King Frederick's Message to Parliament - English Translation

King Frederik of Denmark wrote a message to Parliament at Christiansborg Palace on the day of his accession. The speech was read by the Prime Minister during the Monarch's visit to Parliament the next day. 

Notes by Gert's Royals are in [Brackets.]

We, Frederik X by the grace of God, King of Denmark, hereby announce that our dear mother, Queen Margrethe II, has abdicated the throne on 14 January 2024 in the Council of State.

[The Denmark monarch is often referred to by the Royal "We" in speeches like this.]

With God's help and the love of the people, throughout her 52-year reign, Queen Margrethe II has only had the best of Denmark as her goal and put all her energies into a faithful and dutiful effort for this.

["With God's help and the love of the people" is a reference to Queen Margrethe's Motto.] 

The Queen's love for the whole kingdom has been reciprocated, and everywhere the Queen has been met with warmth, affection and appreciation.

We owe the Queen a debt of gratitude for diligently pursuing her life's goals longer than any other Monarch before her.

[Queen Margrethe was the 2nd longest reigning Danish Monarch, behind King Christian IV. But since Christian ascended the throne as a child and had a regent for 8 years, Queen Margrethe actually actively served as Monarch for a longer period.] 

We have now, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Succession to the Throne Act, taken over the responsibility of being Denmark's king. It is a task that we will do our utmost to fulfill.

Together with Queen Mary, we will put all our efforts into serving the entire Danish kingdom in all the time we are given.

It is our hope that we will succeed in making an effort for the benefit of the entire Realm and in winning the people's trust.

[The Kingdom of Denmark is made up of 3 parts, Denmark Proper and 2 autonomous territory: Greenland & the Faroe Islands] 

We begin our responsible work as Denmark's king in the belief that the Folketinget [Parliament] will meet us in the joint work for the good of the kingdom.

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