Denmark's newly crowned king addresses Parliament

Denmark’s prime minister, whose party has struggled with how to relate to the monarchy, gave the newly proclaimed King Frederik X full support when he appeared before the nation’s lawmakers on Monday.

King Frederik, fifty-five, had his first official duty as he presided over the celebration of the throne’s succession in parliament. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen crowned him king on Sunday in front of an estimated 174,000 jubilant citizens who had descended upon the nation’s capital in near-freezing temperatures.

The first Danish monarch in almost 900 years to voluntarily abdicate was the king, who succeeded his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who had held the throne for 52 years.

Denmark has a constitutional monarchy, which means that the monarch as head of state must sign new laws before they come into force but the formal power remains with government and the elected parliament.

The new king and queen take the throne at a time of huge public support for the monarchy in the nation of nearly six million.

“Our amazing royal family is doing so well that we may take the monarchy for granted. It is not a given, it stands and falls with the people who take responsibility. And it rests on a mutual contract between monarchy and democracy,” Frederiksen said in a speech in parliament on Monday.

The prime minister, in a separate speech on Jan. 1, said she had not always supported the monarchy but had declared herself a royalist due to the work Queen Margrethe had done to unite Denmark.

Queen Margrethe’s popularity has grown even though she presided during a period when the Danish welfare state, built on a foundation of equality, grew to become the standard of the Nordic nation.

Frederiksen’s Social Democratic party has for a century refused to take decorations from royals but reversed this policy after the New Year’s eve announcement of the abdication and it is now up to the members if they wish to receive orders.

“The role of a king in a modern democratic society is a difficult balancing act in itself. Add to this the challenges we face in Denmark and in the world around us,” Frederiksen said. “We very much need our king to unite Denmark.”

King Frederik addressed the crowds in a speech on Sunday but did not speak in parliament on Monday.

(with inputs from Reuters)