During her New Year's Eve address on 31 December 2023, Margrethe II announced that she on 14 January 2024 would abdicate the Danish throne to her eldest son Frederik X. Being the first voluntary abdication of a Danish monarch since that of Eric III in 1146, the date marked the 52nd anniversary of her reign which began in 1972 upon the death of her father Frederik IX. On 14 January, she signed her declaration of abdication at Christiansborg Palace, whereafter Frederik X was proclaimed king, while his wife Mary became queen and his eldest son Christian crown prince.