King Frederik and Queen Mary head off on holiday before major milestone

King Frederik and Queen Mary are enjoying a private holiday abroad ahead of a milestone anniversary next week.

The Danish royal couple's son, Crown Prince Christian, 19, is acting as regent in his father's absence on Friday and Saturday.

Christian, who will begin military training next month, has been able to fulfil the duty since shortly after his 18^th birthday when he attended his first Council of State meeting and swore to abide by the Danish constitution.

It's not known where Frederik and Mary have travelled to, but the Danish royal palace's communications team confirmed their private trip to newspaper BILLED-BLADET on Friday morning.

The couple's holiday comes ahead of the first-year anniversary of Frederik's reign on Tuesday 14 January.

Frederik was proclaimed King by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen almost a year ago.

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His accession came just two weeks after his mother Queen Margrethe's shock abdication, 52 years into her reign.

It has not been confirmed whether King Frederik and Queen Mary will mark the milestone publicly but the monarch has his weekly audiences scheduled.

The couple will also travel to Poland on 27 January to participate in the commemoration of the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The first year of Frederik's reign has seen the King and Queen pass many milestones, including state visits to Sweden and Norway, a tour of Greenland and hosting Iceland and Egypt's Presidents.

Earlier this week, Frederik and Mary hosted the New Year's receptions for diplomats at the palace, just days after Frederik delivered his first festive speech as monarch.

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As well as Crown Prince Christian, the couple are also parents to 17-year-old Princess Isabella, who is in the final year of her secondary education and twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, who celebrated their 14^th birthday this week.

Christian is currently on a gap year after graduating from high school last summer. He spent three months working at a farm in East Africa, returning home for Christmas in December.