"I was quite shocked when I saw that the queen was abdicating during the New Year's speech, mainly because I'm not that into the kingdom so maybe somebody saw it coming but I did not," said student Laura Zinkel.
The queen has enjoyed broad support throughout her life from the public, who have described her as a tactful and yet creative personality.
"She has been a stable figure, she has been a kind of big mother for all of us," said church employee Bente Lundbak Pihl. "She has been clever and inspiring."
She became heir to her father in 1953 at 13, after a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. She will abdicate on Jan. 14 and be succeeded by her eldest son, who will become King Frederik X.
