Denmark proclaims new king, Frederik X, after Margrethe II abdicates

Denmark officially has a new monarch, King Frederik X, for the first time in over 50 years after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, abdicated the throne at age 83.

The prime minister of Denmark proclaimed Frederik X king on Sunday, and the country celebrated the change of leadership with massive crowds.

Margrethe was the first monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne in 900 years in Denmark.

Denmark's monarchy is the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world, even if it is largely ceremonial at this point.

Frederik X's ascension to the throne makes his wife Mary, who was born in Australia, the new queen. The couple has four children.

“My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow," Frederik said at the ceremony. “It is a task I have approached all my life.”