The Danish prime minister's annual New Year's speech is a tradition since 1946 when it was first broadcast on radio. It was originally a spin-off of the monarch's similar annual speech. Now it is televised annually on the first day of the year on several channels. The prime minister's speech is usually taped a few days ahead of broadcasting due to the fact that there is an official state dinner on January 1st. This brought Queen
H.M. Queen Margrethe of Denmark to call it a "canned speech" in a conversation with
Poul Schlüter.