Danish queen in her last public appearance before she steps down in rare abdication
By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Queen Margrethe rode through Denmark’s capital in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her last New Year celebrations before her Jan. 14 abdication after 52 years on the throne. Thousands braved the biting cold Thursday to cheer the popular queen in what is to be her last public appearance as monarch. The 83-year-old Margrethe, who is Europe’s longest reigning monarch, will hand over the throne to her oldest son, Crown Prince Frederik in the first such resignation in Europe’s oldest ruling monarchy in nearly 900 years.