As at the wedding, Frederic of Denmark sealed with a kiss on the lips of his wife, Queen Mary, the promise to fulfill the motto of his reign: “United, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark”. In ceremonies that lasted just over an hour, Christiansborg Palace, in Copenhagen, was yesterday the scene of a day in which Denmark inaugurated a new stage in its history.
Teary-eyed, with his arm around Queen Mary’s waist and accompanied by his four children, the heir Christian, and the princes Elizabeth, Vincent and Josephine, Frederik X, the new king of Denmark, inaugurated the reign after that the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, made, from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, the formal proclamation with the nine cheers of rigor chanted by the thousands of citizens who filled the streets of the Danish capital.
After the proclamation, Frederick X, wearing full military dress, announced the motto of his reign, “United, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark”, after delivering the first speech which began with a tribute to the his mother “Over the course of half a century,” said the new king, “my mother has followed the new times with our common heritage as a starting point. She will always be remembered as an exceptional queen. My mother, like few others, has managed to become one with her kingdom. Today the thunder passes. My hope is to become the king of tomorrow’s union.”
The new king of Denmark stated that he faced the responsibility he assumes “with respect, pride and great joy. I will do my best to carry it out with your trust. I will need all the support I can get from my dear wife, my family, you and that which is greater than us. I face the future with the certainty that I am not alone.”
That of his beloved wife did not seem like a rhetorical phrase, since, despite the rumors of a marital crisis, the new kings gave, from the balcony, a recital of complicity and affection. Not only did they kiss, which reminded them of their wedding, celebrated almost twenty years ago, they also greeted each other all the time in unison, with joined hands or linking arms across the waist. The new Queen Mary wore a white dress for the occasion, adorned with jeweled brooches, following in the footsteps of Queen Letizia and Matilda of Belgium, who also wore white to the proclamation of Philip VI and Philip of Belgium, respectively .
An hour earlier, Queen Margaret II of Denmark (83 years old) had performed the simple act of abdication before the Council of State, an institution with mainly ceremonial functions, which is chaired by the monarch and made up of members of the Government and the prince heir After signing the act, Margarida said goodbye to those present with a “God save the king” and left the room and the palace of Christiansborg. He said he planned to follow the rest of the ceremonies on television from the Amalienborg residence,
The events had begun at 1:30 p.m., when, in a Rolls-Royce and escorted by motorized guards, the still-heir princes Frederik and Maria left Amalienborg, followed in another car by Prince Christian. Two minutes later, Queen Margarida’s entourage set off for Christiansborg, making the final journey in a historic carriage dating from 1892, pulled by six white horses and followed by a regiment of hussars from the Royal Guard in horse Along the route, the two processions, one after the other, received the applause and cheers of the citizens.
After the signing of the act of abdication of Queen Margarida, the new kings, Frederic and Maria, offered a reception in Christiansborg attended by the first authorities of the country; the representatives of the autonomous territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, as well as Prince Joachim of Denmark, brother of the new king, and Jane Alison Donaldson, Queen Mary’s older sister. Finally, Frederik and Maria returned to Amalienborg as kings, in the same carriage that had been used, for the last time as queen, by Margaret II of Denmark.
The kings of Spain, Felipe and Letícia, as did the rest of the European monarchs, sent a letter of congratulations to their counterparts Frederic and Maria in which, in addition, they express the “best wishes for the people of Denmark”.
