Queen Margrethe II: Danish monarch announces abdication live on TV

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II has announced her surprise abdication in a new year TV address.

She will formally step down on 14 January, which will be 52 years to the day since she became queen.

"I will leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik," she announced.

The 83-year-old is the world's only reigning queen and the longest serving current monarch in Europe, taking the throne after the death of her father King Frederik IX in 1972. read more