Copenhagen, 14 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Denmark is set to witness a significant change in its monarchy as Queen Margrethe II, who has dutifully served for 52 years, will give up the throne on Sunday.

Margrethe, 83, will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, 55, marking the first voluntary abdication in almost nine centuries.

The formal abdication ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2 pm (1300 GMT) in Copenhagen. The long-serving monarch will sign a declaration of abdication during a meeting with the government.

Following the abdication, at 3 pm (1400 GMT), Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will officially proclaim Crown Prince Frederik as the new king on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace.

The incoming monarch will take the title King Frederik X and is expected to address the nation in a speech.

Margrethe stunned Denmark by announcing in her New Year's speech that she would be abdicating on January 14 and that she intended to hand over the throne to her eldest son.

Notably, the date marks exactly 52 years since she succeeded her father Frederik IX on the throne after his death.

Frederik differs from his mother in many ways.

While the queen is considered a creative soul with a great passion for art and high culture, the heir to the throne is a rock music fan and a sports enthusiast who has run several marathons, an Ironman and went on a months-long dog sled expedition through Greenland.

Crown Princess Mary, from Australia, who is set to become the new queen, is noted for her commitment to global women's rights, and sustainability.

The couple, seen as a dynamic duo, has four children, including the now-crown prince, Christian.

Photo: MIA archive