(Web Desk) - Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced Sunday that she would be giving up her seat on the royal throne after serving 52 years, clearing the way for her son, Prince Frederik, to lead the monarchy.
The news comes months after the 55-year-old heir to the Danish throne was at the centre of an affair controversy after being spotted out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova.
Here's everything you need to know about the future King of Denmark.
Who is Prince Frederik?
Born in 1968, Prince Frederik became Crown Prince of Denmark when his mother, Queen Margrethe II, ascended to the throne in 1972.
In the early 1990s, Prince Frederik studied political science at Harvard University and took a position at the Danish UN mission in New York in 1994.
Nearly a decade later, Prince Frederik served as a staff officer at Defense Command Denmark, and later, as senior lecturer with the Institute of Strategy at the Royal Danish Defense College.
In November, Prince Frederick and Genoveva Casanova were seen out and about together in Madrid, sparking speculation that they're more than just friends.
Casanova issued a statement on Instagram, via a law office that she hired, to clear the air (the statement was written in Spanish and has been translated to English with Google Translate).
The statement began with Casanova "formally" calling for the publication Lecturas to pull the photos and article "in which the affirmation and insinuation of a relationship is expressed."
Calling the report "totally false" and "absolutely untrue," Casanova's attorney added that "its disclosure causes serious damage to the honor and image" of the socialite "as well as His Royal Highness."
On Sunday, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced her intention to abdicate, leaving Prince Frederick next in line to the throne.
“I have decided that now is the right time,” Queen Margrethe said, according to the English transcript of the speech.
"On 14 January 2024 — 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father — I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I leave the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik.”
A coronation date for Crown Prince Frederik has not been announced.