Frederik X

After succeeding to the throne, he was proclaimed King from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as has been the custom for Danish monarchs since the introduction of the constitutional monarchy in 1849.

Frederik X (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is King of Denmark.

He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication on 14 January 2024.

Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik.

Frederik was born by emergency caesarean section at Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital in Copenhagen, on 26 May 1968 at 23:50 to the then Princess Margrethe, oldest daughter of Frederik IX and heir presumptive to the Danish throne, and Prince Henrik.

At the time of his birth, his maternal grandfather was on the throne of Denmark and his matrilineal great-grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, was on the throne of Sweden.

He was baptised on 24 June 1968, at Holmen Church, in Copenhagen.

He was named Frederik after his maternal grandfather, King Frederik IX, continuing the Danish royal tradition of the heir apparent being named either Frederik or Christian.

He was born during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King Frederik IX, and became Crown Prince of Denmark following his mother's accession in 1972.

He was educated privately at home and at Krebs School, École des Roches and Øregård Gymnasium.

He earned a Master of Science degree in political science from Aarhus University.

After university, he served in diplomatic posts at the United Nations and in Paris.

He has trained in all three branches of the Danish Armed Forces.

He became Crown Prince of Denmark when his mother ascended to the throne as Margrethe II on 14 January 1972.

Frederik's only sibling is his younger brother Prince Joachim of Denmark.

Frederik attended primary school at Krebs' Skole between 1974 and 1981, as a private pupil at Amalienborg Palace from 1974 to 1976, and from the third form again at Krebs' Skole.

From 1982 to 1983, he attended the École des Roches, a boarding school in Normandy, France.

In 1986, Frederik graduated from Øregård Gymnasium.

In addition to Danish, he is fluent in French (his father's language), English, and German.

In the autumn of 1989, Frederik began studying political science at Aarhus University.

As part of his education, he spent the 1992–1993 academic year at Harvard University, where he studied political science under the name Frederik Henriksen.

Whilst at Harvard, he participated in the Phoenix – SK Club, and lived in a rent-controlled apartment.

Frederik is the first Danish royal to complete a university education.

Frederik took up a position for three months with the Danish UN mission in New York in 1994.

In 1995, he obtained his MSc degree in political science from Aarhus University.

He completed the course in the prescribed number of years with an exam result above average, thus becoming the first royal to obtain a master's degree.

His final paper was an analysis on the foreign policy of the Baltic States, which he had visited several times during his studies.

The prince was posted as First Secretary to the Danish Embassy in Paris from October 1998 to October 1999.

Frederik has completed extensive military studies and training in all three services, notably completing the training as a frogman in the naval elite special operations forces Frømandskorpset.

It was here that he earned the nickname "Pingo", when his wetsuit filled with water and he was forced to waddle like a penguin.

In 2000, Frederik met Australian marketing consultant Mary Donaldson while attending the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

In 2001 and 2002, he completed further leadership training at the Royal Danish Defence College.

Frederik remained active in the defence services, and in the period 2002–2003 served as a staff officer at Defence Command Denmark, and from 2003 as a senior lecturer with the Institute of Strategy at the Royal Danish Defence College.

During a Council of State on 8 October 2003, Queen Margrethe gave her consent to the marriage of Crown Prince Frederik to Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, an Australian marketing consultant whom the prince had met while attending the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

They married on 14 May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral.

They have four children: Christian, Isabella, and twins Vincent and Josephine.

Their wedding took place on 14 May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral, Copenhagen.

The couple have four children: Christian (born 15 October 2005), Isabella (born 21 April 2007) and twins Vincent and Josephine (born 8 January 2011).

Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication during her annual live broadcast New Year's Eve address on 31 December 2023.

Frederik succeeded her as King of Denmark during a Council of State on 14 January 2024 during which Margrethe officially signed a declaration of her abdication.