The rock music loving, sporty prince set to take Denmark’s monarchy into a new era as king

Crown Prince Frederik’s mother Queen Margrethe will abdicate the throne on Sunday after 52 years. Her son will have to find the balance between upholding tradition and being himself, writes Jakob Illeborg in Copenhagen

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, right, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty)

Crown Prince Frederik, the popular 55-year-old who will become king of Denmark on Sunday in Copenhagen, must find the right balance between renewing the royal family’s bond with a new generation of Danes while maintaining the relevance of the 1,000-year-old monarchy. And being himself.

He has had two weeks to gather his thoughts, after his 83-year-old mother shocked the nation in her new year address.

At 6pm on 31 December, it is the norm in Denmark to watch Queen Margrethe II’s speech with friends and family while toasting with some bubbly. Such is the esteem in which the queen is held, the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in her own new year speech, declared that the monarch had converted her from a republican to a royalist. The audience for the queen’s new year address regularly surpasses 2 million and in 2021, more than 3.3 million Danes watched her speech – almost 60 per cent of the population.