Copenhagen, January 14 (QNA) - The throne handover ceremony begins Sunday in Denmark after Queen Margrethe II of Denmark announced that she intends to abdicate the throne to her son and Crown Prince Frederik.

The new monarch will take on the title King Frederik X, and is expected to deliver a speech to the nation.

Queen Margrethe surprised the Danes by announcing on New Years Eve speech that she would step down on Jan. 14, passing the throne to her eldest son.

There will be no coronation ceremony, but the handover of the throne will take place when Margrethe II signs her abdication during a meeting in Parliament, with the participation of Prince Frederik and his eldest son, Denmark's new Crown Prince Christian.

Margrethe's decision comes after she ascended to the throne in 1972 following the death of her father, Frederik IX.

Prince Frederik worked in the Danish mission to the United Nations in New York City in 1994, in addition to his work as First Secretary at the Danish Embassy in Paris between 1998 and 1999. He also trained in all three branches of the Danish Armed Forces. (QNA)