STOCKHOLM, Sweden (NEWSnet/AP) — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced Sunday she plans to abdicate after 52 years and hand over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik.

The queen, who is Europe's longest-reigning living monarch, announced during her New Year's speech that she would abdicate on Jan. 14. That is the anniversary of her  accession to the throne at age 31 following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.

Margrethe, 83, said back surgery in early 2023 led to “thoughts about the future” and when to pass on the responsibilities of the crown to her son.

“I have decided that now is the right time,” she said in her speech.

Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen paid tribute to her in a statement, offering a “heartfelt thank you to Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom.”

Margrethe has been one of the most popular public figures in Denmark, where the monarch’s role is largely ceremonial. She often walked streets of Copenhagen unescorted and won  admiration of Danes for her warm manners and for her talent as a linguist and designer.

A skier, she was a member of a Danish women’s air force unit as a princess, taking part in judo courses and endurance tests in the snow. In 2011, at age 70, she visited Danish troops in southern Afghanistan wearing a military jumpsuit.

As monarch, she criss-crossed the country, regularly visiting Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, two semi-independent territories which are part of Danish Realm, and was met by cheering crowds.

Denmark has Europe’s oldest ruling monarchy, tracing its line back to the Viking king Gorm the Old, who died in 958. Although Magrethe is head of state, Denmark’s Constitution strictly ruled out her involvement in party politics.

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