Denmark’s prime minister sees a new chapter opening for her country after Queen Margrethe announced her abdication.

“We will miss Queen Margrethe, whom we love so much,” Mette Frederiksen said in her New Year’s address on Monday night (local time).

She said it was largely thanks to the 83-year-old queen that the royal house still existed as an institution.

“I am sure that the crown prince will be a good and strong king for Denmark and the entire kingdom,” the Social Democrat prime minister added.

The Kingdom of Denmark also includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Margrethe II’s abdication announcement in her annual New Year’s address on Sunday night came as a complete surprise. She said she had made the decision because of her back operation last year, which she had recovered from well, but which had made her think.

“I have decided that now is the right time,” the queen said.

She will hand over to her son Crown Prince Frederik on January 14. His Tasmanian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, will become queen and their eldest son Christian, 18, will be the new heir to the Danish throne.

The couple also has three other children; Princess Isabella and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Frederiksen decided to completely change her own speech after Margrethe’s announcement. Instead of focusing on reforms to Denmark’s social and healthcare system, she concentrated on the legacy of the outgoing queen.

-with AAP