Frederik formally proclaimed Denmark's king

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik was formally proclaimed king by the country's prime minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday, reported Xinhua.

"Long live His Majesty King Frederik, the Tenth," declared Frederiksen on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace alongside Frederik X.

"The crown prince ... is a king we know, a king we care about, and a king we trust."

Following his mother Queen Margrethe's abdication after 52 years as monarch, Frederik X ascended the Danish throne.

"Bound, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark," said Frederik X in an electoral motto shortly after being proclaimed as king of the country.

Earlier in the day, Queen Margrethe signed a declaration of abdication and handed the throne to her son, then crown prince Frederik.

Thousands of people gathered in the square outside the palace where the royal succession occurred on Sunday, witnessing the event.

In her address delivered on New Year's Eve, Queen Margrethe announced that she would be abdicating on Jan. 14 and that she would hand over the throne to her eldest son. She justified it with a back operation that she had in February.