The Queen of Denmark has made her final emotional appearance as Europe's current longest-serving monarch before her abdication this month.
Queen Margrethe II, 83, used her New Year's Eve speech to announce her intention to abdicate as Denmark's monarch on January 14.
On Thursday, Margrethe II rode through Copenhagen in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her New Year celebrations.
Danish Queen makes final emotional appearance as Europe's current longest-serving monarch before abdication
Getty
This was her final public appearance as monarch before abdicating this month.
Europe's current longest-serving monarch will step down on Sunday, January 14.
This is exactly 52 years to the day of Queen Margrethe's accession to the throne in 1972.
Once he takes the throne, Crown Prince Frederik will become known as King Frederik X.
Queen Margrethe sitting in the Gold Coach
Reuters
The Danish Queen's resignation is the first in Europe's oldest ruling monarchy in nearly 900 years.
During Thursday's festivities, thousands of royal fans braved the freezing weather to cheer the soon-to-be former Queen.
The gold coach was a 19th-century carriage covered in 24-carat gold leaf and topped with four gilded crowns on the roof.
It was pulled by six white horses and escorted by members of the Hussar Regiment.
Queen Margrethe sits in a Gold Coach as she travels through Copenhagen
Reuters
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Queen Margrethe will leave the throne to her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik
Reuters
The coach is used when the monarch travels from Amalienborg Palace to the Christiansborg Palace during the New Year's celebrations.
For several years, the Danish Queen insisted she would not abdicate.
However, Margrethe II said the back surgery she received in early 2023 led to her having "thoughts about the future".
In her annual televised address on New Year's Eve, she said: "I have decided that now is the right time," referring to passing on the throne to her son.