Crowds in Copenhagen flocked to see Frederik X made King of the Nordic nation after Queen Margrethe, 83, above, signed a historic abdication.
Margrethe, the first Danish monarch to give up the throne voluntarily in nearly 900 years, abdicated for health reasons.
Frederik, 55, was proclaimed King by prime minister Mette Frederiksen from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace.
He was then joined by his Australian-born wife Queen Mary, 51, and their children, Christian, 18, Isabella, 16, and 13-year-old twins Vincent and Josephine. Frederik told the crowd: “My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow.
“It is a task I have approached all my life.”
And in a loving tribute to Mary, he said: “I want to return the trust I meet. I need trust from my beloved wife, you and that which is greater than us.”
Aussie Judy Langtree, who travelled from Brisbane with her daughter, said of Mary: “I think it’s good that she’s not from royalty and has a normal Australian background.
“She’s from a middle-class background and we are too.”
Denmark’s monarchy traces its origins to 10th-century Viking king Gorm the Old – making it the oldest in Europe and one of the world’s earliest.
Its duties today are largely ceremonial.
