Fairytale as Australian to become Queen of Denmark
Princess Mary will become the first Australian to rule a country after Denmark’s Queen Margrethe announced she would abdicate the throne to her son.
Australian-born Princess Mary is set to bring a modern take to the Danish royal family when she is crowned Queen of Denmark alongside her husband Prince Frederik.
It was a fairytale romance when Frederik met Mary at Sydney’s Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics.
Mary Donaldson, a sales director with a real estate agency at the time, knew two things about the country she is set to rule: the author Hans Christian Andersen and that the Sydney Opera House was designed by a Dane.
The couple married in 2004 in a lavish affair and have four children Christian, Isabella, Josephine and Vincent.
Twenty years later, the former Hobart resident will ascend to the top of Danish royalty when her husband is crowned King.
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In her New Year’s address, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced her decision to abdicate on January 14, marking 52 years on the throne.
The 83-year-old Queen, who was crowned in 1972, said back surgery in February had prompted her to think about the future – “whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation”.
Denmark’s prime minister sees a new chapter opening for her country after the announcement.
“We will miss Queen Margrethe, whom we love so much,” Mette Frederiksen said in her New Year’s address on Monday evening.
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She said it was largely thanks to the 83-year-old queen that the royal house still exists as an institution.
“I am sure that the Crown Prince will be a good and strong King for Denmark and the entire kingdom,” the Social Democrat prime minister added. The Kingdom of Denmark also includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff praised the princess as a wonderful ambassador for the state.
“With her demonstrated humility, grace and kindness I am sure Crown Princess Mary will be embraced as Queen alongside her husband, King Frederik once proclaimed later this month,” he said.
The soon-to-be Queen remains connected to her home state as an International Patron of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, a support organisation for children experiencing family violence.
Known for her impeccable fashion sense, having made Vanity Fair’s best-dressed lists, the royal shares a passion for sustainability in fashion.
She also travels the world bringing a message against bullying in schools and social isolation with her Mary Foundation.
“I look forward to watching the next generation, and Tasmania’s own born Queen lead Denmark’s future. We are so proud,” Rockliff said.
– AAP
