King Frederik X of Denmark visited the Danish parliament, the Folketing, on 15 January 2024, his first full day as monarch. He took the throne on 14 January 2024 after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, abdicated following 52 years as queen. Denmark does not hold coronations, so he was proclaimed king rather than crowned.
The handover was the first voluntary abdication in Denmark in nearly 900 years and drew huge crowds to Copenhagen. This explainer covers what happened that week, how the Danish system works and what King Frederik has done since. For more stories on public figures, see our people section.
King Frederik X: quick facts
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Full name | Frederik Andre Henrik Christian |
| Born | 26 May 1968, Copenhagen |
| Became king | 14 January 2024 |
| Predecessor | Queen Margrethe II (reigned 1972 to 2024) |
| Spouse | Queen Mary, born in Australia, married in 2004 |
| Heir | Crown Prince Christian, born 15 October 2005 |
| Royal motto | “United, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark” |
How the abdication happened
Queen Margrethe II surprised Denmark by announcing her abdication in her New Year’s Eve speech on 31 December 2023. On 14 January 2024, she signed the declaration of abdication at a Council of State meeting at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
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Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen then proclaimed Frederik as king from the palace balcony. By tradition, she read the proclamation three times. The new king and Queen Mary appeared with their four children, and the crowd sang the national anthem.
Danish telecom operator 3 estimated, based on phone data, that around 300,000 people joined the celebrations. Rail operator DSB reported more than 230,000 journeys on the Copenhagen network that day.
King Frederik X’s visit to parliament
On Monday, 15 January 2024, the royal family attended a reception in the Folketing to mark the change of head of state. As is the custom, the prime minister read the king’s message to lawmakers. In it, he used the royal “we” and expressed confidence that parliament would work with him for the good of the kingdom.
Speaker Soren Gade welcomed the king and said he had great confidence that Frederik would be a good monarch. Crown Prince Christian, then 18, also attended. The visit followed a precedent set by Margrethe, who went to parliament the day after she became queen in 1972.
Not every member joined in. Several members of the left-wing Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), which supports a republic, stood when the royals entered but stayed away from the reception afterwards.
Why Denmark has no coronation
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The king is head of state but has no political power, and government is run by the prime minister and the Folketing. Danish monarchs have not been crowned since absolute monarchy ended in 1849. Instead, each new monarch is proclaimed from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, which is why early reports calling Frederik “newly crowned” were not strictly accurate.
King Frederik also chose a new personal motto, “Forbundne, forpligtet, for Kongeriget Danmark”. It is the first Danish royal motto since the reign of Frederik VII in the 1800s not to mention God.
What the king actually does
The Danish monarch’s duties are mostly formal but still part of how the state works. The king signs laws passed by the Folketing before they take effect, and chairs meetings of the Council of State with the government.
After a general election, or when a government falls, the king holds a series of meetings with party leaders, known in Danish as the “kongerunde” or king’s round. Based on their advice, he asks the leader with enough support to form a government. The monarch is also expected to stay out of party politics and to belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark.
What King Frederik has done since
- January 2024: Made his first trip abroad as king, to Poland.
- May 2024: Made his first state visits, to Sweden and Norway.
- June 2024: Toured Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
- November 2024: Announced that royal warrants for businesses would be phased out by the end of 2029.
- January 2025: Amid renewed talk by US President Donald Trump about acquiring Greenland, the royal coat of arms was updated to give the Greenland and Faroe Islands symbols greater prominence.
- 2025 to 2026: Made state visits to Finland, France, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Australia, Queen Mary’s home country.
Who is Queen Mary?
Queen Mary, born Mary Donaldson in Hobart, Australia, met Frederik during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. They married at Copenhagen Cathedral on 14 May 2004. The couple have four children: Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. For more on royal families and public life, see our infotainment section.
Frequently asked questions
When did Frederik X become king of Denmark?
Frederik X became king on 14 January 2024, when Queen Margrethe II signed her abdication and he was proclaimed king from Christiansborg Palace.
Why did Queen Margrethe II abdicate?
She announced the decision in her New Year’s Eve speech in 2023. She referred to her age and to major back surgery she had undergone in early 2023, and said it was time to hand over to the next generation.
Was King Frederik X crowned?
No. Denmark has not held coronations since 1849. New monarchs are proclaimed from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace instead.
Who is next in line to the Danish throne?
Crown Prince Christian, the eldest child of King Frederik and Queen Mary, born on 15 October 2005, is the heir to the throne.
Sources: The Danish Royal House, Wikipedia: Frederik X, The Danish Parliament.
