The Danish people gathered today, Sunday, to witness their longest-reigning Queen in the country's history, Queen Margrethe II, as she handed over the throne to her eldest son, Frederik, in the Parliament building in Copenhagen.

Queen Margrethe had announced on New Year's Eve her decision to abdicate the throne after 52 years, becoming the first to relinquish the throne of Denmark in nearly 900 years. People from all over Denmark flocked to the capital to witness the event.

There will be no coronation ceremony as in Britain, but the inauguration takes place at the moment Queen Margrethe signs the document abdicating the throne to the Crown Prince.