RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday congratulated King Frederik X of Denmark on his accession to the throne.
In separate cables, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed wished the new monarch “success” and expressed hopes “for continued progress and prosperity for the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed Frederik X as king on Sunday after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, formally signed her abdication.
The 83-year-old Margrethe is the first Danish monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne in nearly 900 years.
As Margrethe keeps her title and Frederik’s wife becomes Queen Mary, Denmark now has two queens, the Associated Press reported. Frederik and Mary’s eldest son Christian, 18, has become crown prince and heir to the throne.
Massive crowds turned out to rejoice in the throne passing from mother to her popular son. Among those in the crowd were Australians, who came to celebrate one of their own becoming queen.
Denmark’s monarchy traces its origins to 10th-century Viking king Gorm the Old, making it the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world, reports said.
