Every moment of Queen Mary of Denmark’s proclamation, as it happened

After 20 years of serving as Crown Princess of Denmark, Mary—formerly known as Mary Donaldson—has been crowned Queen of Denmark at a ceremony directly preceded by the abdication of her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II. Stepping out onto the balcony of Christiansborg Castle, Mary, alongside her husband King Frederik X, waved to the crowd that had amassed below. She becomes the first Australian-born queen in history.

The formalisation of Queen Margrethe’s abdication of the throne after 52 years of service, as well as Mary and Frederik’s ascension to the throne, was a simpler affair in comparison to the coronation of King Charles III in May last year; coronations on the scale of the event held by the British royal family have long been abandoned by all other European monarchies. Instead, in the halls at Christiansborg, the 83-year-old Margrethe signed the declaration of her abdication before the council of state for the change of throne, her son Frederik, and her 18-year-old grandson, Crown Prince Christian.

The new sovereigns then held an intimate formal reception for guests, before Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called them to the balcony; in lieu of a tradition dating back to 1849, she announced the change of throne three times, in three symbolic directions. “My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow,” proclaimed Frederik X in his first speech as King. “It is a task I have approached all my life. It is a task I take on with pride, respect, and joy.” Frederik wore a ceremonial military uniform fashioned with medals and golden epaulets, while Mary wore a white dress by Soeren Le Schmidt, and sewn by Birgit Hallstein—the same seamstress behind Mary’s Uffe Frank wedding gown in 2004. To nod to the red half of the Danish flag? Mary wore a ruby brooch from the Danish Ruby Parure as a stomacher, along with its matching earrings and hair clip.

Congratulations were delivered in rapid succession from around the globe; amongst them, the newly crowned Charles himself, in a letter issued from Buckingham Palace. “My wife joins me in writing to convey our very best wishes on the day of your accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he stated. “I look forward to working with you on ensuring that the enduring bond between our countries, and our families, remains strong, and to working together with you on issues which matter so much for our countries and the wider world.”

Below, everything that happened at Queen Mary and King Frederik’s coronation.

Related: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's stylish 52 years on the throne