Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II says she will abdicate the throne in surprise announcement

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will abdicate the throne after nearly 52 years.

The queen made the surprise announcement in her annual New Year’s Eve address to the Danish public on Dec. 31, announcing that she would step down on Jan. 14, 2024.

“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,” the 83-year-old said in her speech, according to an English translation. “I leave the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik.”

The queen took the throne in 1972 after the death of her father, King Frederik IX. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, she was the longest-serving monarch in Europe.

In 1953, she became heir to her father when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.

In her speech, she cited health troubles for her decision to step down.

“Such a long time does not pass without leaving its mark on anyone, including myself. Time takes its toll, and ailments increase. One no longer manages the same things as before,” she said.

The queen said she had "extensive" back surgery earlier this year. While "everything went well," the operation led her to think about the future, she explained.

The queen shares two children with her late husband, Prince Henrik of Denmark, who died in February 2018: Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, 55, and Prince Joachim of Denmark, 54.

Frederik has four children with his wife, Crown Princess Mary: Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 16, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 12.

Joachim had two sons with Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, whom he was married to from 1995 to 2005: Count Nikolai of Monpezat, 24, and Count Felix of Monpezat, 21. The prince also shares two children with his second wife, Princess Marie of Denmark, who he married in 2008: Count Henrik of Monpezat, 14, and Countess Athena of Monpezat, 11.

In September 2022, the palace announced that the queen removed four of her grandchildren’s prince and princess and “His/Her Highness” titles. The decision changed Joachim’s children’s titles to count and countess. No changes were made to the titles of Frederik’s children.

According to the palace, the queen’s decision was made with the hope that her grandchildren would be able to “shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by the special considerations and duties that a formal affiliation with the Royal House of Denmark as an institution involves.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com