An 18-year-old boy hands his grandmother her walking stick and watches her leave with a smile — her exit puts him one step closer to becoming king.
Prince Christian, the teenage son of King Frederik X and Australian-born Queen Mary, is now next in line for the throne.
The new heir apparent took his seat at King Frederik's right during the abdication ceremony at Christiansborg Palace.
He later joined his parents and three younger siblings on the palace balcony to wave to the gathered crowds.
It's a far cry from his first public appearance swaddled in his mother's arms just days after his birth in 2005.
Here's what we know about the young royal.
Who is Prince Christian?
Prince Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark and Count of Monpezat, is the oldest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
His full name is Christian Valdemar Henri John. Traditionally, the names of Danish kings have alternated between Frederik and Christian.
He was born in Copenhagen on October 15, 2005 — his birth was marked by a 21-gun salute, beacon bonfires lit around the country, and naval searchlights shone towards the capital.
Australia also had a hand in celebrating his arrival, with Tasmania sending four Tasmanian devils to the Copenhagen Zoo as a gift.
A cot made of Tasmanian oak and handmade by a group of Launceston students was also sent to mark the occasion.
He was baptised on January 21, 2006 at the Christiansborg Palace Chapel.
As of 2024 he is in his final months of high school and has kept a largely low profile.
Will Prince Christian be king?
Prince Christian became crown prince and heir apparent to Denmark the moment his father, the former crown prince, became king.
His place in the line of succession was formalised before he was even one-year-old.
In September 2006, then-foreign minister Per Stig Møller entered the prince's names, date of birth and baptism into the royal family registry.
Next in line after him are his younger siblings, 16-year-old Princess Isabelle and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Denmark's parliament in 2008 voted in favour of "absolute primogeniture", meaning gender no longer factors into the line of succession.
What are Prince Christian's duties now?
Up until Queen Margarethe's abdication announcement, Prince Christian was not a full-time working royal.
He now takes a seat in the Denmark's Council of State, the body advising the royals, with his father.
And of course, if King Frederik is unfit to govern, Prince Christian will step in as the council's regent.
He agreed to this back in November, when the palace announced on social media he had "made a solemn declaration" to comply with the constitution.
"It is a prerequisite that the Prince will be able to be appointed as the Governor in the event that both Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Crown Prince are prevented from leading the government," they wrote.
Up until now he has largely kept a low profile, occasionally seen travelling with friends throughout Europe and at official royal events with his family.
It's unclear how much more responsibility he will be given now he's become heir to the throne.
His first official engagement was when he was just three years old.
The young prince opened a new elephant enclosure at the Copenhagen Zoo in 2008, alongside his grandfather Prince Henrik.
He has also made several visits to Australia over the years, including once in 2015 when he was rescued while swimming at a Gold Coast beach.
Then-prince Frederik personally thanked on-duty lifeguard Nick Malcolm who pulled the young prince from the water when he got into trouble between the flags.
"It was only after they'd gone and someone told him [that he realised who they were]," the Gold Coast's then-chief lifeguard said at the time.
"They do a good job of being normal, those people, which is a credit to them I think."
Where does Prince Christian go to school?
Prince Christian attends public school at Ordrup Gymnasium in Gentofte, a suburb in Copenhagen's north.
He had previously attended Danish boarding school Herlufsholm, but was transferred amid controversy in 2022, when a documentary uncovered evidence of bullying and abuse of students at the school.
He was the first Danish royal family member to attend nursery school and the first to attend public school.
He's set to graduate high school in May, and will likely be choosing between university or military training.