COPENHAGEN: Popular Australian-born Crown Princess Mary of Denmark will complete a real-life fairytale on Sunday when she ascends to the throne following her husband, Crown Prince Frederik.
The glitzy 51-year-old is one of the most well-liked members of the Danish royal and is recognized for having contributed to its modernization throughout time.
In her yearly New Year’s Eve speech, Queen Margrethe II surprised Danes by announcing her intention to step down from the throne after 52 years, citing health concerns and her advanced age of 83.
When Mary Donaldson, the future queen, married into the royal family, she stunned Danes and breathed new life into the monarchy.
Because I’m the one in the spotlight and my spouse isn’t, some people believe that my husband is somewhat in my shadow.
“But he’ll never be in my shadow, and I’ll never be in his shadow, because he reflects light on me,” she continued.
Mary, who was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on February 5, 1972, was employed in Australia as an advertising executive when she went out with friends at Sydney’s Slip Inn bar during the 2000 summer Olympics and met Frederik, who was 34 at the time.
It was only later that she learned that he was the crown prince of Denmark and that other European royals, such as his younger brother Prince Joachim and cousin Prince Nikolaos of Denmark and Greece, were among his pals.
“We shook hands the first time we met,” she recalled saying in a previous interview.
“I was unaware that he was the Danish prince. I was approached by someone who asked, “Do you know who these people are?” thirty minutes later.
Meanwhile, Frederik described meeting Mary as “not just a rush of love, but also the feeling of having met my soulmate” in an interview with daily Kristeligt Dagblad.
Following several covert meetings and a low-key long-distance romance, the pair became engaged in October 2003 and were married in Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004.
Four children currently reside with them: the 16-year-old Princess Isabella, the 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, and the 18-year-old Prince Christian, who will one day succeed his father as king.
Mary immediately made an impression on Danes, winning them over with her rapid Danish language acquisition.
She also won her mother-in-law over right away.
Also read: Powerful winter storm ravages East Coast, leaves trail of destruction
In a 2015 interview, Queen Margrethe remarked, “I have to admit that the first time (Frederik) allowed me to meet her, I hoped it would last.”
Mary is the third most popular royal in Denmark, behind Frederik and the incredibly popular queen, according to a December poll by Danish television network TV2.
“For the almost 20 years that she has been a member of the royal family, the crown princess has widened and perfected her role as spokesperson and PR official for the royal family, Denmark, and her chosen causes,” the Berlingske newspaper noted at the time.
Because of her long, black hair and impeccable sense of style, she is frequently likened to Princess Catherine of Britain and appears frequently on the fashion pages of Danish and foreign publications.
She is renowned for her efforts to support women’s rights and mental health, as well as to combat bullying, domestic abuse, and social isolation.
Historian Sebastian Olden-Jorgensen regards Mary and Frederik as a modern couple who enjoy pop music, current art, and sports.
They have primarily sent their four children to public schools in an effort to provide them with the most typical upbringing imaginable.
The first Danish royal to attend childcare was Prince Christian, their 18-year-old firstborn.
In contrast to the queen, they “do not represent a potential revolution,” but rather a deliberate change that fits the times. Olden-Jorgensen
