Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II makes last public appearance before stepping down

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe is escorted by the Hussar Regiment as she rides in a horse-drawn coach from Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg, to Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on Thursday (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Europe’s longest reigning monarch Queen Margrethe II rode through Denmark’s capital in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her final public New Year’s before her abdication later this month.

Thousands, many cheering and waving flags, braved the freezing temperatures, strong winds, snow and sleet on Thursday to cheer the popular queen along the route in what is to be her last public appearance as monarch.