Frederik, who will become King Frederik X, and Prince Joachim. Frederik married Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, an Australian, in 2004.
On 31 December 2023, referring to a successful back operation she underwent in February of 2023, Queen Margrethe said, "The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future - whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation. 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. I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik”. She became the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. In July, she became the longest-sitting monarch in Denmark's history.
Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, thanked the queen for her life-long dedication to duty. "It is still difficult to understand that the time has now come for a change of throne," Frederiksen said in a statement. "Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and, throughout the years, has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation," she said.
Did Queen Margrethe abdicate to save her son's marriage?
Queen Margrethe of Denmark's sudden abdication is rumored to be motivated by the desire to save the marriage of her son, Crown Prince Frederik, to Crown Princess Mary. In November 2023, rumors swirled that the Crown Prince was having an affair with Mexican-born socialite Geneveva Casanova after they were photographed together during his private trip to Madrid.
Phil Dampier, longtime author and royal commentator, told The Telegraph, “It’s possible that the Queen took this action because she would have been terrified of the marriage breaking up and the royal family losing Mary. It would have caused major problems. The Queen has always seen Mary as a tremendous asset.”
Dampier continued, “It just seems an extraordinary coincidence that she should make this unexpected announcement just a couple of months after stories emerged of the Crown Prince supposedly having an affair. In two weeks’ time, the Prince and Princess will be pitched together as King and Queen, and they will have to get on with it. The Queen may be thinking that they will patch up their differences, and it will save their marriage.”
Queen Margrethe, Prince Frederik, and Princess Mary seemed to be in good spirits when they stepped out on Monday, 1 January, for the New Year’s banquet at Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen. Queen Margrethe waved as she entered the palace, while Frederik and Mary, who have four children, smiled as they arrived together.
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