The Danish queen surprisingly announced her abdication in her traditional New Year’s Eve speech (Photo: Getty)

The Queen of Denmark has announced that she will step down from the throne in two weeks.

Margrethe II announced in her New Year’s Eve speech that she would resign on January 14.

This is exactly 52 years after the day of her ascension into heaven in 1972.

Her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, will be her successor.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the decision in a press release in which she paid tribute to the 83-year-old monarch and thanked Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts to the Kingdom.

The 1.80 meter tall Margrethe is one of the most popular public figures in Denmark.

She often strolled the streets of Copenhagen almost unaccompanied, winning the admiration of Danes for her warm manners and talent as a linguist and designer.

She was an avid skier and, as a princess, was part of a Danish women’s air force unit, where she took part in judo courses and endurance trials in the snow.

In 2011, at the age of 70, she visited Danish troops in southern Afghanistan, wearing military overalls.

As monarch, she traveled around the country, regularly visiting Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the two semi-independent territories that are part of the Danish Empire, and was greeted by cheering crowds everywhere.

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