Denmark s Queen Margrethe II will abdicate on January 14 next year after 52 years on the throne, she announced during her traditional New Year s Eve speech.
Queen Margrethe II, who hit the headlines last year when she removed royal titles from the four children of her son Prince Joachim, has been on the throne since 1972, making her the longest-reigning in Europe.
The 81-year-old monarch stunned in an elegant blue ballgown, teamed with a glittering array of jewels for the photograph, taken at Fredensborg Castle, in the Dome Hall.