COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Thousands of people will gather in downtown Copenhagen on Sunday to witness a historic moment in one of the world's oldest monarchies.
At around 2 p.m. (1300 GMT), Queen Margrethe II will sign her abdication and about an hour later her eldest son will be proclaimed King Frederik X on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in the heart of the Danish capital.
Margrethe, 83, will be the first Danish monarch in almost 900 years to voluntarily abdicate the throne.
She will officially sign her abdication at a Council of State – a meeting with the Danish cabinet – which will automatically make the crown prince, 55-year-old Frederik, Denmark's new monarch.
Citing health problems, Margrethe announced her resignation on New Year's Eve, stunning a nation that had expected her to live out her days on the throne, as is tradition in the Danish monarchy.
Margrethe underwent serious back surgery last February and did not return to work until April.
Even Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was unaware of the Queen's intentions until shortly before the announcement. Margrethe had only informed Frederik and his younger brother Joachim three days earlier, wrote the Berlingske newspaper, citing the royal palace.
“The Queen is here and has been on the throne for more than 50 years. And she is an extremely respected and popular figure, so people didn't expect it and were shocked,” said Danish royal expert Thomas Larsen.
The last time a Danish monarch voluntarily resigned was in 1146, when King Eric III. Lam resigned to enter a monastery. Margrethe abdicated the day after her accession to the throne, 52 years after the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
The Danish monarchy dates back to the 10th century Viking king Gorm the Old, making it the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world. Today, the duties of the royal family are largely ceremonial.
Unlike the United Kingdom, there is no coronation ceremony in Denmark. The prime minister will officially proclaim Frederik king from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, which houses government offices, parliament and the Supreme Court, as well as the royal stables and royal reception rooms. Thousands of Danes are expected to witness the proclamation from the square below.
With the abdication, Denmark will have two queens. Margrethe retains her title, while Frederik's Australian-born wife becomes Queen Mary. Frederik and Mary's eldest son Christian, 18, becomes crown prince and heir to the throne.
The new king and queen will leave Christiansborg Palace in a horse-drawn carriage and return to the royal residence Amalienborg, where Margrethe also lives, although in a separate building. The royal standard is lowered on Margrethe's house and raised on the building where Frederik and Maria live.
Four guns in Copenhagen harbor will fire 27 rounds three times to mark the succession. In the late afternoon, Copenhagen's Tivoli amusement park plans to celebrate the new king and queen with the largest fireworks display in the park's 180-year history.