Queen of Denmark announces abdication live on TV

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II has announced her surprise abdication in a new year TV address.

She will abdicate the throne on 14 January, which will be 52 years to the day since she became queen.

Her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik will take the role of king following Margrethe's departure.

The 83-year-old is the longest serving monarch in Danish history, taking the throne after the death of her father King Frederik IX in 1952.

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